AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2014 - 88

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WX WATCH

interesting: the durations test pilots need
to fly are scaled to match standardized
distances with worst-case icing situations-lasting 17.4 nm in the stratus tests,
and a mere 2.6 nm in the cumulus tests.
Icing certification is a complicated
subject, and there are tables that factor in smaller liquid water contents
for distances as far as 310 and 5 nm for
stratus and cumulus conditions, respectively. Plus, several flight tests must be
conducted so that a representative sample of data points within each envelope
can be collected. And many test points
may require flights much longer than
17.4 or 2.6 nm. Some tests, such as those
of TKS and other glycol-based systems,
require that the aircraft stay in icing for
the equivalent of 45 minutes to prove
that the system can perform well for the
duration.
Is this the closest we can come to
duplicating what we'll really experience during our real-world flights? The
tests are designed around envelopes and
standards established in the late 1940s
and early 1950s. While reliable, much
research has been conducted since then,
and we know more about this often mysterious subject. It's also worth noting
that airplanes going for FIKI certification need not fly in freezing rain-or the
freezing drizzle icing conditions that
felled an American Eagle ATR-72 in
October 1994, or the suspected ice crystal conditions that may have played a part
in engine stoppages affecting several airliners. However, 2014 may well bring a
much-needed change in the icing envelopes and certification rules that include
large-droplet icing conditions.
All of this illustrates why compliance
with today's FIKI rules is no guarantee
of safe, extended flight in more serious
icing conditions. As for retrofit ice protection equipment-such as wing and
propeller boots, or heated windshield
plates-installed under supplemental type
certificates (STCs), none of it need comply
with any tests in actual or simulated icing
conditions.
AOPA
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org

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88 | AOPA PILOT January 2014

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2014

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