The winter flying season is officially here, which means we have a new set of challenges to deal with while flying in sub-freezing temperatures. Flight training doesn’t need to stop in the winter though; in fact the colder months provide some great opportunities to expand your knowledge on weather and aircraft operations in less than ideal conditions. There are other benefits too, including improved aircraft performance and nearly unlimited visibility on clear days.

Here are some winter weather tips to consider as the temperature gets colder:

1. Always carry winter weather gear – This first tip may seem like common sense, but I can’t stress enough the importance of carrying cold weather gear when the temperature gets below freezing. Most modern training airplanes provide a comfortable, warm cabin up in the air, even as the temperature approaches 0° F outside. This can cause a false sense of security and lead you into thinking that you may not need the extra clothing layers, gloves, hats, etc. But you have to always be prepared for an emergency landing, which could leave you in cold conditions for hours or even days. And the most important piece of cold weather gear? A cell phone of course.
2. Don’t rule out frost after you land – Most flight schools and aircraft owners are very conscious about frost forming on the airplane when left out on clear nights when the temperature is close to or below freezing. If your flight needs to get out early in the morning, the airplane should be hangared overnight and pulled out just before departure. There’s another time when frost can sneak up on you though, causing a delay if you’re not prepared. Let’s say you takeoff just before sunrise and head to another airport not too far away to visit the airport diner. When you come back to your airplane 30 – 60 minutes later, there’s a good chance you’ll find a fresh layer of frost on the wings and tail.
3. Practice takeoffs and landings on contaminated runways – Just because the runway at your airport has residual snow or slick spots doesn’t mean you have to cancel your flight lesson. In fact, ask any Alaskan bush pilot and they’ll probably tell you that landing on snow-covered runways is the norm rather than the exception in the winter. After a winter storm passes you’ll want to wait for the airport maintenance crew to clear the majority of snow from the runway. Then determine the braking action from the published NOTAM or from airport officials, which uses numerical Condition Codes to identify the conditions. A value of 6 means a dry runway, going to a 1 or 0 for slush and ice-covered runways (read more about Condition Codes here). If you and your instructor determine runway and braking conditions are suitable, continue on with your lesson. You’ll quickly learn the importance of speed control on final approach and how to make real-world use of the soft-field takeoff and landing techniques. Just be sure to taxi at slower than normal speeds and keep an eye on the wings when maneuvering near tall snow banks.
4. Review cold weather procedures for your aircraft – There’s probably a good chance you haven’t reviewed your aircraft’s cold weather normal and emergency procedures since last year (unless you had an FAA pilot checkride over the summer). I like to make it a habit each fall to pull out the POH for each aircraft I fly and review cold weather starting limitations, normal procedures and emergency checklists pertinent to cold weather ops. You should commit to memory temperature and battery limitations, starter duty cycle limits and the first few items in the checklist for an engine fire during start.
5. Recognize aircraft and engine limitations in cold weather – When the temperature is below freezing you’ll want to be more cautious about how you operate the aircraft engine. A good procedure is to avoid making sudden power changes as temperatures drop below 20°F and below. This means staying away from maneuvers like touch-n-gos, simulated engine failures and stall recoveries when the temperature is that cold.
6. Call ahead for cold-weather airport services – This tip is one to remember during your entire flying career. If you’re making a cross-country to another airport in the winter months and need some type of service from the FBO, call ahead first to verify it will be available. Don’t assume that because a particular FBO is at a large airport that they will have hangar space, engine pre-heat or other cold-weather service instantly available to you.
7. Make reports about the conditions you experience – In my flying experience, the best weather reports don’t come from the National Weather Service, but rather from the pilots currently in the air and reporting the weather conditions they’re experiencing. These pilot reports (PIREPs) will provide you with actual temperatures aloft, cloud coverage and tops, and turbulence and icing reports, all packed into just a few lines of data. As an instrument pilot in the winter, I pay close attention to the icing reports (or lack thereof) to help determine cruise altitudes and where there might be moisture-free air between cloud layers. Make it a point to contribute to the system and relay your flight conditions to ATC when time permits. And don’t get in the habit of only making PIREPs when you experience unfavorable conditions — some of the most useful PIREPs are the ones describing flight above the cloud layers in smooth air.

