The forecast low temperature in Central Florida tonight is 35 degrees. Yes, it gets cold in Florida every now and then… you better believe if it’s going to be in the mid-thirties here it’s going to be cold across most of the rest of the country too.

Yet many pilots will wake up Sunday and head to the airport. Some for their flight lessons, aircraft owners maybe to find an airport breakfast somewhere and flight instructors will head to the airport for a long day of teaching and helping spread the passion of aviation.

The first step you take to make your Sunday morning flight a success should occur on Saturday though… A lot of pilots I know leave their headsets in their car overnight or for aircraft owners, in their aircraft. Well if the airplane spends the evening in a cozy heated hangar, awesome. If not, get ready for some cold ears.

Many headsets come with gel-filled ear seals and when they are left overnight in frigid temperatures they freeze, and the gel doesn’t thaw easily! It can make for a very uncomfortable flight!

The “pro tip” is to bring your headset inside for the night. Whether that means at home or into the office for flight instructors. A warm headset goes a long way and often the temperature of the headset is overlooked, but I promise it isn’t enjoyable to have cold ears while flying, especially if the flight is a long one… So go the extra mile and make sure your headset will not be froze for your morning flight!

-Fly safe, @MTElia1B9