Icing and Performance
Icing is one of the most dangerous environmental conditions an aircraft can face. Icing is most commonly formed in supercooled clouds and can form at temperatures at or slightly above the freezing point. Icing forms as a result of supercooled droplets make contact with a control surface. The control surface itself may be colder than 0 degrees Celsius, and as a result, when the supercooled droplet makes contact, ice forms (FAA, Advisory Circular AC 91-74B.pdf ). Icing is dangerous for all aircraft due to its ability to directly affect the aerodynamic performance of a lifting surface. When an aircraft starts accumulating ice, the chord line of the wing increases, weight increases, drag increases while the laminar flow is disrupted, and the aircraft's critical angle of attack decreases. This means that the pilot will have to increase power and pitch to produce the same amount of lift to keep the aircraft flying at the same altitude and maintain directional control ...