Airplanes & Ice. The Travails of Winter Flying
Feb 13, 2014, 4:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Boston
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Airplanes & Ice. The Travails of Winter Flying
A special ASK THE PILOT installment today at www.boston.com:
Everything you need to know about icing, deicing, and the perils of winter flying.
As another winter storm bears down, about the last place you'd want to be is headed out to the airport to catch a flight. Delays and cancellations pile up, causing a ripple effect clear across the country and beyond. But what is it, exactly, about winter weather that wreaks such havoc for air travel?
http://www.boston.com/community/blog...orms_dont.html
Patrick
Everything you need to know about icing, deicing, and the perils of winter flying.
As another winter storm bears down, about the last place you'd want to be is headed out to the airport to catch a flight. Delays and cancellations pile up, causing a ripple effect clear across the country and beyond. But what is it, exactly, about winter weather that wreaks such havoc for air travel?
http://www.boston.com/community/blog...orms_dont.html
Patrick
Feb 13, 2014, 5:55 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2014
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Posts: 292
Very good rundown of winter airport travel. This is something I take granted in this day and age.
Speaking of winter travel, there's a video floating around on the internet where an Aeroflot plane that had ice on its wing landed safely. Management afterwards said this was "normal".
Speaking of winter travel, there's a video floating around on the internet where an Aeroflot plane that had ice on its wing landed safely. Management afterwards said this was "normal".
Feb 14, 2014, 11:36 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2004
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But what is it, exactly, about winter weather that wreaks such havoc for air travel?
http://www.boston.com/community/blog...orms_dont.html
Patrick
http://www.boston.com/community/blog...orms_dont.html
Patrick
Feb 15, 2014, 8:14 am
#4
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Gosh, that's an interesting opinion. I suppose from Alaska it is easy to say that, but not so easy when you're actually in the east, with a greater number of people, take-offs, landings, etc. As the author posits, increased delays in snowstorms stem from the fact that the number of take-offs and landings has increased so much, but our infrastructure hasn't increased at the same rate. This increases exponentially the ripple effect of even minor delays.
Feb 15, 2014, 11:55 am
#5
Join Date: May 2003
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Apparently this happened in San Diego, I believe, one morning before takeoff. Pax had to wait half an hour to take off. Just let the fuel warm up by itself. No de-icing equipment, of course.
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Feb 15, 2014, 6:28 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHL
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Funny...I see plenty of de-icing equipment in WAS, PHL and NYC airports. People often forget that along with snowstorms there is also decreased visibility, low ceilings, etc. Interestingly enough, some of the same conditions that cause cancellations and ground stops during summer thunderstorms.
Feb 15, 2014, 9:33 pm
#7
Join Date: Sep 2008
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Not an ME or engineer at all but just wondering, why can't the technology utilized for the windshields of jet planes but utilized for entire plane bodies? I thought they utilized high frequency sound output to vibrate any attaching liquid. Wouldn't this work on a metal surface as well? Seems like it may be easier this way than spraying if it were possible.
Feb 16, 2014, 1:05 pm
#8
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Not an ME or engineer at all but just wondering, why can't the technology utilized for the windshields of jet planes but utilized for entire plane bodies? I thought they utilized high frequency sound output to vibrate any attaching liquid. Wouldn't this work on a metal surface as well? Seems like it may be easier this way than spraying if it were possible.
Feb 16, 2014, 9:33 pm
#9
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Nor does most any where south of the Mason-Dixon line. The ground crews know how to de-ice. The put the planes in the sun to melt it. If there is generally not a need for snow removal equipment, why invest. It is much like why many places in New England or the Pac-Northwest don't have aircon. IT just isn't needed.