Why will an aircraft's tailplane collect ice before the wings?

• A. It is thinner.
• B. It is heated more slowly than the wings.
• C. It is located farther forward on the fuselage.
• D. It has a higher thermal capacity.

Answer: (A)

Ice forms when supercooled droplets strike a surface that’s at or below freezing, and the rate of ice buildup depends on how quickly the surface cools and how much heat it can store. A thinner surface has less thermal mass and less heat capacity, so it loses heat to the surrounding air and reaches freezing temperatures more quickly under the same icing conditions. The tailplane is thinner than the wings, so it cools and freezes sooner, causing ice to accumulate there first. The other ideas aren’t the main reason: heating rate differences, forward location, or higher thermal capacity don’t explain why icing starts on the tailplane before the wings.