Icing

[WebMaster]

NO!!!

I have boots on my plane. I have flown in ice. It is not fun. In fact, I was down right 'concerned' as I headed for the airport where I was going to land. It took a lot of throttle to stay flying, and I had to pitch up slightly. I was cycling the boots very often. I landed with about 4 inches of ice on the front of the radar dome (my aircraft has radar in a pod under the right wing). I had ice everywhere. The aircraft is not certified for known ice. You have to remember that. If you don't have any boots, you have no way to shed what is accumulating, and the situation just gets real bad in a hurry.

Now, I have flown where a bit of ice accumulated, and blew it off, no problem, but in heavy icing situations, the ONLY thing to do is get out of it. If you do not have boots, you don't have the ability to shed even a small amount, and you have to treat the situation as if it was an emergency, because it is.

Hope that helps.