I had an interesting icing experience on Wednesday - in my car. We were driving from SLC back to Idaho. We were going through an inversion or fog layer and the antenna on our truck started whipping around to where it was beating against the windshield. We pulled over and noticed the leading edge was covered with ice.
I flicked the ice off and we started again. The antenna was fine for about 5 minutes, then it started collecting ice again - very quickly. Within a few more minutes, my wife had to reach out and flick the antenna to get the ice off. We had to do the same thing several more times until we got to a higher elevation.
I have only been in ice flying once - in a turbo Commander going into Telluride in the winter. The boots took care of it but it was still freaky. I can't imagine watching it build up in an RV.
The biggest surprise was how fast it built up and how quickly the aerodynamics of the antenna changed. It gave me a chill thinking of what it would do to a plane. I was glad I was in a truck and all I had to do was flick the antenna.
I flicked the ice off and we started again. The antenna was fine for about 5 minutes, then it started collecting ice again - very quickly. Within a few more minutes, my wife had to reach out and flick the antenna to get the ice off. We had to do the same thing several more times until we got to a higher elevation.
I have only been in ice flying once - in a turbo Commander going into Telluride in the winter. The boots took care of it but it was still freaky. I can't imagine watching it build up in an RV.
The biggest surprise was how fast it built up and how quickly the aerodynamics of the antenna changed. It gave me a chill thinking of what it would do to a plane. I was glad I was in a truck and all I had to do was flick the antenna.