Beware of flight into icing conditions!

It happened to me today in the Skyhawk, trying to cross Greenland. When the windshield started icing up, I thought it was a cute touch to the graphics. When the pitot system failed and engine started losing power and I couldn't find the handle for the carb heat, things got very interesting. No carb heat and the pitot heat switch appears to be a dummy.

 

For awhile, it looked like I was going to mush down onto a glacier, but I managed to hold her up long enough to get down to lower terrain and the problems started clearing up.

 

Nothing like this ever happened in fs9.

Haha, keep away from anything moist (e.g. cloud) when the OAT is below zero celsius. Icing seems quite well modelled in msfs to me, though I don't remember seeing it in previous sims. New simmers should also be aware that due to the Venturi effect on the carburettor, carb icing can occur at significantly higher temperatures and use carb heat for descent or any power setting below the green arc. In the RW, we also check the power drop using carb heat in our pre flight and never have it set to taxi due to the risk of sucking dirt into the carb ( easy to forget to push it back in after landing).

 

For new simmers wondering why there is carburettor heat on the 152 and not the 172, the 172 has fuel injectors rather than a carburettor (unlike the old 172s I have flown).

Edited January 27, 2021 by cianpars

Yeah.....

A brief addendum to Ian's excellent post: A C-172 is not certified for flight into known icing conditions, which is also true of most other singles and many light twins, so avoiding icing conditions (or forecast ice, for that matter) is prudent as well as being the only legal way to go. Of course in a sim...

I kind of hate how FS2020 modelled icing. yes it's nice and all, but I hit a cloud and it's 1 degree below and within seconds I lose all the ability to see. I talked to a friend who flies 737's and mentioned this and he feels it's over exaggerated too much. he doesnt think it should ice over that fast. just food for thought. i've not had ice in real life, nor do I care to in a 172, FIKI rarely ends well for ill prepared airplanes and i'd rather not become a statistic.

For those who are puzzled: "FIKI" == Flight Into Known Icing

Is there a setting so the ice WILL NOT effect the 172 at all?

 

Rather then not flying :)

Is there a setting so the ice WILL NOT effect the 172 at all?

 

Rather then not flying :)

 

There’s a setting under options/assistance/failure&damage...

“Icing effect” - the options are ON or VISUAL ONLY

Of course this will affect all aircraft.

 

 

Regards

Steve

There’s a setting under options/assistance/failure&damage...

“Icing effect” - the options are ON or VISUAL ONLY

Of course this will affect all aircraft.

 

 

Regards

Steve

 

Hmm, I have it set to that already, yet, the effects of the ice still takes me down faster then ever. :(

FIKI rarely ends well for ill prepared airplanes and i'd rather not become a statistic.

 

For those who are puzzled: "FIKI" == Flight Into Known Icing

 

Good to know. So flying into unexpected icing is fine, then?

 

Sorry, just had to. :p

A brief addendum to Ian's excellent post: A C-172 is not certified for flight into known icing conditions, which is also true of most other singles and many light twins, so avoiding icing conditions (or forecast ice, for that matter) is prudent as well as being the only legal way to go. Of course in a sim...

 

I see!

 

Today I wanted to fly from Anchorage, Alaska to a small cabin on Kenai that my family actually stayed in one summer trip. I saw that there was still some sun out at the time in Alaska in real time, so I picked live time and weather conditions. See, I live in Arizona. It didn't occur to me that Alaska in late January is a wintery hell. I took off anyway and quickly saw how dead I would be IRL. Ice on the windshield was the least of my problems. The Cessna 172 could not get any higher than about 5,500 feet, which is a fatal problem in Alaska, on top of which I had zero visibility. I managed to barely escape a bunch of mountains and actually land the plane in Girdwood.

 

Why could the plane not climb higher than 5,500? Was it the weight of the ice that glommed on to the plane?

Good to know. So flying into unexpected icing is fine, then?

 

Sorry, just had to. :p

 

How do I respond to that? 😂😂

Why could the plane not climb higher than 5,500? Was it the weight of the ice that glommed on to the plane?

 

What icing does is dependent on the type, rate of accumulation and type of icing (clear, rime, super-cooled), among other things.

 

Icing causes several things that cause problems for aircraft: the weight, as you indicated, is one possible problem, but as bad or worse is the change in the shape of the airfoil(s), causing a loss of lift/thrust, and the extra drag which slows you and minimizes the aircraft's efficiency. Besides that, it is possible to get accumulation that freezes some of the control surfaces in place, and it can also choke off the air intake for the engine(s).

 

When I mention airfoil(s) above, that includes several things, such as wings, horizontal stabilizers/elevators/stabilators and rudders, not to mention that on some aircraft the shape of the fuselage itself is somewhat of an airfoil. AND, the propeller is also an airfoil and icing can degrade it's abilities as well.

 

Even aircraft that ARE certified for FIKI will find it prudent to exit icing conditions as soon as possible, since in heavier icing conditions there is nothing available that can keep the icing down to a minimum, even heated wings, props and other surfaces get only a little of the ice off.

 

For an excellent description of what it's like, read Ernest K. Gann's excellent book Fate Is The Hunter where, fairly early in the book, when flying with Hughen he encounters severe icing and you can really get a sense of how bad it can get. In my hardcover edition his description starts on page 79, and is in chapter V, "The Seasoning."

 

All that said, there have been incidents with apparently just a light frosting on the aircraft surface that turned out bad, too.

 

Hope this helps

Larry, that’s fascinating and I appreciate the detailed explanation.