Any aircraft owners living in the Dakotas?

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DMD3.

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DMD3.
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I’ve never been to ND or SD, let alone experienced their awful winters, but is it possible to still enjoy flying during the winter months in these two states? I may take a seasonal job up there where I’d work from April to early November and be laid off but could possibly draw seasonal unemployment. During the non-winter I’d be working 70+ hours weekly/6 days per week so there’d be little time to enjoy flying during those months (not saying I couldn’t do SOME flying, but it’d be minimal).

Flying is definitely a thing in Alaska and other cold parts of the world, so if it’s doable in those areas, no doubt it’s doable in the Dakotas. But it’s basically a necessity in AK, as many towns can’t be accessed by roads, whereas in my case flying is purely for fun. For anyone who’s lived there and owned an airplane, is it worth flying in the winter or do you just store the airplane and wait for warmer weather?
 
I don't know, folks tell me it's KRAP out there. :)
 
How often is icing a problem in December, like around the Sioux Falls latitude?
 
The main problem with the Dakotas (vs AK) may be that they are flat, so not much to see from the air except the Badlands NP and Black Hills.
 
Lived in Saskatchewan for a few years so even a little further north. Flew south to the Dakotas on several occasions as well. It's REALLY cold in the winter but flying is no problem if you have a working heater on board and a pre-heat your engine before flying. I took off on days as cold as -30C with no issues. In those conditions my old Cherokee would even climb 1,000 fpm while my Comanche had jet-like climb performance. But again, it is REALLY cold up there in the winter.
 
You've heard of cold winters in Minnesota, well winter in ND is another notch up in the pain index, then add in the winds. Better practice your X-wind techniques. Not enough trees to slow down the winds in many places like Minot.
Dress for the weather, preheat and fly on the better days, sometimes they're few and far between, when it's nice it's really nice.
Personally, I think someone from a place like GA won't survive a real winter.

Yeah, icing can be a big problem in places like Sioux Falls in the winter, it all depends on the conditions.
 
champ driver said:
Personally, I think someone from a place like GA won't survive a real winter.
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I concur, especially if it is in a more rural area (a very high possibility). Having the winters off collecting seasonal unemployment may sound good…until you realize there is nothing to do….
 
I've spent most of my life living in SD, ND, and MN. I learned to fly in ND during the winter.

Yes, people fly year round there. Recreational flying drops off considerably in the winter however, and may come close to stopping altogether depending on how bad the winter is and how dedicated the plow driver is at keeping the runway and taxiways clear. For the most part, I plan on spending my time working on aircraft in the winter and start flying them again when the weather improves.
 
I've never flown in North or South Dakota. I've visited there though during the summer at it was very nice, and the folks are super nice. At any rate, my mother-in-law is from North Dakota, and she confirmed the winter weather descriptions as described by @SixPapaCharlie in his very funny Just Plane Silly YouTube video (see link below). Enjoy!

 
As one originally from SD, keep in mind that when a winter storm strikes, EVERYTHING shuts down. Travel during storms can be deadly - usually because someone runs off the road, gets stuck, and freezes to death. In between, once roads (and runways) have been plowed, the weather is usually good, but windy. 20 mph was a normal day. There should be lots of great emergency landing spots, since trees don't grow well unless near lakes or rivers.
 
Life-long SD resident. Had a plane (Warrior) for 12 years but recently sold it. Your answer depends on the winter. The last 2 winters (100 miles west of Sioux Falls) on our rural road we never needed a snow plow and you could count the days that it was below zero on one hand. I used the plane almost entirely for travel and can only remember one time when I departed at near zero temperature. Plane was hangared and I used a pre-heater that I would plug in the day before a trip. I did fly mostly south in the winter, not north. We would use it about twice a month.
 
What part of the Dakotas are you thinking about spending winters in? There are important differences between Sioux Falls and Williston or Grand Forks and Rapid City.

The winters are cold but often clear. Clouds and wind require energy, energy means heat, and winter means no heat. Spring is the worst season for many things, because it’s a battle between winter and summer, on an epic scale. Greek epic scale. Temperature swings of 100 degrees in 24 hours. Heat stroke Monday, frostbite and blizzard Tuesday, swarm of locusts Wednesday.

Fall is a great season with some chaos but mostly pleasant weather. Summer is a cycle of thunderstorm after thunderstorm, usually with lots of space to fly between.

