If you are unaware of the situation and collect ice during take off or landing, the results can be disastrous. It also monitors pitot heater current to ensure that the pitot heater is working properly. Since ice forms there first, you also know when stall and handling characteristics of the airplane are suspect. The fundamental applied principle is that water and ice have dielectric constant 80 times higher than air. When they are present on the sensor, a change in capacitance is detected.
Temperature is used to differentiate between ice and water.
The sensor is located near the pitot probe and its mount is designed to have the same accretion properties as the pitot probe. Also included in the electronics are heater over and under current monitoring, heater self-test, temperature sensing, ice detector integrity monitoring and the display interface. Innovative Dynamics . 2560 Triphammer Rd . Ithaca, NY 14850 .