The return to standard time, cooler temperatures, and shorter days may have you dreading the winter flying season, and already longing for spring. But as a glass-half-full type, now is a great opportunity to enjoy the many pleasures of night flying at a more civilized hour. Calmer air, spectacular views and less traffic are just a few of advantages we encounter at night. So instead of an excuse, let’s use the early sunset as a reason to get caught up on some helpful night flying tips and reminders.

Unless you’re flying freight for a living, night flying typically comprises a very small percentage of our total flying. And naturally, because it’s not something we do on a regular basis, we lack proficiency and confidence. And because so many aspects of flying at night are different from our routine daytime flying, it’s not something we should just dive in to each fall without a plan. Everything from equipment and preparation, to cockpit organization and physiology require additional consideration when it comes to night flying.

The rules

To review the rules governing night flying: in order to be current to carry a passenger, you must have completed at least three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days in the same class of airplane (i.e. single engine). The regulation is specific in that the landings must be to a full stop and have occurred during the period of one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.

Position (navigation lights) must be illuminated between the hours of sunset to sunrise. This includes anytime the aircraft is running or even being moved. For the purposes of logging night experience, this is done while flying after the end of evening twilight and before morning twilight begins. In other words, when it’s dark.

You’re required to carry at least a 45-minute fuel reserve at night, but always carry an hour. There’s nothing that can spoil a flight quicker than stressing over a fuel situation or worse.

The common-sense interpretation is that when it’s dark, ensure you’re landing current and turn on your lights. Carry extra fuel. And just because you may legally fly solo to obtain your landing currency, that doesn’t make it wise. A good rule of thumb, if you’re beyond currency, is to engage a flight instructor to help regain those skills and perhaps even use the opportunity to earn a fresh flight review endorsement.

 

Preflight planning

When evaluating and selecting altitudes and routes for a night flight, bear in mind that your options for emergency, off-airport landings are significantly limited. As a result, you may consider less direct routing in favor of overlying airports or lighted highways. While landing on a road may not sound ideal, it’s always a better than landing blind. Divided highways often have grassy medians that may be suitable for landing, but if you have to opt for a roadway, land in the same direction as vehicle traffic.

It goes without saying that altitude selection should keep you well clear of all obstructions, but night flying is less forgiving and doesn’t always afford the option to see and avoid. Higher altitudes will not only provide additional obstruction clearance, but also more options for an emergency landing site if it becomes necessary.

Your eyes will need adequate time to adjust to night fling conditions. Most pilots can adjust to night vision within about 20 minutes, but it could take as long as 30. Needless to say, be resolute in protecting and preserving your night vision once established. And the holder we get, the longer it takes.

You can use some of that night vision adaptive time to check in with the FBOs you intend to use. Beware that published hours for line service often lie. It’s best to get first-hand, reliable information as to what services you’ll have access to at your destination. The Chart Supplement (formerly A/FD) is also filled with helpful preflight planning information such as airport lighting systems, frequencies, tower operating hours and more.

 

Equipment

If you’re not accustom to checking exterior lighting on your aircraft for daytime flying, it’s imperative for a night flight. And don’t forget about the interior lighting. The time to discover instrument backlights not functioning is BEFORE it gets dark so you don’t have to immediately go for the flashlight.

At least one good flashlight or headlamp is a must for your night flying activity. But even that will do you no good if you can’t find it when it’s needed. Ensure your equipment is operational, have access to fresh batteries if necessary, and organize your cockpit so you can find your equipment in the dark.

If you’re faced with an unplanned, off-airport landing situation, help may not be as readily available. You’ll be harder to locate and ground travel is more treacherous so consider building a basic survival kit.

