I just thought that this photograph was worth sharing.
I took it last week, the inlet is a special one on a research aeroplane, and critically is not de-iced in any way. The big bit is the scientific inlet and a couple of inches in diameter, the smaller bit on the left is a pitot and around half an inch in diameter.
This was after an entertaining handful of hours mucking about between surface and FL300 off the Hebrides.
Needless to say, anything flight safety critical on that aeroplane IS de-iced! It is not hard to visualise what would happen to this, or any other, aeroplane if the main flying surfaces weren't.
G
