Defrosting/icing

sky1949

sky1949

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Billings, MT
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skym
I carry a couple of bottles of isopropyl alcohol plus a hand-sprayer in my plane for defrosting the wings and horiz stabilizer in winter when I wind up tying down at an airport overnight. Although it works well, I wonder if it is harmful or otherwise not a good idea. I would appreciate any comments on this.
 
I think a better idea is to carry ice covers for the wings and elevators.
 
Doc is wise. Cheap blankets and abungee cords can work wonders, and they dont weigh that much.
 
I don't think rubbing alcohol will hurt your paint (although it might strip any wax you've applied), but I would be concerned that any runoff would get in the aileron hinges or something like that and refreeze. If you're sure that won't happen (say, because you're wiping it dry with a towel), I wouldn't worry too much. That said, I agree that covers which prevent the frost/ice in the first place are better than removal later.
 
I had my first frost encounter this year on Saturday. I turned the airplane 180* in the parking spot and waited for the sun to do the defrosting. An hour later and off I went. While I was at it, I was wondering if there is any problem in flying with a frosted fuselage so long as the wings and tail surfaces are frost free?

-Skip

ps: I also watched a CFI load a student and what appeared to be his father into a C-172 and take off with a good load of frost on the wings and tail. I guess they made it, haven't heard otherwise. What a way to set an example for the student!
 
Alcohol/glycol don't really MELT existing ice, which is why when you get your airplane deiced professionally they use a HOT water/glycol mix. It's the heat that melts the ice - what the glycol does is lower the freezing temp of the stuff that remains on the wings, so that it shouldn't refreeze before you blow it off the wings by flying.

For GA airplanes where a hangar or professional de-icing isn't available, the best thing is to have covers for the flying surfaces.
 
Skip Miller said:
I was wondering if there is any problem in flying with a frosted fuselage so long as the wings and tail surfaces are frost free?
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Only if you're flying a lifting body aircraft.
ps: I also watched a CFI load a student and what appeared to be his father into a C-172 and take off with a good load of frost on the wings and tail. I guess they made it, haven't heard otherwise. What a way to set an example for the student!
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:frown2:
 
sky1949 said:
I carry a couple of bottles of isopropyl alcohol plus a hand-sprayer in my plane for defrosting the wings and horiz stabilizer in winter when I wind up tying down at an airport overnight. Although it works well, I wonder if it is harmful or otherwise not a good idea. I would appreciate any comments on this.
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Isopropyl will melt the frost, let it gather into droplets, and when it evaporates the droplets refreeze. The water needs to be wiped off.
Glycol won't do that. Isopropyl is also flammable.

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
Isopropyl will melt the frost, let it gather into droplets, and when it evaporates the droplets refreeze. The water needs to be wiped off.
Glycol won't do that. Isopropyl is also flammable.

Dan
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Yea but at least the fire melts the frost:yikes:
 
KennyFlys said:
Well, I suppose it's possible the way that 150 folded its wings at 11R back in June. I posted pictures back then. :)
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What thread was that? I can't find it. I'm interested in such structural failures as teaching points.

Dan
 
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