FIKI

Flew myself and 2 coworkers to Chicago yesterday for a business meeting. Weather at 6am had icing forecast for 60 miles along our direct route of flight. We were flying a FIKI airplane and departed due south so that we could get out of the area of clouds in closer to 15-20 miles. Airliners that departed ahead of us had no pireps for ice and it turned out that the clouds were only 2,000 feet thick, clear sunny skies above and no ice.

For our flight home, we had to stop in the upper penninsula of Michigan to drop off one of the guys. Picked up a trace of ice, but it was mostly just light snow showers. Departed for Duluth and again just light snow showers and no ice enroute until we descended through about 2,000 feet of clouds in Duluth and we picked up some ice. Weather below was clear and made an uneventful landing.

It was my first icing experience in a FIKI airplane, and a trip I could not have made otherwise. Despite having been part of the FIKI certification program, I have not had much opportunity to fly one. It worked as expected, and I was happy to have it.