Facing Lake Effect Conditions

The potential for in-flight icing during an IFR flight-regardless of whether the airplane is approved for flight into known icing or not-means doing serious plotting and scheming prior to departure, and throughout the flight. As has been demonstrated for years, structural icing does bad things to airframes. Best to presume every cloud will contain ice, and plan accordingly.To illustrate our point, well look at a hypothetical flight from the Lima (Ohio) Allen County Airport (KAOH) to the Wexford County Airport in Cadillac, Mich. (KCAD). (Were going to KCAD because the FBO rents airplanes on skis and we purely love skiplane flying.) To get there, well be flying a Cessna 177B Cardinal, a stable instrument platform with satisfactory climb and cruise performance, but lacking turbocharging or real ice protection.

Key Takeaways:

• Thorough pre-flight planning is crucial for IFR flights in potential icing conditions, requiring detailed analysis of cloud layers, temperatures, and alternate routes to minimize exposure, even for aircraft not approved for flight into known icing.
• During flight, employ strategies like a "zoom climb" to quickly traverse thin icing layers while maintaining airspeed, and use pilot's discretion for descents to avoid lingering in ice-prone clouds.
• Approach and landing in snowy, icy conditions demand specific techniques, including maintaining airspeed, avoiding flaps if ice is present, being vigilant about "flat light" for depth perception, and giving cautious braking reports post-landing.

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