chuks
6th Dec 2007, 08:07
I have been passing my time out in the Sahara Desert, when each pre-dawn walk-around saw the trusty old Twin Otter dripping with moisture.
Not the other morning, however. No drips. "How curious," thought I. Well, that was until I bothered to climb up and have a look at the top surfaces, which proved to be covered with frozen dew and frost! I am no expert, not even a Test Pilot, so that I have no idea what the effect might have been if we had attempted a take-off but I bet it might have been enough to give us serious problems with that.
The air temperature was +2° C. but there was enough stuff up there to make us wait for the local version of de-icing, just waiting around for the sun to come up and melt the ice and frost. That took an hour, with the black stripes and markings going well before the white areas.
I just never thought about having a problem with this in Africa, but then I only started this year in North Africa. "Cold" in Nigeria was maybe +10° in Jos. Live and learn, I guess. It really is surprising the amount of moisture one can find even in one of the driest climates on earth, but ice with that? Mother Nature really has it in for aviators.
Not the other morning, however. No drips. "How curious," thought I. Well, that was until I bothered to climb up and have a look at the top surfaces, which proved to be covered with frozen dew and frost! I am no expert, not even a Test Pilot, so that I have no idea what the effect might have been if we had attempted a take-off but I bet it might have been enough to give us serious problems with that.
The air temperature was +2° C. but there was enough stuff up there to make us wait for the local version of de-icing, just waiting around for the sun to come up and melt the ice and frost. That took an hour, with the black stripes and markings going well before the white areas.
I just never thought about having a problem with this in Africa, but then I only started this year in North Africa. "Cold" in Nigeria was maybe +10° in Jos. Live and learn, I guess. It really is surprising the amount of moisture one can find even in one of the driest climates on earth, but ice with that? Mother Nature really has it in for aviators.