Quote:
Originally Posted by Skywalker
Hello Jeff
thanks for the very valuable info, i have been so much excited that i have found the most safest piston twin in the world, but icing capabilities and your experience really giving me second thoughts, i have been; so much inspired and ;fixed; on the idea of Skymaster owner ship ;-(((((
of course i will always try to avoid FIKI; Even i had the plane equipped with FIKI with piston engines, but do you think it is hard to escape and too dangerous. if i encounter icing during my flight in a Skymater P337?
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Escape would depend on how you are doing it and what the conditions are. If you are descending through a layer, and the air temperature below is above freezing a few thousand feet above the ground and you loose the accumulated ice before landing, you might be OK. If the freezing air extends all the way to the ground, that would be a problem as you will be a test pilot landing an iced up airframe in a condition it has not been tested for. A FIKI airplane would be tested with known behavior and stated increased speeds to fly. As to climbing to on top conditions, this is more problematic. You will find that the worst icing in clouds is at the top of the clouds. The Skymaster isn't a very good climber even with no ice accumulation. The climb rate really takes a hit as ice accumulates, and the accumulation rate increases the closer to the tops you get. All the while the engine cooling is getting worse as ice accumulates on the cooling inlets and the engines are running hotter just at the point you need maximum power to preserve your decreasing climb rate. I think you can see where this might not end well. Now this is true of all aircraft to some degree, but one with better climb capability and better ice shedding on more of its surfaces will do better than a Skymaster. If the icing layer is known to not be too deep or too severe, you might be able to climb through it, but you have to ask, what is your life worth? Any light aircraft versus icing can be problematic, the advantage of a FIKI aircraft is that it has been tested and this gives you some guidance as to what the performance will be and what you can expect. It is no guarantee you can outclimb ice, or land safely if you accumulate too much on unprotected surfaces. If you are going to fly in icing in light planes, do it with full knowledge of the risks, and have solid gold outs. If you don't have a plan B you can be sure you can carry out, use plan C, put the ice in a nice cold drink at your home.