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RV9 ice effect on rudder and stabilizer

... experience told me that ice is not building up solely on the tail, but also on the wings, cowl, and canopy. As for the rudder... the VS is more prone to icing.

A 1/4" (6.35mm) build-up on the span of said surfaces, in a +/- croissant shape along the airfoil shape, is a small and easy mathematical problem which I'll let other solve ;)
 
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CG is probably the least of your worries :eek:
The airfoil change is the big issue, especially on landing. You have likely heard all the warnings from instructors along the way… Like the videos Jermart sent.

Smaller radius things (like the tail feathers) ice up quicker than those with larger radiuses (like the wing LE, canopy, …) so when you see ice on anything up front, the tail will likely have more.

You could do some rough estimates on the weight of the ice and calculate a CG delta. Or just run numbers for 2,5,8 lbs at the tail arm and see what you get.

Folks who fly out of soft (muddy) fields have to worry about mud too :rolleyes:
 
Agreed with the above - the CG is the least of your worries - it's the airfoil change that will kill you.

I got into the top of a building cumulus once at 17,000' and about 19 degrees F, and immediately started picking up a LOT of clear ice. I yanked the power all the way off and stuffed the nose down and headed for the freezing level at about 165-170 knots, somewhere around of 2000-2500 fpm. By the time I hit the freezing level at about 9500' I had picked up somewhere between 1/4" and 3/8" of clear ice from the supercooled drops. I levelled at 9000' and watched the ice shed off the airplane and got my blood pressure back into the yellow.

Ice belongs in my glass, not on my airplane. Give it healthy respect.
 
That is a very informative video. I never considered you could have a tail stall.
I have no intention of flying in anything close to icing weather but I will pay more attention getting on commuter flights in weather.
 
picture from Vlad on HS/E icing from some time ago

I seem to recall Vlad having a picture of his elevator balance horn being frozen to his horizontal stabilizer in cruise flight, and having to fly it with trim to get to a lower altitude. That sounded like a rare but no fun situation.
 
Ice belongs in my glass, not on my airplane. Give it healthy respect.

I've always wanted to break a chunk of ice off an antenna or other unprotected surface and put it in my drink. Getting a piece off the spinner would be fun, little bowl shaped piece of ice. FIKI certified airplanes of course. Haven't had the chance yet, maybe one day.
 
Not Me. I hope.

Interesting discussion, but pretty academic for us, I think.
It's highly unlikely I'd ever run into tailplane ice, given that I'm not instrument rated and I'm such a gladiola about scud running or flying in the clouds, let alone icing conditions. Watching the first video, I was thinking "But, but... that's a Cessna 172 in the picture and they pitch up quite a bit when flaps are extended, not down." I 'spect this is the 'type specific' part of this whole business. Super Cubs pitch up, too. I wonder if this would reduce the pitch down effect of a stabilizer stalling. Maybe less so in PA-28 series Piper Cherokee-type airplanes or PA-38 series Tomahawks that hardly pitch at all.. or most of our RVs that also have very little pitch trim change with flap extension. And as I've stated before, an RV-6 can handle about 60 pounds of ice, in the baggage compartment.
 
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