TEG916
Senior Member
How close to the Freezing level do you consider it safe to fly in an aircraft without anti-ice equipment?
I canceled my flight today, because the freezing level was forecast to be at 5000 feet. The MEA for my flight was at 4000', and the IAF for my approach was at 4800'. I could have probably asked for vectors to the final approach course which would have kept me below the freezing level, but in the event of lost comm, I would have had to climb right into it, even if it was a short period of time. I may have been able to make a visual approach, but the weather was bad enough to where I didn't feel I could count on it.
I am a fresh IFR pilot with only 1 hour of IMC. The conditions seemed like I would be cutting it too close to flying into hazardous weather, so I re-scheduled. What are your personal minimums for flying close to the freezing level in IMC? If the freezing level is forecast to be only 1000' above the MEA, is that cutting it too close?
I canceled my flight today, because the freezing level was forecast to be at 5000 feet. The MEA for my flight was at 4000', and the IAF for my approach was at 4800'. I could have probably asked for vectors to the final approach course which would have kept me below the freezing level, but in the event of lost comm, I would have had to climb right into it, even if it was a short period of time. I may have been able to make a visual approach, but the weather was bad enough to where I didn't feel I could count on it.
I am a fresh IFR pilot with only 1 hour of IMC. The conditions seemed like I would be cutting it too close to flying into hazardous weather, so I re-scheduled. What are your personal minimums for flying close to the freezing level in IMC? If the freezing level is forecast to be only 1000' above the MEA, is that cutting it too close?
