(smackey) wrote in message om...
I'm looking for some advice whether I was too onservative he

Later that evening I went to the plane (C172/180) to return to BIL
and found a very thin layer of ice (about 5 or 6 pages of paper thick)
on all the leading edges of my plane. It was dark, about 10pm, and I
elected to stay the night.

Well, I wouldn't have taken off with ice on the leading edges
nor trusted to them sublimating. But in similar circumstances
I've been able to depart, ice-free, in about 20 minutes either
by asking that the plane be put in a heated hangar or by buying
a gallon of de-icing solution and spraying down the leading
edges (w/ C172 obviously borrowing a ladder would be necessary).
Obviously whether or not this was feasible depends on what was
available to you. "None of the above" remain overnight seems
the soundest option.

I've heard of pilots carrying a long strip of sewn-together terry
towels and tossing them over the wing/using them to polish a layer
of frost smooth. But frankly it would make me nervous with pax
or at night, unless I'd tried it a few times and had a pretty sound
notion exactly how it changed my airplane's performance.

Cheers,
Sydney