Flight Training - November/December 2020 - 13

ASI NEWS

BY ALICIA HERRON

ICE ON THE DECK
LEARNING ABOUT THE HAZARDS OF ICING

ANY AMOUNT OF ICE ON A LIGHT GA AIR-

plane is a big deal, and as we inch towards
winter, now is a good time to examine
the hazards of icing and some tips to deal
with them. Even if you're ﬂight training in
a historically snow-free area, the freezing
level can drop dramatically in winter.
Learning about the hazards of icing now
will better prepare you to safely explore
new skies (where icing may be a regular
factor) after you pass the checkride.
One of the major hazards of ice is
how it affects our wing's ability to make
critical lift. Ice or frost accumulations
disturb the smooth airﬂow over a wing
and increase drag. When you add power

to compensate for the additional drag,
and lift the aircraft's nose to maintain
altitude, the angle of attack increases,
allowing the underside of the wings and
fuselage to accumulate additional ice.
Accumulations no thicker or rougher
than coarse sandpaper on the leading
edge and upper surface of a wing can
reduce lift by as much as 30 percent and
increase drag by as much as 40 percent.
Because of this, the airplane may stall
at lower angles of attack and at a much
higher one-G airspeed than normal.
Loss of lift isn't the only problem. Ice
accumulates on every exposed frontal
surface of the airplane-not just on the

wings, propeller, and windshield, but also
on the antennas, vents, intakes, and cowlings. Ice builds in ﬂight where no heat
or deicing boots can reach it, and it can
cause antennas to vibrate so severely they
break. In moderate to severe conditions,
a light aircraft can become so iced up that
continued ﬂight is impossible.
Here are some tips to help deal with
icing:
* Any amount of structural icing is
hazardous.
* Conduct thorough preﬂight planning and include backup plans.
* Ensure the aircraft is completely
free of frost, snow, and ice before
departure.
* Get out of icing conditions immediately, as soon as you suspect or see ice
forming on the aircraft.
* Depending on the cloud type, icing
can be worse in the top of the clouds, so
only climb if you're absolutely certain you
can climb over the top.
* Give and use PIREPs to improve
weather decision-making.
* If you don't already, add checking
the freezing level to your preﬂight planning to help avoid icing conditions.
* Take ice seriously. Even a small
amount can dramatically change the way
your airplane ﬂies, and if not dealt with
immediately, can become a major and
potentially unrecoverable problem.
Learn more about icing with this safety
spotlight: airsafetyinstitute.org/
spotlight/precipandicing
alicia.herron@aopa.org

NEW FROM ASI

THERE I WAS: DISTRACTING ENGINE FAILURE
If you've called AOPA's Pilot Information Center,
you'll recognize this episode's guest: pilot and AOPA
employee Jon Gandy. As an aviation technical specialist from the AOPA Pilot Information Center, Gandy
brings a wealth of knowledge, and he shares a story
in which he experienced a partial engine failure in a
Piper PA-31 Navajo, which created a distraction and
caused an inadvertent gear-up landing.

AOPA.ORG/FT

http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/precipandicing http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/precipandicing http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT

Flight Training - November/December 2020

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