I should have flown the Cub on Friday. It was 65F, nearly calm, and nearly clear skies. It was 12G20 or worse all weekend. Today has been an MVFR overcast day with some breeze but above freezing and probably low to zero icing risk. But Thursday, the day I have a meeting out of town, there is a 47% chance of snow with accumulation of 1”.

UND teaches kids how to fly all year round. They did some research on icing a few years ago and had to fly to Michigan to find enough of it to write home about. Our icing is like anywhere else: understand the clouds and determine how much risk you and your plane are equipped for.

Wind is the bigger thing to be aware of. Clouds and icing will give you a no-go sometimes, but if you are either overly timid or overly brave about wind you will cancel or fail more missions than someone who has the skills and knows his limits.
 
Just watch out for "Anchor Ice."

Because Spearfish Creek's flow rate upstream from Black Hills State University is rapid, and the bed is rocky, a solid sheet of ice cannot form on the turbulent surface of the creek in sub-zero temperatures. Instead, ice forms on the rocks and sand at the bottom of the stream where the rate is slowed by friction. This "Anchor Ice" builds up on the creek bed, pushing the unfrozen water upward. Sometimes causing the creek to overflow its banks and flood during the dead of winter. Spearfish SD is not the only place this oddity occurs, but other locations are further from Antunez (Mexican restaurant).
 
iamtheari said:
What part of the Dakotas are you thinking about spending winters in? There are important differences between Sioux Falls and Williston or Grand Forks and Rapid City.
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Either Fargo or Jamestown.
 
DMD3. said:
Either Fargo or Jamestown.
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As far as places to keep a plane, then, you should also consider KJKJ, D54, K74, 5N8, and 04Y. The terrain is easy, but the wind can be even more brutal than I've described. There are probably some flying clubs around, too, but I don't know any specifics.
 
iamtheari said:
As far as places to keep a plane, then, you should also consider KJKJ, D54, K74, 5N8, and 04Y. The terrain is easy, but the wind can be even more brutal than I've described. There are probably some flying clubs around, too, but I don't know any specifics.
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It seems like I’ve read that hangaring & tiedowns are cheaper than most states. But what would the hangaring availability be like? Leaving a car outside in winter is aggravating enough, so I should probably forget leaving a plane tied down (that probably goes for all snowy states).
 
DMD3. said:
Either Fargo or Jamestown.
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When I lived in Fargo I had a hangar at K74 for a few years. It was a nice airport with some interesting activity, but quite quiet. At that time, the county plowed the runway, taxiway, and aprons, which I suspect they took care of after every other road was plowed. It would always take days for them to get it done and there was often another storm coming shortly after it was finally clear. Snow would often be piled up so high that there were places you couldn't taxi to with a low wing aircraft too. It also wasn't uncommon for the wind to blow the runway shut again. Such is life at small, rural airports. I wouldn't expect an experience much different at D54 or 04Y, but 5N8 and JKJ might be a bit better. Fargo itself would be regularly cleared.

DMD3. said:
It seems like I’ve read that hangaring & tiedowns are cheaper than most states. But what would the hangaring availability be like? Leaving a car outside in winter is aggravating enough, so I should probably forget leaving a plane tied down (that probably goes for all snowy states).
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Nobody ties airplanes down outside in the north central US. Hangars are typically inexpensive to rent, but there is often a waiting list. The reason I had a hangar at K74 was because that was the only place that had one available when I was looking.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
working 70 hours a week?
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I had a part time job in college that was 72 hours a week. It was a 24 hour service station. Worked the 4 to midnight shift 5 days a week, double shifted on week ends. Pay was 1$ an hour. After 3 months I quit . Had a friend who had a cub for sale for 1200$. Wife said no way, Bought a 61 Buick instead . It replaced our 49 Buick. Good times for sure. I flew with friends who had a Tri-Pacer and a 170B Cessna. We flew the country side looking for old cars in farmers dumps. Mainly model T and A Fords
 
DesertNomad said:
My Dakota would be awfully small to live in full time. I can only do about 4 hours before I need to get out for a bit.
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Well if the rear seats fold down (like in an AA5) you’d be able to sleep in it at least. ;)
 
I usually don’t fly when it’s colder than 40F on the ground, just too uncomfortable to preflight, take the airplane out, etc. Exceptions for sudden sunny days and xc flights or trips.
 
mandm said:
I usually don’t fly when it’s colder than 40F on the ground, just too uncomfortable to preflight, take the airplane out, etc. Exceptions for sudden sunny days and xc flights or trips.
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40F would suit me just fine. -40F on the other hand…
 
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