What does Icing cover?
Icing is one of the most exam-tested weather hazards: ice accreting on the airframe, engine and instruments degrades performance and control. Understanding the temperature and moisture conditions that produce each type of ice is the key to the questions.
What this subject covers
- Conditions required for ice formation
- Types: rime, clear (glaze) and mixed ice
- Airframe, engine and instrument (pitot) icing
- Effect of icing on performance and handling
Study tip
Link the ice type to the cause: clear ice forms in large supercooled droplets, rime in small ones — questions almost always hinge on that distinction.
Frequently asked questions
What conditions are needed for airframe icing?
Visible moisture (cloud, rain) and an airframe temperature at or below 0°C. The severity depends on droplet size and liquid water content.
What's the difference between rime and clear ice?
Rime ice forms from small supercooled droplets that freeze on impact (rough, opaque); clear ice forms from large droplets that spread before freezing (smooth, heavy, harder to remove).
