Narrative:

I knew that my late departure would mean a night cross country; but I had always kept current on night flying; so that was not a concern. Upon departing; my garmin G3X informed me that I had no GPS! I considered returning; but the airport was deserted. With the remaining leg of the trip calling for scattered clouds and no VFR weather in the forecast for the next two days in the area; I elected to call flight following which I had utilized on the first leg of the trip. I told him my no GPS situation and requested a heading. He obliged and I discussed my situation with each flight following controller to which I was handed off. The closer I approached my destination; the worse the weather. With full instrumentation on the new carbon cub; I was confident in flying low under clouds. But at night; with none of the benefits afforded by GPS; I was pushed higher over the increasingly less scattered clouds. At some point; near [destination]; I knew that I was in violation of VFR regulations. The ceiling was only 2;500 ft and I told [ATC] that I wanted [to] wait to descend through the clouds close to the city; so that the light of the city might better illuminate any holes that weren't presently visible. The clouds; through which I descended; with few holes; were thick and wet; but I finally got under them just south of [destination] on a heading that would have taken me on a hopefully; to be approved; straight-in [approach]. Before [ATC] switched me; he said that a pilot had reported severe icing [at destination]. He said that I could continue or divert to [another airport] which had not; as yet; had any icing reports. I accepted his offer and he cleared me for an immediate landing. I reported that my windshield was icing up to the point where seeing directly in front of the plane was difficult to impossible. My best vision forward was at a 45 degree angle. I asked for; and received; permission to fly final on a path parallel and to the right of [the runway]; moving over to my left after passing the runway threshold. After doing so; I reminded the controller that my only clear vision was to the sides of the plane. The controller told me when I was over the centerline of the runway as I descended. Actually; it was a pretty good landing; as I could judge distance above the runway by looking out the side of the plane. When I was on final I told him that if he could help me stay over the center of the runway; I would make a picture perfect landing.upon landing; I was surprised at the amount of ice on the windshield and leading edge of the wings. The flight following personnel along the way and the tower controller were very professional in helping me out of a situation I could have; and should have; avoided. No more trying to get in before the bad weather arrives. Sometimes; it arrives early.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Carbon Cub pilot reported encountering icing conditions that restricted his visibility during approach and landing.

Narrative: I knew that my late departure would mean a night cross country; but I had always kept current on night flying; so that was not a concern. Upon departing; my Garmin G3X informed me that I had NO GPS! I considered returning; but the airport was deserted. With the remaining leg of the trip calling for scattered clouds and no VFR weather in the forecast for the next two days in the area; I elected to call Flight Following which I had utilized on the first leg of the trip. I told him my no GPS situation and requested a heading. He obliged and I discussed my situation with each Flight Following Controller to which I was handed off. The closer I approached my destination; the worse the weather. With full instrumentation on the new Carbon Cub; I was confident in flying low under clouds. But at night; with none of the benefits afforded by GPS; I was pushed higher over the increasingly less scattered clouds. At some point; near [destination]; I knew that I was in violation of VFR regulations. The ceiling was only 2;500 ft and I told [ATC] that I wanted [to] wait to descend through the clouds close to the city; so that the light of the city might better illuminate any holes that weren't presently visible. The clouds; through which I descended; with few holes; were thick and wet; but I finally got under them just south of [destination] on a heading that would have taken me on a hopefully; to be approved; straight-in [approach]. Before [ATC] switched me; he said that a pilot had reported severe icing [at destination]. He said that I could continue or divert to [another airport] which had not; as yet; had any icing reports. I accepted his offer and he cleared me for an immediate landing. I reported that my windshield was icing up to the point where seeing directly in front of the plane was difficult to impossible. My best vision forward was at a 45 degree angle. I asked for; and received; permission to fly final on a path parallel and to the right of [the runway]; moving over to my left after passing the runway threshold. After doing so; I reminded the Controller that my only clear vision was to the sides of the plane. The Controller told me when I was over the centerline of the runway as I descended. Actually; it was a pretty good landing; as I could judge distance above the runway by looking out the side of the plane. When I was on final I told him that if he could help me stay over the center of the runway; I would make a picture perfect landing.Upon landing; I was surprised at the amount of ice on the windshield and leading edge of the wings. The Flight Following personnel along the way and the Tower Controller were very professional in helping me out of a situation I could have; and should have; avoided. No more trying to get in before the bad weather arrives. Sometimes; it arrives early.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.