Helicopters face the same challenges of other aircraft. However, there
are some differences. The rotor blades are very flexible ... more than
one would think. This serves to remove the formation of large amounts
of ice. Small films are probably able to form, but large heavy films
probably do not in most circumstances. Additonally, helicoptors are
fairly well insulated capsules with large engines piggy-backed right
behind the cabin. This helps since these two capsules can preserve the
generated heat, pretty well. Yes, other external parts can ice up, but
the whole cabin is pretty much the helicopter. The rest, is a lot of
smaller surface area. Personally, I think the tail section and rear
rotor would be the trouble area under such circumstances.
Flyingmonk wrote:
Don't know about ice on rotors, but experienced engine out due to carb
icing once.