Sat, Dec 05, 2009
Ice... Ain't Nice!
For those of us who have "hit the boots" (or the equivalent
system on your favorite bird) a few times in the last few days due
to the ever-present seasonal 'charms' of in-flight icing, we
thought a series of short tips from Cirrus Design's Scott Winter
(yes, that IS his real name) might help us all to consider some of
the realities of this time of year. So... here is the sixth of
seven tips for dealing with icing. Y'all be careful out there!
Icing Aero-Tip #6: Known Icing Conditions
In a recent letter of interpretation (which is still being
"clarified"), the FAA Eastern Region offered a definition of what
is considered known icing conditions. The letter states that known
icing conditions exist when visible moisture or high relative
humidity combines with temperatures near or below freezing.
It continues to state that since clouds are visible moisture,
flying through them when the temperature is at or below freezing
would constitute flight into known icing conditions. Althought
somewhat ameliorated since then, the letter strictly concludes with
"Flight into known icing conditions when the airplane flight manual
or pilot operating handbook prohibit such flight constitutes a
violation whether the aircraft accretes ice or not."
About Scott Winter
At the time that this series was authored, Scott was a member of
the Flight Standards Department at Cirrus Design Corporation in
Duluth, MN (one of those places that see more than its fair share
of icing encounters). Born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, he
discovered his passion for aviation at an early age. After
obtaining his Private Pilot Certificate prior to his senior year in
high school, he attended Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU)
and graduated with a Bachelor's degree majoring in Professional
Flight. In December 2006, he completed his Master's of Science
degree from MSU spending time focusing on aviation weather,
scenario-based training, and visualization techniques to enhance
the methods used to educate aviators.
Note: ANN thanks Cirrus Pilot William Dobson
and other members of the Cirrus community, for the use of the
excellent SR20 icing pix...
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