Most Important Control On My Plane

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Charles Talleyrand wrote:
Type of plane
I have a VFR Cessna 150.

M20

Most important control
Radio transmit

Yoke

Least important control
Pitot heat (if you need it, you shouldn't be flying)

Why shouldn't you be flying if you need pitot heat?


Because I fly a VFR Cessna 150. When would I need pitot heat assuming
the weather was good enough to fly in the first place. In other words,
if I need pitot heat, what I really needed was better decision making
before takeoff.

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Talleyrand ]
Posted At: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 6:45 PM
Posted To: rec.aviation.owning
Conversation: Most Important Control On My Plane
Subject: Most Important Control On My Plane


....

Why shouldn't you be flying if you need pitot heat?


Because I fly a VFR Cessna 150. When would I need pitot heat assuming
the weather was good enough to fly in the first place. In other
words,
if I need pitot heat, what I really needed was better decision making
before takeoff.

To each, his or her own limits. However, pitot heat isn't only useful in
below freezing conditions. It used to be a practice to have the pitot
heat on before flight into visible moisture. I realize you mentioned VFR
only Charles, but it seems to me that this thread was tending to suggest
that pitot heat was for use during below freezing conditions, and that's
just not always the case.

: Because I fly a VFR Cessna 150. When would I need pitot heat assuming
: the weather was good enough to fly in the first place. In other
: words,
: if I need pitot heat, what I really needed was better decision making
: before takeoff.

: To each, his or her own limits. However, pitot heat isn't only useful in
: below freezing conditions. It used to be a practice to have the pitot
: heat on before flight into visible moisture. I realize you mentioned VFR
: only Charles, but it seems to me that this thread was tending to suggest
: that pitot heat was for use during below freezing conditions, and that's
: just not always the case.

One of the most surprising cases of airframe icing I've encountered in my PA28-180 was in VMC under VFR near Kenosha,
WI...

-Cory


--

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* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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