Why do Caravans suck in ice?

[RoughAir]

I just read that the FAA may impose stricter requirements (more ADs) for flying Caravans in ice. Cessna is of course fighting the proposal.

I'm curious, what is the issue(s) with the Caravan in icing? There have been many posts about this, just trying to understand this icing issue.

I have no time in the Van.

 

[jobear]

Tail plane stall

 

[rubicon789]

It's slow, has a really fat wing and just collects ice like a magnet.

 

[greygoose]

It's slow, has a really fat wing and just collects ice like a magnet.

Hit the nail pretty good with this one. The only thing the Caravan is good for when you immediately see icing is to climb. A real good rule of thumb, if you have to blow the boots three times in a good amount of ice start looking for your landing site below.

 

[StarHustler]

In addition to what has been posted, the cargo pod on the Grand Caravan is really bad to accumulate ice and of course, there is no boot on that.

 

[Launchpad]

There is a boot on the pod, it's optional however. To add to the list of complaints, the gear is always out too. There is just a lot of unprotected areas to get ice. You really need to think realize that even though a caravan is a "Known Ice" airplane, it's a single engine plane with minimal ice protection. It only takes light ice to go from 160 kts to 120 kts.

There is a lot of finger pointing with all these crashes, I would just advice to get out of ice once getting into it.

 

[LJDRVR]

In addition to what has been posted, the cargo pod on the Grand Caravan is really bad to accumulate ice and of course, there is no boot on that.

Are you just talking out of your butt? I flew Caravans for a year. Over a dozen 208B's in my logbook and every single one had a pod boot. It's optional, but most have it.

Back to the original question, the Caravan didn't meet known ice certification standards. Cessna had to ad the backup alternator and some other things I can't recall seven years later. The general consensus was that even with the re-works, it shouldn't have been certified for known ice.

Strategies are pretty simple. Stay out of the stuff, and treat it like an IFE if you encounter it. (Do something now.) Treat your boots often. I seem to recall some folks putting ice-x on the bottom of the pod. I can't vouch for that doing anything. FN FAL may want to pipe in, I'm pretty sure he's more current and experienced on that airframe than any of us. (Especially Starhustler, who's never flown one, but would like us to think he has.)

 

[brokeflyer]

the wing is real fat and the tail is small......when you get ice, the tail will get loaded more and you'll get some buffeting meaning your tail is gonna stall soon. If you blow the boots you clear the tail but then you bridged the ice on the wing. If you blow the ice off the wing then you bridged the ice on the tail.

That plane tried to kill me more than anything else, I'll never fly one again.
It's a great airplane in the summer. It should only be flown in S.CA of florida.

 

[kevdog]

I would also add the PT-6 in the Caravan, especially with a heavy payload and the inertial sep. in use, is underpowered. It is a decent jump plane to fly VFR as long as a jumper doesn't take the tail off. I loved flying the Caravan, just wouldn't even think about flying it in IFR winter ops.

 

[brokeflyer]

speaking of jumpers, I had a buncha einsteins try a 16-way all at once out the back without telling me.

That was the last flight I ever did jumpers in a carvan too