-----Original Message-----
From: Jose ]
Posted At: Friday, December 22, 2006 4:22 PM
Posted To: rec.aviation.ifr
Conversation: SE airplanes in clouds - near freezing level
Subject: SE airplanes in clouds - near freezing level

The
thin skin without any thermal mass beneath it apparently warmed
rapidly
enough to accumulate little and shed it, whereas the fuel tanks had
enough
thermal mass to keep the ice frozen.

So, suppose the fuel tanks were insulated from the skin by about half
an
inch of (vented?) air... that should solve the problem, no? (albeit
at
a weight cost)
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody
knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

It might solve some of the problem, but in our case the upslope cumulus
was pretty unstable. The visible moisture had risen well above the
altitude (temp point) where it should have already turned to ice, so
when we stuck our aircraft into the moisture it quickly adhered to the
entire exterior.

I suppose if you were descending into warmer air the ice would not
accumulate anywhere except on pieces that took a while to warm up or in
areas of reduced pressure. On the other hand, if you are descending into
or flying through moisture that is still liquid but cooling rapidly you
are going to encourage cooling with your cold airframe -- and have a
souvenir to show for it.