Paul Tomblin wrote:

I cancelled a flight yesterday because on top of strong gusty winds there
was an Airmet Zulu for light to moderate mixed and rime ice, and on top of
that the destination was reporting layers at about 2,000 and 4,000 feet, a
freezing level of about 3,000 feet, with occassional ceilings of 800 feet
and rain. It seemed to me that I could probably fly between or above the
layers en-route, but I was worried about the possibility of having to
descend through two layers of wet (and possibly icy) clouds and maybe have
to do an approach to minimums in very gusty winds.

I know I did the right thing based on my low level of experience, but any
ice tips from the experts, especially up here in the Great Lakes area.


You seem comfortable with your decision so I say that you made the right
decision. I worked up to flying in winter conditions progressively and
after a few years would fly in most PA weather, but not all. I wasn't
too worried about icing in clouds as long as it wasn't freezing rain and
I didn't have to stay in the clouds (descents through I would do,
usually). Of course, a lot depends on the amount of moisture in the
air, thickness of the cloud layers, type of airplane (my Skylane handled
ice fairly well), etc.

I don't mind turbulence and have flown in some really nasty stuff, but
again it depends on a lot of factors, including how I feel on a given
day. Some days I feel great and will take on a lot, and some days I
just don't feel like it. If I don't feel up to a given flight, I don't
take it.


Matt