- is one of the placards on my panel, next to "VFR operations
only". We all have heard about the danger of icing, and we understand why
it can be fatal.
Today I ran the engine on idle for 3-4 minutes on the ground (prior to
squirting engine conservation oil into the carbs until stopping, for winter
storage). It was a foggy day, air temperature just around freezing. A
soft, very thin layer of frost formed on the wings and fuselage when pulling
the aircraft out of hangar. I had not, however, expected to see the rapid
build-up of ice on the propeller during this very short run - see the
attached two photos. There was no ice on the front face of the blades, but
on the sharp leading edge there was a 4 mm buildup of clear, very hard and
difficult to remove ice (gradually diminishing towards the blade root).
This is seen as a white stripe along the leading edge on the photos. Ice
had also begun to build up on the blade back face and on the tip edge.
One can only imagine the loss of propeller efficiency and risk of vibration
if flying through clouds or fog around/below the freezing point. I did not
need this demonstration to heed the placard's warning, but it does bring the
message home.
Fly safely!
Regards,
Svein
LN-SKJ
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