Winter. 

It is 80 degrees in Denver and 59 in Aurora just now. So of course we are thinking about winter operations in the high country and IFR operations in the great northwest. 

The freezing level in Oregon right now varies between 5,000' and 7,000'; above a lot of enroute MEAs, leading to some great actual IFR opportunities. Surely the average instrument pilot can do an approach with a 1,500' broken ceiling and 3 miles of visibility, right? If not, well what better opportunity to grab one of our CFIIs and practice in the beautiful, smooth conditions. It doesn't take too much advanced planning to schedule the time. 

If it is 80 in Denver, that means it is about to snow; probably tomorrow. With cold and snow come the challenges of preheating, snow removal, and defrosting aircraft. Haven't done any of that in a year or so? Stop by and grab an instructor for a review of procedures. Bring your own plastic bag to help with defrosting, or get one from the club. Please bring your own soft terrycloth or microfiber towel to dry the surfaces after the frost is melted. 

Before you start your preheat process, check for birds seeking shelter from the storms in the cowlings of our aircraft. While they may not be nesting, it still seems like a pretty good place to hide from the wind and weather, or so they may think. Looking inside the aircraft cowlings should be a part of any preflight, year-round. 

I often wax eloquent about the advantages of the cool weather as it pertains to climb performance. For someone who has spent most of his time flying out of an airport with a nearly 6,000' surface elevation, it continues to amaze me. Even as much as I have flown to, from and around Oregon lately, sea-level type performance is a wonder. 

Speaking of which, those of you in Oregon who want to do some high altitude training and sunny days, drop down to Denver. It is a great time of year (see performance charts for temperatures below 32°) for a mountain checkout. The passes we fly through are over 11,000' and the mountain peaks over 14,000'. It is one of my (many) favorite training flights. 

There is a new pie maker at Goodland! The pie run is on, so let's go quality check their work. 

See you around the airport.