When we built our -14A I put a short piece of black electrical tape on the outboard leading edge of the left horizontal stabilizer as an ice indicator. Since the surface with the tightest curvature is generally the first to get ice, I reasoned that this would be the likely place. When the black surface started to become white, it was time for Plan B.
As it turns out, we found out there is another location that gets ice first and is much easier to see. In our airplane we stuck with the plans as written and installed the landing lights in the wing cutouts. These in turn are covered with Plexiglas lenses which are mounted on the inner surface of the leading edge wing skins around the perimeter of the cutout.
A few months ago on a trip from Colorado to Oklahoma we had an icing encounter but the first indication was not on the electrical tape. As I turned my head to inspect the tape on the horizontal stabilizer, I noted a dim glow from the left wing landing light area that was clearly visible in daylight. My wife saw the same thing on the right wing.
As it turned out the tiny ridge between the plexi and the wing skin is the smallest radius on the airplane and true to predictions was the first place where ice formed. Each time the landing light pulsed there was a dim glow from that area, giving an early indication of even the smallest amount of ice.
An altitude change solved the problem but I thought this bit of information would be a good thing for the rest of you to toss into your bag of aircraft knowledge for the future.
As it turns out, we found out there is another location that gets ice first and is much easier to see. In our airplane we stuck with the plans as written and installed the landing lights in the wing cutouts. These in turn are covered with Plexiglas lenses which are mounted on the inner surface of the leading edge wing skins around the perimeter of the cutout.
A few months ago on a trip from Colorado to Oklahoma we had an icing encounter but the first indication was not on the electrical tape. As I turned my head to inspect the tape on the horizontal stabilizer, I noted a dim glow from the left wing landing light area that was clearly visible in daylight. My wife saw the same thing on the right wing.
As it turned out the tiny ridge between the plexi and the wing skin is the smallest radius on the airplane and true to predictions was the first place where ice formed. Each time the landing light pulsed there was a dim glow from that area, giving an early indication of even the smallest amount of ice.
An altitude change solved the problem but I thought this bit of information would be a good thing for the rest of you to toss into your bag of aircraft knowledge for the future.