Tips For Flying in ICE

[DirkkDiggler]

Ice bridging is definitely not a myth.

NASA disagrees with you, but what would they know!

 

[avbug]

Apparently not much.

They do know how to blow up and melt their equipment, spend ungodly sums of money, and transform the simple hammer into a five hundred dollar gadget.

Anybody who has any semblence of icing experience in boot equipped aircraft and is honest knows that ice briding is no myth.

I've seen it personally on numerous occasions, and couldn't give too hoots about what any organization has to say on the subject...I've seen it, experienced it, know it becasue I saw it with my own two eyes.

NASA and the FAA condemn the concept via the holy hallowed halls of science...which is much like the scientist and the fly.

The scientist sees the fly, and removes it's wings, which makes it...a walk. The scientist tells the walk (no longer a fly) to walk, and the walk walks. The scientist uses tweezers to remove one of the wingless fly's legs, and again commands it to walk. The scientist takes notes. He does so again, and again, until only two legs remain. The scientist removes one of the two legs, and commands the wingless fly to walk. The pathetic creature drags itself along by it's one remaining leg, straining to make headway. The scientist takes notes.

At length, the scientist does the inevitable. He removes the wingless fly's remaining leg, tearing it heartlessly from it's body, and commands the fly, "Walk!"

The fly lays there, not moving at all. Again the scientist barks, "Walk!" But the fly does not move. So, the scientist picks up his pen and notebook, and pens the conclusion to his experiment...

"Removed six legs from wingless fly, commanded walk. It has become apparent that removing legs from a fly negates fly's ability to hear. Further research required."

I don't need a scientist to tell me about ice bridging when I can look out at the wing and see it happen, time and time again. Presently I'm flying in a LOT of ice. I had to abandon my flight two days ago due to the ice buildup. I'm flying with bleed in the leading edges, and no boots...but other aircraft here are boot equipped, and are susceptible to ice bridging. Two of the pilots here are quite possibly some of the most experienced weather pilots alive, with a substantial part of that involving ice in boot equipped aircraft. One of them has done substantial meteoroglogical flying and atmospherics research for a number of organizations, including NASA...including holding the record for the most microburst penetrations...he was the one who garnered a great deal of the data that's available today. He has been there and done that, especially with respect to weather penetration and icing...and he's a staunch believer in ice bridging, because he has seen it his entire life.

Same here.

But what the heck...NASA says it doesn't exist....believe at your peril.

 

[BushwickBill]

Rule #1 Neither you, nor your airplane, were ever meant to fly in ice. When was the last time you saw a bird flying with iced wings?

Rule #2 There are two types of ice protection; anti-ice, and de-ice. Anti-ice is primarily intended to prevent ice...you are primarily intended to prevent ice. Avoid ice, prevent ice. There's a connection. De-ice is designed to remove ice. Often, it cannot. You cannot. There's a connection. Therefore, de-ice is really best handled as anti-ice.

Rule #3 You'll hear rumors that ice bridging is myth. It isn't.

Rule #4 Ice and frost affects your aircraft performance more than you think it will. Act accordingly.

Rule #5 When your airplane is iced, it is no longer your airplane. It is another airplane, and does not necessarily respond to the same airspeeds, control inputs, or expectations that your former, uniced airplane did.

Rule #6 Your anti-icing equipment is subject to failure. Plan accordingly.
This is never a matter of if. It's always a matter of when.

Rule #7 Know your environment. Know what's above you, below you, ahead of you, and just as importantly, what is behind you. Never fail to consider what is behind you, and don't let something be behind you force you into having to accept what lies ahead of you.

Rule #8 On a slick runway, always slow enough on landing that you must add power to taxi clear of the runway.

Rule #9 Anti-skid is not anti-slide. Reverse may not be rearward in nature. If you don't like where you're going when you apply brakes, reverse, or any other control input, then put things back where they were when life was good.

Rule #10 You have the right, the responsibility, and sometimes the obligation to say NO. Respect it.

Word....

 

[labbutt]

didnt bother reading 3 pages of responses:

1: ALT= Options
2: dont blow the boots till you feel your ahole pucker, because you are scared shtless!

3: if in AK over oceanic waterways, descend to 10 ft above the water, ice will melt!
good day

 

[ubpilot]

i used to fly freight near the great lakes area, i must say that those tips above are pretty good. just remember that never ever take off in the freezing rain, drizzle, or fog. I almost got killed once when i took off in the freezing drizzle, just for a few boxes of checks!

 

[CA1900]

To give you an idea of what can happen to unprotected surfaces, this formed on the spinner of my 1900 during just a half-hour flight a couple of years back:


http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spinnerro1.jpg


The nose of the same plane; note the thick layer of clear ice:

http://img465.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nosess1.jpg


We went through a lot of glycol that day!

 

[LJPilot]

For preflight planning, I always used the Nexrad VAD page on WSI. What it will shows you is where the moisture is above the station. I use it to determine tops. If the returns stop at 5000ft, you know you'll be clear above. It will also show layers. Always leave yourself two ways out. If one of your ways out is on top, remember you will have to descend through a solid layer. At a descent rate between 500 fpm-1000 fpm, it could mean 10 or more minutes in icing conditions. Once in them, you may not be able to climb out on top again.

 

[N60OSU]

For preflight planning, I always used the Nexrad VAD page on WSI.

VAD may be one of the best kept secrets for preflighting in weather. A couple of days ago I was flying from DAL to OKC. OKC SFC temps were -2 with northerly winds following the recent (by a matter of minutes) passage of a cold front. Forecast winds for 3/6k were northerly suggesting cold temps at those altitudes and possible freezing rain due to moist southerly flow and warm temps above. VAD showed the winds were still southerly down to 2K. I stayed at 6K all the way and OAT was +11 until I descended through 3K on the approach. By the time I reached 2K temp was -3 and I was picking up ice.

I looked long and hard for a web link to a VAD source:
http://weather.cod.edu/analysis/analysis.radar.html

Click on the individual radar site and you'll get a list of options on the left.

 

[osy007]

Ice bridging is definately not a myth...

I used to fly the aerostar and baron for Airnet in the Northeast.
When in the ice, you would have to let the airspeed drop a minimum of 25 kts , for the aerostar, before blowing the boots. If you blew them to early, the ice would start bridging. I would usually do the same for the Baron.

1. Stay High as long as possible. (Climb out of the ice)
2. Dont descend until you absolutely have to!!!!!
3. Stay fast when descending

I landed in BOS once with 2 inches of ice covering my ENTIRE a/c (Baron).
The strut on the left side compressed when I landed. I thought it was a blowout but it was just the weight of the ice. It took the signature line guy 30 minutes to deice my bird (expensive) before heading right back into the same crap...If my battery in the Aerostar didn't die on me that night, I wouldn't be here chatting....

 

[FL420]

VAD may be one of the best kept secrets for preflighting in weather. A couple of days ago I was flying from DAL to OKC. OKC SFC temps were -2 with northerly winds following the recent (by a matter of minutes) passage of a cold front. Forecast winds for 3/6k were northerly suggesting cold temps at those altitudes and possible freezing rain due to moist southerly flow and warm temps above. VAD showed the winds were still southerly down to 2K. I stayed at 6K all the way and OAT was +11 until I descended through 3K on the approach. By the time I reached 2K temp was -3 and I was picking up ice.

I looked long and hard for a web link to a VAD source:
http://weather.cod.edu/analysis/analysis.radar.html

Click on the individual radar site and you'll get a list of options on the left.

OK. I hate to admit I don't know what VAD is or how to read it. Help, please.