Hi Richard,I have been flying my Pietenpol since November 15, 1970. The first flightswere on skis from a snow-covered field and the temperature was about 25 to30 degrees F. Cool, but tolerable.Since then I have flown it nearly 700 hours and have, on several occas-ions, flown it in each of the twelve months of the year. It is a greatlittle skiplane, but the "heater" leaves a lot to be desired! Nowadays,I only fly it when the temperature gets above freezing--but when I was abit younger (dumber, also), I flew it at much lower temperatures. Sincefew people want a ride at these temperatures, I cover the front cockpitwhich really helps eliminate the drafts around one's feet.I'm sure that it doesn't get any colder in Maine than it does here inthe Edmonton, Alberta, Canada area--so if you are younger than I am itshouldn't be too bad. Do try it as a skiplane; the light weight and goodlift at low speeds is a real advantage over heavier, faster types. (And I understand you get lots of snow, too.)While I never did anything about it, a neat side-hinged bubble canopyfor the rear cockpit together with the covered front pit would make itcomfortable--particularly if a cabin heater were installed. Has anyoneout there tried this? Perhaps I'll get around to doing something one ofthese days--but then I've been saying this for years....Cheers to all from the frozen north (I hope El Nino moderates the on-coming winter more than somewhat so that I can do more winter flying).Graham HansenOn Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Richard DeCosta wrote:> Anyone on the list fly their Piets on winter? I am contemplating > building one, but I live in Maine, where the winters are > looooooooooooong and cold. Even though its a beautiful plane, I may > be forced to build one with an enclosed cockpit, unless enough people > rave about their Piets telling me it'd be worth the "hangared" > months.
> > Richard> > Web Developer, www.autoeurope.com> ________________________________________________________________________________