PLT274: Icing
What code PLT274 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Icing before your checkride.
Recall icing - formation / characteristics
What this means for your checkride
Structural icing forms when the aircraft flies through visible moisture at or below freezing. Clear, rime, and mixed ice form under different conditions, and any of them adds weight and destroys lift.
Airframe icing raises stall speed and degrades control, so the FAA tests the conditions that create it and the ice types that result.
A common error is thinking cold air alone means ice. You also need visible moisture; clear, cold air does not build structural ice.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.