Flight in Icing Conditions

[caribpilot]

Just Curious, does Accusim simulate the aerodynamic effects of icing? If not, wouldn't this be an excellent feature to include? Perhaps frost building up on the windshield and exterior surfaces? Admittedly, icing or frost on your wings might mostly be noticeable in a walkaround, but the most important aspect is the aerodynamic effects of ice buildup. Any thoughts?

[Medtner]

Have you been watching MrAviation101's latest video, Bonanza in icing conditions? Seemed like too much of a coincidence.

[AKar]

Not really, it doesn't, at least when I last tested. There are some very simplistic icing effects included in the sim platform, potentially amplified by the weather engine if in use.

It has been discussed some here, but it appears there is no direct way into proper simulation of icing in the sim platform, even with the latest weather engines. This is not least because the "in-flight icing" reduced to a value is strongly airframe and Mach number dependent, not only dependent on local conditions. Now, the question turns around so that whether the weather engine could provide enough raw information for the aircraft model to deduce the icing factor. I'd say the answer is a strong definite maybe, but the issue comes from the poor spatial resolution of the weather.

-Esa

[caribpilot]

Have you been watching MrAviation101's latest video, Bonanza in icing conditions? Seemed like too much of a coincidence.

lol...you caught me

[Medtner]

Have you been watching MrAviation101's latest video, Bonanza in icing conditions? Seemed like too much of a coincidence.

lol...you caught me

Haha!

Now, how about that A2A Accusim Bonanza V35? I can haz...

[caribpilot]

However, I'm very curious as to why this isn't included in the Accusim experience. I'm assuming that implementing this will require an aircraft specific approach but in theory it seems possible.

[Oracle427]

Esa just explained above. The weather is provided at to large a scale to be meaningful. Icing tends to be very localized.

[KotatehFox]

aerosoft makes their aircraft ice up, i took the twin otter extended out once on a friends pc with severe icing, i left the de ice off and i felt the aircraft getting heavier and heavier until i had to either land or turn the anti ice on, i had severe airframe icing to the point where it was litterally pulling me down

[Oracle427]

The simulator does have icing today. The problem is that it is not very realistic.

[Skycat]

I've had planes become absolutely uncontrollable in AS16 fog/no visibility. I don't know if CPU overload, vertigo or rudimentary icing effects is the cause.

[shortspecialbus]

ActiveSky injects icing of some sort, however it's ridiculous, way too common, and overpowered. I turned it way down, to like 5% or something, and things seem better. Otherwise in basically any GA plane, the slightest hint of snow means you'll have an uncontrollable plane within 30 seconds to a minute.

Or at least that was my previous experience of like 3-4 years ago. I haven't turned it back up in ages, so maybe they improved it with newer versions of ActiveSky.

-stefan

[AKar]

ActiveSky injects icing of some sort, however it's ridiculous, way too common, and overpowered. I turned it way down, to like 5% or something, and things seem better. Otherwise in basically any GA plane, the slightest hint of snow means you'll have an uncontrollable plane within 30 seconds to a minute.

Yeah, sounds exactly what we don't want to have. Besides, flying in snow is often not an issue at all for non-FIKI airplanes: very often snow is not icing because it already is ice!

-Esa

[shortspecialbus]

ActiveSky injects icing of some sort, however it's ridiculous, way too common, and overpowered. I turned it way down, to like 5% or something, and things seem better. Otherwise in basically any GA plane, the slightest hint of snow means you'll have an uncontrollable plane within 30 seconds to a minute.

Yeah, sounds exactly what we don't want to have. Besides, flying in snow is often not an issue at all for non-FIKI airplanes: very often snow is not icing because it already is ice!

-Esa

Yeah, it's depressing in a way, because it would be neat to learn a bit about icing conditions and how to recognize and avoid them, etc. I understand why it can't really be done in a realistic way in the sim, and that's OK. But if icing worked in real life like it does in the sim, nobody would ever be able to fly in Alaska except a couple clear days in July.

-stefan