Icing conditions climb and descent

[milotron]

Question for those with suitably equipped aircraft:

When climbing or descending through conditions that are likely to produce ice do you climb with TKS running and a higher rate of climb ( lower air speed ) or higher speed and more modest vertical speed?

More powerful twins will climb through the icing layers at 2000fpm or more minimizing exposure, but we can't go that fast.

Same question for descent, but more often than not we are committed to a fixed glide slope so don't have the latitude.

 

Interested to hear the strategies for going through these layers.

 

Still weighing the twin vs single dilemma.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[ilovecornfields]

I’m not sure how this is a twin vs. single issue. I can see it being a turbo vs. NA issue or a piston vs jetprop issue, but not sure how the number of engines affects the answer to your question.

To actually answer your question, I usually put the TKS on max,  wait a few minutes to make sure everything is wet, go full throttle and then climb at the highest FPM I can get without going below the minimum icing speed.

[KLRDMD]

39 minutes ago, milotron said:

Still weighing the twin vs single dilemma.

I felt much better penetrating icing levels in climb or decent in my 600 HP twin with alcohol de-ice than I did in my 270 HP TKS known ice Bravo.

[milotron]

37 minutes ago, ilovecornfields said:

I’m not sure how this is a twin vs. single issue. I can see it being a turbo vs. NA issue or a piston vs jetprop issue, but not sure how the number of engines affects the answer to your question.

To actually answer your question, I usually put the TKS on max,  wait a few minutes to make sure everything is wet, go full throttle and then climb at the highest FPM I can get without going below the minimum icing speed.

Thanks @ilovecornfields

he twin vs single aspect comes from me deciding if/what I might need to upgrade to. KLRDMDs comment on lots of HP feeds that.  Reading comments on the [gasp] Cirrus forum is similar to your procedure. The turbo is a given for myself  in any case.

I tend to do the same realizing the TKS has a minimum recommended speed of 120KIAS if I recall.

[Godfather]

I find pausing before climbing into an icing layer to gain speed works well.  Make sure the panels are fully wet before entering. 

[Niko182]

28 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

I felt much better penetrating icing levels in climb or decent in my 600 HP twin with alcohol de-ice than I did in my 270 HP TKS known ice Bravo.

this did not answer the question he was asking in anyway.

[N231BN]

As mentioned previously, it is important to know your minimum icing speed and stay above it in icing conditions. On the other hand, if the weather is bad enough where that matters you shouldn't be flying in a Mooney.

[FoxMike]

If you have a properly working TKS system and the pitot heater is working you should be able to climb normally through a layer of ice.  When you let ice become a distraction you can end up mismanaging the engine or make a navigation error that causes even more distraction.  I owned a booted Baron for a while years ago.  It would climb better than my turbo Mooney up to about 12K then the Mooney did better.  I find my FIKI Bravo to be plenty adequate for most icing conditions.  Trying to speed up then pull up through an icing layer will work if the ice is 500' thick but if it is1500' thick you find yourself halfway through it out of airspeed and back to a lower climb rate.  Now you have a load of ice which you have to carry through to the tops.  Lots of times the most ice is just below the tops.  I have tried this technique in unprotected airplanes and found it usually does not help much.  What you need to know is where are the tops.  If you do not know you may become so concerned that your decision making ability becomes impaired and thats the big trouble starts.  

To my mind a turbo system and and a lot of experience are the best helpers when you get into ice.  Having boots or TKS help a lot when and give a lot of peace of mind.  They do not give much help when they are not maintained.  Many pilots do not maintain these systems because they are not used much and are costly to maintain.  Over the years I have had trouble with both boots and TKS systems.  When those things happen having a lot of experience is helpful.  

[KLRDMD]

12 hours ago, Niko182 said:

this did not answer the question he was asking in anyway.

Since the OP said it helped, I'm guessing it did 

[Awful_Charlie]

I use the speeds and techniques specified in the AFMS

[Niko182]

2 hours ago, KLRDMD said:

Since the OP said it helped, I'm guessing it did 

then I shall take my comment back. apologies

Edited October 7, 2018 by Niko182

[thinwing]

On 10/6/2018 at 9:33 PM, KLRDMD said:

I felt much better penetrating icing levels in climb or decent in my 600 HP twin with alcohol de-ice than I did in my 270 HP TKS known ice Bravo.

I have to strongly disagree I know you love your Baron ,but my alky deiced D55 (props only )would ice up like leaky refrigerator and was never certified for known ice.You don't mention boots ,but if you think you can power up thru an icing stratus you are headed for heaven.