Winter is here and so are the dangers of icing to unprotected aircraft

[Stationair8]

Plenty of aircraft have de-ice boots, but are they maintained in a serviceable condition or just for decoration purposes?


Australian Air Charterers(Ausair), had a contract to fly the Australian newspaper when it was published in Canberra to Melbourne using Piper Aztecs and Navajo, six nights a week. Icing must not been around in those days!

[LeadSled]

Stationair8,
Maaaaaaaatttteee, the ice is muuuuch worse these days !!!!!

If that is not so, why does CASA now claim that you can no longer fly over, around or under areas of forecast icing, unless the aircraft is certified for flight in icing conditions.

Before you all collectively shout Buuuullllllsh1t!!!, that is the argument CASA put to the AAT in the Avtex Aviation case, and was accepted as the correct interpretation of the current regulation by Senior Member Fice.

Tootle pip!!

[ACMS]

I did many Aus Air PA31 night runs around southern Aus in less than perfect conditions......scared myself a couple of times.....
Par for the course back then....

It's the Canadians blasting around over the Rockies in PA31's that I take my hat off to....

[zlin77]

Interesting article I read in B&CA many years ago, stating that some of the worst icing conditions in the World can be found in South-Eastern Australia, very moist South-Westerly airflows with conditions just below freezing leading to extreme icing conditions... I remember one night flight in an Air Ambulance Queenair going into Cooma,this was with hot-props boots and all, Max Continuous Power with about 110 kts IAS and barely maintaining altitude, after landing digging out many, many Kgs of impacted ice from the intakes, as an aside another article on Thunderstorms stated that the Brisbane-Gayndah corridor contained some of the most severe CBs to be found anywhere...been there too...

[Oktas8]

Underwing icing

The new generation Diamond DA42, of flying school use, can be equipped for FIKI with "wet wing" porous leading edges and glycol flung onto propeller leading edges.

It is quite a shock when the speed drops from 140 to 120 upon first encountering ice, with all systems running normally.

If the speed goes below 120, ice can begin to accumulate on the underside of the fuselage and on other unprotected surfaces. This has a further decelerating effect.

This aircraft really is just equipped with a "get out of icing conditions" system, despite being certified for continuous flight in light to moderate icing conditions.

[LeadSled]

This aircraft really is just equipped with a "get out of icing conditions" system, despite being certified for continuous flight in light to moderate icing conditions.

Oktas8,
That is all it ever is, there are some serious misunderstandings about what icing certification means.
I agree with the comment about icing conditions in SE Australia, in many tens of thousands of hours, the only time I have had to use wing anti-ice on a large aircraft was exactly there, around YMML.
What is often forgotten is that the freezing level in much of US/CA/EU etc. in cold weather is below ground level, so the worst looking weather is not necessarily the worst for airframe icing.
But, lots of nice wet cloud and a freezing level of 10-15,000 ft, who would want to be a night freight pilot in a Metro.
Wherever you find it, get out of it ASAP.
Tootle pip!!

PS:

Brisbane-Gayndah corridor contained some of the most severe CBs to be found anywhere...been there too...

Who ever said that has never been around the West African coast, anywhere from Luanda north, for too many nights per year.