Executing the night flight

A departure plan is critical in a night flying situation with terrain and other obstacles more difficult to avoid visually. You may consider consulting instrument procedures for minimum safe altitudes and potential routing to your en-route altitude or even a visual climb over the airport until you’ve reached a comfortable cruising altitude.

If you’re within radar coverage, VFR flight following can be helpful for traffic and terrain avoidance, but is only provided on a workload permitting basis. Be deliberate in scanning for traffic. Move the eyes more slowly when flying at night and use the off-center scan technique. To determine relative aircraft position, recall airplane position lights are arranged similar to those of boats and ships with a red light on the left wingtip, a green light on the right, and a white light on the tail.

Landing lights are not only useful for taxi, takeoffs, and landings, but enhance your ability to be seen at night by other pilots. Pilots are encouraged to turn on their landing lights when operating within 10 miles of an airport and below 10,000 feet.

You’ll be able to identify most airports by rotating beacons. The beacon rotates at a constant speed producing a series of flashes at regular intervals. Lighted civilian land airport beacons consist of a white and green light. Steady-burning red lights are used to mark obstructions on or near airports and sometimes to supplement flashing lights on other obstructions. High-intensity, flashing white lights are used to mark some supporting structures of overhead transmission lines and are also used to identify tall structures, such as telecommunication towers.

 

Airport lighting

While beacons are present at most airports, the presence of Runway End Identifier Lights (REILs) consisting of sequenced flashing lights marking the runway threshold are also easily identifiable.

Runway edge lights are white except yellow replaces white on the last 2,000 feet of half the runway length to provide a visual cue of distance remaining. Runway edge lights can have differing brightness levels of high, medium and low intensity. For pilot control of these systems, key the mic on the appropriate frequency seven times for high intensity, five times for medium, and three for low intensity. At towered airports, you may request a change in intensity on the tower frequency.

End of runway lights are will show green as you approach the runway and red as you near the end. Taxiway edge lights are blue and larger airports may have in-ground centerline lighting illuminating the turn-offs.

Beware of night illusions

There are a variety of illusions that you may experience at night. They are legitimate phenomena that can be distracting and misleading so not only does it help to anticipate when these illusions may occur, but you must also employ a strategy to combat the illusion.

Moonless nights, or anytime horizon identification becomes difficult, makes you more susceptible to spatial disorientation similar to flying into IMC conditions. Further, unexpected cloud layers are notoriously difficult to detect at night. As you analyze weather conditions and even surrounding terrain and lights at your airports of intended use, anticipate situations when you will need to rely more heavily on your flight instruments and plan to use a more routine and frequent instrument scan on your night flights.

Many pilots report bouts of vertigo that can be caused by anti-collision light systems. If you experience symptoms, don’t hesitate to turn those lights off. Featureless terrain may create a black hole effect in which you may perceive the aircraft at a higher altitude than it actually is. Bright runway lights can create of the illusion of less distance to the runway. Relying on an instrument glideslope or visual glideslope indicators are an effective tool for flying appropriate glide paths to landing.

As a word of caution, obstruction clearance on the basis of VASI or PAPI systems is only assured four miles from the runway threshold, while those same lighting systems may be visible nearly 20 miles from the runway.

 

Night landings

Fly toward the airport until the runway is identified and you can set up for a normal traffic pattern. Be patient as distance may be deceptive at night due. Reactivate the runway lighting systems if pilot controlled to ensure they will not go dark during your pattern and landing. Rely on the PAPI or VASI during your final approach. The round out should begin when the landing light reflects on the runway and tire marks are visible.

Beware of potential wildlife at airports. A low pass over the runway may be in order if you expect there could be something on the runway. Don’t let the desire to get parked and on your way be a distraction. Taxi at a slow pace so that you have adequate time to see taxiway turns or other ground obstructions lurking in the dark like fences, vehicles or other airplanes that aren’t illuminated.

Once parked, you no longer have to be concerned with preserving that night vision so use your brightest flashlight to complete a thorough postflight inspection inside and out. Ensure the airplane is secure and electric is off. If you filed a flight plan, make that call to cancel.

Enjoy the night!