EightsOnPylons
10th Nov 2003, 15:25
Hello,
Why is it so that the wings on the 737 have anti-ice but the horizontal stabilizer doesn't? Doesn't that then make it the aircrafts weakest link?
thanks,
Herod
10th Nov 2003, 16:16
When I did the 737-300 course, I was equally surprised, always having flown aircraft with tailplane de-icing. However, I figured that, with some 5,000+ 737s sold, Mr. Boeing probably knows what he is doing. Doesn't seem to be a problem.
A similar topic to this was discussed here (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101427) .
In effect the tail plane is 'masked' by the wings. Any airborne moisture will have been precipitated onto the wings, therefore the moisture content (humidity) of the air flowing over the empenage is significantly reduced and less likely to be deposited there.