time to check out that battery.... winter is coming on...

[GMAs]

If you have a battery that is almost 2 years old.. you may want to check it out real good... water level ok... capacity up to snuff... voltage still holding... while under load... terminals clean and coated... while were at it lets look at the selonoids ... if over 5 years old .. might want to think about getting some new ones in their...

why...

Well the first cold wx of the season seems to put a higher strain on the battery and electrical system because the regulators will go to a higher voltage... etc.. and their is nothing worse than getting stuck in a field with a dead battery...

We....
have already discussed the mis virtues of hand starting the skymaster... if you didn't get in on it... the word is .. don't.. its a killer... believe me... their have been several good pilots who have hand prop'ed and gotten sucked into the prop or smack on the way out... resulting in death... happens every year.. seems some just don't get the message...

Do....

make sure you pull the prop through at least 7 blades... making sure you have the mags off... and treat the prop like it was hot... mixture and fuel should be off... mags should be off.. and someone should be inside just in case it does fire.. to shut it down in a emergency... that means you have to make a picture of how it works to the better half... think of the throttle and mixture contols as being gas pedals... back it off... kinda thing...

Preheat....

Here we want to dust off the old pre-heater and make sure it won't catch fire.. also fire up the heat pads on the engine... if you have them.. and make sure they are working.. and not overheating...

Finally...

Time to think about that oil change.. to the multi vis.. if your up in the cold country...otherwise stick with the same old stuff year round and just preheat before fireing up...

Run....
keep the engine at a low RPM till things warm up... mainly like the oil... as that little pump inside the enging is only runing on half its tooth.. or about 3/32 inch... width... try pumping 100 lbs oil pressure with that very long...

by keeping the engine around 1000 rpm till it makes 40deg C... or the bottom of the green on the gauge... you will keep the mags happy and not impulsing as well as the engine will warm up fully without a lot of stress...

Flaps...
engine cowl flaps should be open... but, that is just my advise... to keep from getting hot spots on the adjacent cyclndrs... go by what the POH says for your particular engine... but, don't ... under any conditions except emergency take off until the oil warms up...to get a long engine life and maybe extend your own... smile...

Winter is coming... time to start to think about getting ready for it... now where did I put that can of wax for the plane.. ya it helps keep the ice off too... as well as protects the planes paint... GMAs