ICE ON AEROPLANE WINGS
[To the Editor of TIIE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In " A Spectator's Notebook " it is suggested that it is odd that no remedy has been discovered for the formation of ice on aeroplane wings.
The trouble of ice farmation is a fairly recent phenomenon ; not because of any increase in the nastiness of our, or anybody else's, weather ; but because the improvement in the technique of bad-weather flying allows us to fly in weather conditions which would have been considered impossible a few years ago.
Ice on the wings is dangerous because it upsets the flow of air and reduces the lift of the wing ; the weight of the ice has very little effect. The one redeeming feature of this ice formation is that it requires very special, and fortunately rare, atmospheric conditions.
Imperial Airways are experimenting with one method of ice prevention which seems to be very simple and successful. This consists of a porous leather strip along the front of the wing, which can be impregnated with a special mixture whenever the aeroplane flies into ice-forming clouds or rain. The Americans have tried out with some success a flat rubber tube on the front of the wing, which can be alternately blown up and deflated; thus breaking up the ice, which is then blown away.
We seem to be well on the way towards a cure for this icing trouble, and there is no doubt that in a year or so all regular air liners which are liable to fly in ice-forming condi- tions will be fitted with the necessary apparatus.—Yours
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