Is nature's way of telling you you're not getting a flying lesson in this morning. The presence of ice forming on aircraft not rated for flying in known icing conditions does not mix, at all.
The day started reasonably nice with a wind from 15-25 along 270-250 degrees so practically down the runway - ok for a lesson but past my solo endorsement. It's clear, a bright day with a layer at about 3,000.
So a good pre-flight, start up, and a little rain starts to fall but everything is reported and still appears VFR with about a 3,000 foot ceiling, good enough for pattern work. We get to the run-up area and....
Hey, where did the end of the runway go?
We wait for a bit and Tower reports they've still got good visibility and then we notice that while it's raining a bit more, and we're getting some carburetor ice from the moisture in the air and then...the temperature visibly falls.
"We're now picking up ice".
"Yep. we're done"
So taxi on back and we let the Tower know about the icing conditions and the Tower announces they're going IFR, so we go inside for a ground lesson where I did quite well.
5 comments:
Wise move - ice is lethal, in even small amounts. If you ever pick some up inadvertently, leave the flaps up, make only 10-degree bank turns and come in on the longest runway and land "hot". You'll be surprised how even a little of it raises your stall speed.
I spent some time flying a Sabre 80 model. It has no deicing. It was certified that way, as due to the way the Sabre wing is built and the high speeds it flies, it's not supposed to pick up any. Tell that to Cleveland center that has you down at 8000 feet about a hundred miles out. I flew the "donut" not the airspeed indicator and went for Hopkins, not the short runway where I was based.
Thanks it was pretty much a given that it was cancelled at that point.
Thanks also for the good advice on handling icing if it ever happens.
And don't turn carb heat off and on, off and on. You will build up MORE ice that way as you thaw and re-freeze it and may actually choke your engine out. Once you put carb heat on for icing, LEAVE IT ON until you're out of icing conditions.
ML: Yes, I believe you have quite a tale that serves as a warning not to diddle with the carb heat....
Carb heat isn't an issue for me, I pretty much have it on from cruise to landing.
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