aeroscout Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 When you see frost on your aircraft, what are some of the steps you undertake to address the frost situation ? The effects of frost on the primary surfaces and controls of fixed wing are well known, and very disruptive. How would you compare the effects of frost between fixed and rotor wing on lift surfaces, trim tabs, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, even the fuselage ? What are all the corrective measures you consider especially in cases like EMS where there are more compressed time constraints ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChris Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 (edited) When you see frost on your aircraft, what are some of the steps you undertake to address the frost situation ? The effects of frost on the primary surfaces and controls of fixed wing are well known, and very disruptive. How would you compare the effects of frost between fixed and rotor wing on lift surfaces, trim tabs, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, even the fuselage ? What are all the corrective measures you consider especially in cases like EMS where there are more compressed time constraints ? There was a good post on this issue back in November 2012. Is it just light morning frost or are you departing into forecasted icing? Flying with frosty blades..? “In my experience there is a huge difference between frosty blades and blades with true icing before takeoff. Frost can be dealt with easily and relatively safely. The formation of ice in flight is a completely different animal, if a pilot is flying in those conditions you should be able to identify the warning signs and act appropriately.” “The past two mornings my heli has been pretty thickly frosted over. A solid layer coating everything. After defrosting the wind screen, I fire up and idle for a several minutes, and ease it into a hover, Silky smooth. Normal power required to hover and off we go, carefully monitoring for vibes or increased power requirements. No perceived differences from normal. First fuel stop a couple hours later and all cleared off. What am I missing? Is there anything hazardous about flying a frosty helicopter? Greater chance of further icing? Boss says "its fine" but I've never dealt with this before... Thanks!” Edited December 28, 2013 by iChris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeroscout Posted December 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Excellent referral iChris, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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