The fall seasons offers a lot of great opportunities for pilots. In Florida it means that the temperatures are going to start coming back to earth and it won’t be incredibly hot ALL the time… In the northeast we look forward to the fall foliage as the leaves change colors and provide some of the most scenic vistas anywhere the world. The rolling hills of Western Massachusetts and north into Vermont and New Hampshire are great places to observe the color. When I was young pilot trying to earn my way through college I took many a scenic flights from Mansfield up towards the New Hampshire and Vermont hills so that passengers could get a bird’s eye view of the beautiful colors from green to orange, yellow to cherry red the fall leaves never disappoint.

Fall colors in Massachusetts…

Back in April I wrote a post about preparing for the summer weather and doing some “Spring cleaning” with the aircraft and flight bag. Now that we’re getting into fall, much of the same is true. Hopefully you’ve had a summer packed with a lot of flying and that means you have all kids of free hats, airport diagrams, stickers/brochures and all kinds of other things jammed into every corner of the airplane and/or your flight bag.

It won’t be much longer until we’re looking at the dreaded winter, I know fall just started but it happens fast! Once those cold days roll in, you want to spend as little time battling clutter to reduce your cold exposure around your flights. So in the next couple of weeks pick a seasonable day and spend some time cleaning out the airplane. For non-owners, pull out the flight bag and sift through, removing anything that isn’t mission critical flight gear.

During the summer I do a lot of night fishing (notice the headlamp), so as the days start getting shorter I have to put my headlamp back into my flight bag instead of my fishing bucket…

With the days becoming noticeably shorter already on Cape Cod, it’s time to check the batteries in my flashlights. During the summer I do a lot of night fishing, with night flying opportunities limited due to the long daylight hours. So it’s time to replace the batteries in my headlamp and put it back into my flight bag instead of my fishing bucket… Now is a good time to check the batteries in any of your other equipment as well including headsets, GPS units, etc… Replacing batteries in the spring and fall each year is a good schedule to ensure you don’t run out of juice when you need something.

So take some time an great ready to enjoy some fun fall flying and make sure you’re prepared because winter is coming…

-Fly Safe, @MTElia1B9