“Known Ice”….What’s the advantage of known ice on your aircraft?
If you live and fly in an area where icing doesn’t affect your flying, there is not much of an advantage. But if you are one of those pilots that ends up flying in icing conditions it could be a great deal. But let’s clarify a little, simply put, the difference between an aircraft that has de-ice equipment that is “known ice” and just “de-ice” is in the certification process and the type of systems that are installed on the aircraft. Having an aircraft with “known ice”, the pilot can actually fly in areas that are forecasted with ice. The aircraft and the de-ice systems have been tested and approved for those situations.
Having an aircraft with out “known ice” but having a “de-ice” system means the pilot has de-icing equipment on the aircraft that can prevent the ice from building up or help remove the ice if it is inadvertently collected but the aircraft is not approved to intentionally get into icing conditions. Both are still “de-ice” systems.
De-ice equipment increases the value but probably only two thirds as much as an aircraft certified for “known ice”. Either one increases the marketability and resale of the aircraft, especially on a light twin or heavy single. For most pilots “de-ice” is probably adequate.
