Jay Honeck wrote:
As we were flying over to Newton, IA today, we started discussing icing and
snow -- something that we must constantly worry about in these parts for at
least the next 4 months.

As we were talking, we heard a "Flight for Life" 'copter on Unicom, which
got us to wondering how it is that these guys seem to fly in ANY weather.

Which got us to wondering further: How do helicopters handle ice? Are the
main rotor blades heated? Does the centrifugal force on those huge blades
prevent ice build up? What about the rest of the fuselage? How do they
de-ice themselves?

Thanks!

Jumping in here -

Having worked for a medevac operator where most of the helicopters were
VFR only, my guess is this - they don't fly in IMC, let alone IMC with
the possibility of icing.

I asked our helicopter pilots and mechanics about this time after time,
and their reply was always the same - "Flying in the clouds, running
into ice, and shooting approaches are dangerous. I can't believe you do
it in an airplane."

I'm sure there's more to it, but I never got a good answer.