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By Capt. Bill |
| I was hoping to write about ICING and how this is the time of season
that we need to think about ice on the airframes of the airplanes we fly.
I am hoping that no one would put lemon Pledge on their wing and tail
leading edges with hopes that the ice would not stick to it. (Yes,
I have seen this done). I wanted to remind everyone not to be reluctant
to put on the pitot heater (the airspeed sensing probe) after engine start.
(One student told me he only puts it on when actually in the clouds so
as not to burn up the heater coil in the pitot). I would hope that we
would all avoid ICING conditions with great pre-flight planning. (Yes,
but if we do encounter it we want to climb because it is warmer up above).
The FAA now wants us to start the in flight deicing process sooner than
later so as to prevent a major build up of ice which we may not be able
to remove! The FAA wants us to remember that ANTI-ICE goes on BEFORE we
go into the icing conditions and DE-ICING goes on when we have ice built
up on the airframe. OK, just when you thought it was not possible…The
pilot of an Air Command 503 (this is a one seat, Rotax 503 powered gyro
copter) was practicing takeoffs and landings in conditions conducive to
icing. He made a landing and complained to a witness of ice on his glasses.
He unsuccessfully attempted to locate a pair of goggles to protect his
glasses and eyes from the ice. Folks, the next three sentences are directly
from the NTSB report. “When no goggles could be located, he stated that
he would make one more takeoff and landing. On the downwind leg of the
flight the aircraft was observed by witnesses to depart controlled flight,
tumble, and impact the terrain. Witnesses stated that during an attempt
to revive the pilot, he had an accumulation of one quarter inch of ice
over his eyes and face” ….There is a bumper sticker that answers this
dilemma, YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID! |