Pitot heat
I was randomly thinking about flying the other day (not unusual, I know) when I got around to thinking about pitot heat... and it occurred to me that it seems like a bit of a waste of space in, say, a PA28, C172 or similar.
The reason I say this is because the aircraft is not allowed to fly in icing conditions anyway. In which case, the pitot tube isn't going to encounter any icing.
Or is it? Does pitot icing occur at higher temperatures than airframe icing, or in different conditions? Or is simply a safety item, on the basis that if you accidentally encounter icing in IMC then you're likely to be able to fly out of it safely, but only if your instruments (including ASI) all work correctly?
Personally, I would always use pitot heat in any visible moisture below 10 degrees C, just because it's what I've been taught to do. But now that I stop and think about it, I'm not convinced on how useful it is.
Thoughts, anyone?
FFF
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