Aerodynamics of a tail stall.

[FN FAL]

Like I said, it's my humble opinion (and self-preservation instinct) that if you're picking up ice in a Caravan you need a Plan B.

I think the Caravan is a wonderful airplane, it's comfortable, handles nicely and made my former employer a lot of money...

...but something is pretty freaky when an airplane like that has spoilers and vortex generators...

Yikes.

Last friday I diverted to a nearby class c airport. I decided I wasn't going all the way to "having" to make a decision. I cut out early.

Minutes after I landed, the field had metars for FZDZ over an hour.

When I made the decision to divert, there were other company guys on freaq that were having problems at all the other altitudes, so why pass up an opportunity to land?

Management didn't have a problem with the decision and after the FZDZ was past and the front had moved to the east, I left as soon as practical for an uneventful trip to the destination.

I talked to my chief pilot last night and he congratulated me on making the decision. He had flown the same route about an hour and a half before I did and experienced no problems with icing...and that's the crux of this buscuit. No pireps in the area don't necessarily mean that people aren't getting ice...it could mean that pilots aren't flying. Old pireps are useless and conditions can vary by altitude, lat/long or time, greatly.