Here we are into December and cold weather. There are the Die-hards that brave the the winter elements and the Hibernators that put away the airplane till spring. If you are a Hibernator it is a good practice to change engine oil. Old oil has picked up the containments that can cause corrosion over the winter months and with new oil you avoid that problem and have one less thing to worry about in the spring. If you are real serious about winterizing you might consider desiccant plugs in the top sparkplug holes.
    Die-hards and have a heated hanger bravo to you. For the ones that do not have that luxury and have to deal with an un-heated hanger and a cold engine preheating may be required. Cold thick oil may not get to main and rod bearings or lifters for proper lubrication. Worst case if a insert seizes or slips in it's position it could plug the oil feed passage to the main and rod bearings down-stream of the flow. An insolated blanket over the top of the engine cowling helps to hold in the heat  generated by preheating.
    Due to my away from home work locations preheating was a must. The price of engine preheaters was somewhat out of my budget so the Hillbilly Engineering had to be used, I found an AC electric heater with a 4 inch round outlet and using a flexible metallic dryer hose long enough to reach into the cowling. I did splurge on one of those stick on oil pan heaters, a packing blanket that movers use makes for a good cowl blanket and a weekday timer set to start the warming process several hours before quitting time. It sure is nice to have an engine that the starter can crank and a oil temperature gage that the hand is not resting on the peg!
 
     Why We Fly: The reasons are almost as many as there are airplane manufactures but with two basic categories. The fast movers that go form point A to point B in the shortest time possible and the slow movers that are more likely to stop at airports along the route and get to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow pilots. (bathroom privileges included). There are so many things that the GA pilot sees that cannot be appreciated from a 32,000 foot altitude jet liner. The top of a tower sticking out of the top of a fog bank, Ox Bows on the Smokey Hills River created by the water cutting off loops in it's ultimate destination to the Mississippi, the confluence of the muddy Missouri River with the clearer waters of the Mississippi and how they are divided in colors until they mingle together almost a quarter mile downstream, the Gateway Arch seen from the Illinois side at eye level with the top, Night trips between Gainesville Texas to Branson with the lights of Ft. Smith Arkansas off the left wing and lights of Hot Springs of the right, the clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 500 feet altitude and 1/4th mile off of the coast between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine Florida. Experiences that all of us pilots enjoy sharing with others. One thing for certain there are more aviation stories than there are pilots.

Blue skys to all.........Jerrry