The Buttonville Flying Club COPA Flight 44

 Paul Hayes just forwarded some great winter flying tips to me, please have a look at the attached.
Here are the key messages:
Winter Flying Tips 
 
      Winter has some of the best flying weather of the year. We have many sunny days, the air is cold, smooth, and the density altitude is really low. Takeoff seems to happen in a few lengths of the plane.   The air is usually smoother, the rate of climb is terrific, and the engine develops more power.
      Many pilots shy away from winter flying, figuring it’s just too much work to prep the plane. It is a little more work, depending on whether you have to shovel much. I like to do the prep work a bit at a time prior to the planned flight, for example, if I am planning to fly on Sat, I will check the plane a couple of days prior, and clean the wings off, and start clearing any snow between the plane and the ramp. The morning of the flight, I show up an hour before my passengers, to put the preheater on, and do any more snow removal that may be required. Dress for outdoors, tell your passengers to do likewise. 
      Preheat:  ...." Whatever you do, it’s the engine temp we are concerned with, not the outside air temp. The engine may be “cold soaked” from a cold night, and will easily be that cold far into the next day. ....
Here is a link to a good article about the subject: http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/182846-1.html