Moose Jaw - Snowbird pilot Capt. Steve Thompson doesn't take chances in frosty weather. The planes at 15 Wing get grounded when the skies gets ugly.
"We have a zero contamination policy. We have to de-ice the plane or, if we don't have de-icing fluid, we tow the plane back to the hangar to thaw out," said Thompson.
The slightest bit of frost must be removed from an airplane before flight. If frost is left on the wings it can distort the lift of the wing, making it hard to takeoff.
Ice is even more dangerous than frost. In cold weather it forms on the leading edges of a plane, including wings, windshield and nose. Ice changes the lift and stall speed of a plane.
"When you look at a cloud, you can feel it, you know there is ice in that cloud," said Capt. Craig McPaul, a flight instructor at 15 Wing.
The water vapours in clouds lose equilibrium when a plane hits them, turning into ice, according to McPaul.
He flies the Harvard, a single engine propellor plane. It isn't certified to fly in icy conditions, so he teaches his students to avoid the ice.
For more on this story, read Monday's Times-Herald.
Icy conditions can cause problems for pilots at 15 Wing
- Published on December 8th, 2008
- Published on July 10th, 2009
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Matthew Barton
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