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Merida (Badajoz LEBZ), Spain, 2018

0600Z departure

FL100

The last shortcut

Track link
https://www.autorouter.aero/track/61287whDC

The track changes in France were “due to military activity” and a lot more of the same in Spain but I got shortcuts on those eventually.

No radar, all procedural, and I got the SID to the ILS 31, which involves two DME arcs, one leading to the other.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Well done! So ice everywhere but you were…above it? Briefly through it on the way up or…?

Whats the black box with two red buttons and a switch?

Antonio
LESB, Spain

I arrived two hours or so later and ice was up to FL200, tops were at FL220 or so. Heavy icing, like completely covered windshield regardless heating on, wings getting 1 cm of ice in 10 seconds (unprotected areas). TKS at high couldn’t cope with it, at MAX it was sufficient to keep wings (almost) clean but then you drain liquid pretty fast. Changing level gave result – FL140 was almost ice free although visually it looked the same and required turning on TKS in normal or high mode just occasionally. The temperatures were: FL200 -18, FL140 -6.

Amazing cooperation of ATC giving shortcuts, weather avoidance, allowing changing levels up and down in search for non-iced route.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Yup, I’m afraid we’ve had a bit of a perfect storm in the western Med and Spain in the last few days.
Sounds like an interesting flight: ice at -18C!

Antonio
LESB, Spain

There was no convective activity at hihger altitudes, only layered wave clouds (altocumulus lenticularis full of supercooled droplets) following occluded front. That enabled choosing layer with little or no icing. I did more-less everything I knew about the ice to fly through this as safe as possible (manipulate TKS flow to remove the ice but also to save the fluid, turn on alternative air, turn off autopilot and exercise all commands to prevent blocking, chase level with less/no icing) and that’s why I don’t have pictures of the worst accumulation. I took only few when I was low and when everything was manly gone.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

I managed to stay VMC on top until about 100nm to run, eventually FL180, but got a fair bit of ice in the descent. It was about -7C at FL180 so it soon came off in the descent so I didn’t have to use the TKS. Actually 0C was not reached until FL080 – a weird temperature gradient, and the temp at FL160 was same as at FL180.

A few pics from the flight










The arrestor wire can be just about seen here

This is ice after about 10 seconds in the cloud

Whats the black box with two red buttons and a switch?

It is a 45 min timer I built in 2000 when I was renting PA28s, which had useless fuel gauges. It is a fuel tank change timer. I kept it for the TB20 in case I got a total loss of power. After 45 mins the LED starts to flash and then you press Reset and get another 45 mins.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Hmm, it does not seem clear ice (perhaps mixed?) but it run back quite a bit behind the tks panels…

Antonio
LESB, Spain

I was not using TKS since I was descending to what was obviously going to be warmer air.

Some random pics


Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

This is the beginning of icing when I barely scratched tops at FL190 for just few seconds.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

That’s interesting, how different weather you both had.
Peter was arriving from the north. Émir, were you arriving from East ? North East ? Is it related to the position of the front ?

Also, do you sometimes fly above FL200 (certified ceiling of the DA42 from memory ?) ? I guess you have plenty power left up there.

Could you give us the MEA / MSA to reach ? Actually, lower could sometimes be easier :-)

PS: thanks for sharing, I hope you have a nice time there !!

Last Edited by PetitCessnaVoyageur at 20 Oct 16:20
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