Forced to a higher altitude today for terrain - as I passed through a cloud layer I prepared to battle the standard dreaded coating of thick ice.

Instead, I got a thin bit of translucent ice on the windscreen and a little on the side window - couldn't see any on the airframe.  After I passed through the layer (it was moderate), the small amount I had accumulated disappeared.

I picked up some more on the descent as I passed through a similar layer, but it was also light and dissipated as I continued the descent.  Considering the conditions, this seemed to be almost realistic.  Was a change made in the last update that affects icing, or was it just a matter of the conditions being ripe for a different response?

24 minutes ago, RandallR said:

Was a change made in the last update that affects icing, or was it just a matter of the conditions being ripe for a different response?

Yes, that was Sim Update IV which came out last month.

https://www.flightsimulator.com/release-notes-1-16-2-0-sim-update-iv-now-available/

Yes, icing seems much better now.  Before SU4, if you started icing in light cloud, it would not dissipate when you descended out of it or cleared the cloud.  The effect on performance now seems more natural and the buildup on the windshield now looks more realistic.

TBH, I have never iced up ITRW, but I do know those that have and have lived to tell the tale.

I like the icing effect now.  Less severe and more manageable. 

It is much more like a warning now, which you can recover from if you act quickly, rather than the white coat of death! 😀

This is a really great change - I guess I did see the icing changes listed back at the time of the update, but I kind of fixated on the pitot icing adjustment as I was zipping through the list and missed the other icing corrections.

17 hours ago, RandallR said:

Considering the conditions, this seemed to be almost realistic.

Flying through a cloud in icing conditions (no precipitation in said cloud) should result in at least some rime ice. It's white, opaque and has a brittle, crystalline texture.

Translucent icing is formed when larger supercool droplets gets "smeared" on the wings and fuselage - think nimbostratus or cumuli formed clouds. This is a slower freezing process with few air bubbles trapped underneath. Hence the translucent texture.

IRL you will usually have a mix of both.

Granted I am no expert on icing (just a PPL "weekend warrior") but getting translucent icing in a light cloud seems off?

 

Edited June 11, 20214 yr by SAS443

I passed through a light cloud to get to the needed altitude and the ice formed lightly on the edges of the windshield frame and did not obstruct my view before I was through and it began to diminish.  It was not totally translucent but it wasn't the solid opaque we used to get either (it may have had some crystalline structure - I wish I'd taken a screenshot).  The left window ice was very translucent by comparison - I could see the left wing through it.

I did my flight training in the 70's and a lot of it was during the Winter months.  I recall at least 2 flights where I lost most of my view with a kind of "ice fog" on the windscreen - I had to hold off on my approach until I was able to defrost enough of a "hole" through which I was able to make my approach.

Edited June 12, 20214 yr by RandallR