On 3 Jan 2006 17:49:13 -0800, Robert M. Gary wrote:

From my experience once you get to the point that the ice is creating a
noticable change in airspeed, its pretty bad. You probably want to
notice the ice before it gets this bad.

Not necessarily. On my only encounter with icing where I was skimming the
tops of the clouds of a stratus deck, I picked up trace icing and noticed
where I had to sneak in some power.

I could see (barely) trace on the leading edges and the front of the
stabilator, so it affected the aerodynamics enough for me to add power.

Granted, it was only 25 RPM increase in my case, but it was enough for me
to ask ATC for 500 feet higher so I could stay out of the visible moisture
so the stuff could subiminate off..

If frost on wings will affect the performance on a plane, surely flying
with trace icing will do the same thing?

Allen