Simviation Forums

G'day fellas,

Quick question, is there a way to tell if your aircraft is picking up ice in FS9?  Especially for the tubes (737, 777, 747), how can I tell if the wings are icing up?

Do I only need to worry if I'm flying through cloud at below freezing temps (especially in rain) to pick up ice? Do tubes even need to use the anti ice in clear skies at FL330 and above?

Cheers guys - I've done some reading into ice, but have never felt ice affect the a/c in FS9.

Stew

I don't believe there is an actual icing effect in FS9 other than on the pitot tube.  I believe I have seen the airspeed indicator go to zero due to a pitot tube icing up before in FS9, but I may be mistaken.

Thanks Dave for the answer, yes, I've had the pitot tube freeze up before too (on descent into Almaty, Kazakstan in a 747F).

Thank goodness for Shift-H!

[quote]I don't believe there is an actual icing effect in FS9 other than on the pitot tube.

There is a gauge, ICEV10.zip, which supposedly simulates more realistic icing conditions.  I've not yet tried it, but the docs state:

"This gauge is provided as a way of making winter flying in the sim (FS9 or FSX) a little more realistic.  It has been tested and works in both FSX and FS9.

Contrary to some popular belief, structural icing is simulated in both versions of the simulator.  However, icing rarely appears in cloud layers generated by either the real-world download of the standard sim or from most add-ons such as Active Sky.  When icing is placed in cloud layers, it is rarely more than "light" icing.  The ice accumulation rate in both sims is so slow that only "severe" structural icing is liable to cause any noticable change in the aerodynamics of your aircraft, especially if you are flying a larger one.

This is good, generally, because many FS aircraft do not have working de-icing systems because aircraft panel designers haven't understood the parameters for enabling de-icing in their airplanes, and often their structural de-ice switches don't work.  So, the wimpy ice simulation is offset by the ignorance about anti-icing, so all is well in the sim world.

If you want to understand the truth, and how this gauge can help you, read the 'Icing.txt' file in this package.
....

I hope you enjoy this little product and the research that led to it, and happy flying whether sim or real!

Charles (Dutch) Owen"

and for those that would like this gauge, where could one find it?? you tell us about it, and tease us with it, but yet you provide no link???

and for those that would like this gauge, where could one find it?? you tell us about it, and tease us with it, but yet you provide no link???

Try pasting the file name in Google --> http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=&q=ICEV10.zip&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_en-GBGB408GB408&ie=UTF-8