Hi:Does anybody know whether FSX (or FS9 or any add-on for it) 'simulates' engine and/or airframe icing?There are a lot of real-world GA pilots who use FS sims to help gain instrument currency or experience. Knowing what to do about icing is a serious issue at some stage for *all* real world pilots, whether carb icing on a C-172 or airframe icing on a big twin with full de-iceing equipment. Moreover, a number of the top-range payware sims have all the right simulated switches for dealing with engine/airframe ice.When flying (whether a C-172 or a Dash 8) through the tops of cumuloform cloud at -10C OAT, what's missing is the simulated ice buildup, the gradual loss of airspeed and the need either to have working de/anti-ice or to get below the FZL. Nothing like the buzz of prop-ice or the discovery of an inch of rapidly building mixed ice on the leading edge to scare the life out of you!For the purists, I'm not saying that any pilot should deliberately fly into known icing---I *am* saying that real-wold pilots should (a) know how to recognise it; and (:( know what to do if they encounter it.Otherwise, 'IFR' simmers might as well be flying in year-round cloudless summer skies.GWI(EGKA)

FS9 models icing internally, not visually. I'm not sure which type is modelled but I believe it's both. I'm not sure if that has been carried over to FSX.Ian.

Icing from an instrument point of view is definitely modelled in FSX, carb icing is modelled, flying one of the rescue missions I was listening to my engine gradually dying on me from fuel starvation due to icing, this cleared up a lot once the carb heat was on, but not immediately, it took a good 15 seconds to start picking up again.When I didn't realise this was the problem I lost so much power that my ias dropped off, I ended up smacking my plane into some trees. :( ouch.

I don't know how accurate the ising is, but it does indeed have an effect. I remember one flight where I had to go over a 8000ft high mountainrange. The Cessna 172 I was flying then collected so much icing that it couldn't make it that high and I had to descend to higher temperatures. I had a utility (the name escapes me at the moment) that even showed the weight of the ice, and it was increasing rapidly. Too bad that FS doesn't show ice on the wings, or that the windscreen can't get frozen over. That wouldt teach some simpilots a bit about proper flightplanning!