There are many environmental factors that determine what type of icing accretes on your airframe. [Courtesy: NASA Glenn Research Center]
Key Takeaways:
Aircraft icing is categorized into three main types: rime, clear, and mixed, each with distinct appearances and formation conditions.
Rime ice is milky/opaque and forms rapidly from small water droplets in colder temperatures, making it the most frequently reported type.
Clear ice is glossy/translucent and forms slowly from larger water droplets in warmer subfreezing conditions, often extending further back on the wing.
Mixed icing combines characteristics of both rime and clear ice, typically occurring as a transitional state or when an aircraft traverses multiple icing environments, such as during climbs or descents.
Answer: To answer that question, let’s look at the three icing types that pilots are asked to report. These include rime, clear, and mixed. What icing type accretes on your airframe depends on many environmental factors. Let’s briefly discuss each of these factors as it relates to the type of icing.
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Scott resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and flies regularly throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast U.S. He is a CFI and former NWS meteorologist. Scott is the author of "The Skew-T log (p) and Me: A Primer for Pilots" and the founder of EZWxBrief.
