Tips For Flying in ICE

[ubpilot]

During the crazy cargo days, we were using TKS fluid to deice. During the light icing condition, it worked pretty well, but I hate to say that anything more than moderate icing conditions, the TKS will lose it’s effectiveness. Like OSY007 said, stay out of the icing condition as long as possible. Usually other pilot report is a great source to avoid icing. If you really need to descent for the airport or the approach, then make a steep descent, penetrate the icing lair as quick as possible.

 

[Say Again Over]

My money is on Avbug.

 

[stknrdr]

A quick, obvious but maybe missed, note: Try and determine where the ice is/will/may be along your route, and more importantly where it likely will not be and draw it out relative to your MEA's, terrian, and reported cloud layers over airports along your route. Having to do that math in your head while loading up with ice is one more piece of brain damage at a time you don't need any. Fly much more conservatively until you slowly gain that experience. Like it's been said before, be the PIC. Good luck.

 

[avbug]

That's true. If you follow avbug, you won't have icing issues, because avbug will be the one in the terminal having a big cup of hot chocolate, waiting for the ice to go away.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Just read an interesting article in this months AOPA Pilot about an SR22 getting iced up. The pilot encountered some ice and tried to climb out of it to VFR above which he did although he accumulated enough that his speed dropped, plane stalled and begun spinning downward through IMC.

There's a happy ending though...

Homeboy popped open the ol' parachute allowing him and his passenger to escape without much injury after landing (floating, reallly) in some trees.

I believe that the pilot also had over 12K and the standard collection of flight certificates and ratings which included several hundred hours in the SR22 as pilot and instructor.

 

[time builder]

Just read an interesting article in this months AOPA Pilot about an SR22 getting iced up. The pilot encountered some ice and tried to climb out of it to VFR above which he did although he accumulated enough that his speed dropped, plane stalled and begun spinning downward through IMC.

There's a happy ending though...

Homeboy popped open the ol' parachute allowing him and his passenger to escape without much injury after landing (floating, reallly) in some trees.

I believe that the pilot also had over 12K and the standard collection of flight certificates and ratings which included several hundred hours in the SR22 as pilot and instructor.

Good for him, from what I gather Cirrus is more concerned that people are too hesitant to pull the chute, there's plenty of reports of others who didn't think to punch out.

On the other hand, I saw a report of a crashed Cirrus (fatal) that iced up and crashed but had the parachute deployed. I'm not sure, however, if the parachute was activated by the pilot, or if it blew out during the crash.

 

[tathepilot]

http://aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov/index.html online course & resource - mentioned above, but very helpful

go to http://www.faa.gov and search safo06002

 

[RedEye1]

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.

Same here, googled vad and didn't come up with much.

 

[tathepilot]

here is a start

http://www.faa.gov/aua/weather/fisdl/common/WSR - Weather Surveillance Radar.pdf

 

[Say Again Over]

That's true. If you follow avbug, you won't have icing issues, because avbug will be the one in the terminal having a big cup of hot chocolate, waiting for the ice to go away.

Which reminds me of another lesson learned, if the roads are too dangerous to drive on it's probably not a good idea to try and aviate, say no and live another day!