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This last week I did a flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Reno, Nevada. As usual with doing a flight like this, checking out the weather and anything else going on is key to safety.
Shortly after pulling up the weather, it was apparent that the day would be a bit iffy, and would take some precautions. The reason? Icing.
Icing is a very dangerous situation for really any aircraft, especially one that doesn’t have de-ice or anti-ice equipment like my aircraft. Building ice on the wings and empennage in back will change the shape and lift characteristics of a wing. If that wasn’t enough, it also adds weight.
Simply put, ice is a big no no.
The thing most pilots don’t realize about ice is that it is manageable from a prevention standpoint.
Here are some quick facts about ice.
- Icing can happen even when there weren’t reports
- Structural icing only occurs with visible moisture
- Icing is rare as it takes perfect conditions to make it happen
- Ice can be just a trace, light, moderate, and severe
- All aircraft, even those with equipment, are in danger in severe conditions
- Icing is something that takes experience to know how to manage
Looking at the list above, it’s first easy to see that if you don’t go flying, you don’t build ice. It’s that easy.
However, not flying because there is a spec of a chance of icing will basically keep you out of instrument conditions most of the time, especially around the mountains where I live.
I manage icing potencial in a couple ways. I’ll give you the step by step.
On the Ground
- Check the icing reports
- See where the icing levels are
- See if there’s a ‘clear’ cruise level that can be reached without prolonged exposure
- Not all reports are accurate, so check the PIREPS (pilot reports) and see what pilots are reporting
- Determine the potential by severity+exposure time
- Make the go-no go decision
While flying
- If Ice begins to build, monitor it closely
- Determine how quickly it is coming on, and what type it is
- Realize that the further into the icing I go, the further back out it is
If needing to get out of the ice, a few things can be done
- Turn around ASAP
- Descend below freezing level where ice cannot form
- Ask ATC for this lower routing, or simply ask for help
- Make reports for other pilots
- Do everything possible to get out, not build more, and burn the ice off
Although flight simulator is still in it’s infancy as far as icing conditions go, there are a few programs out there that emulate icing on the windows and wings, and some also emulate carburator icing (which is not structural).
It’s still fun to realize that if you are getting in these conditions, you’ve got to get out. Some aircraft like your heavy airliners are equipped to handle most anything, so you probably don’t have any issues there as long as you know when to turn the anti-ice on.
As far as other small aircraft you have the luxury of not worrying about icing in flight sim… for now. In the future, you may not be so lucky.
Until then, I will continue to battle these dangerous conditions while cruising around the Rocky Mountains in the winter months.
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