today when i flyed the wings got ice on it and it got verry unstable i landed and everything ended well but be careful when its cold and cloudy.

what was the temp ?

DEUCEDOG Posted at 2018-1-10 05:56
what was the temp ?

-4 c its was .9 earlier today but now its -4 in stockholm sweden

Did you fly in damp air on this temps then you got frozen wings.

Peterx Posted at 2018-1-10 08:39
Did you fly in damp air on this temps then you got frozen wings.

Spot on!

Dicey situation. ;-)



RedHotPoker

FYI it does not have to be at or below freezing for this to occur either...above but near is good enough if the conditions are correct.  With these small airfoils it wont take much accumulation for it to impact performance either, you were lucky.  Lastly, remember that it is more likely that upper altitudes are colder than surface temps depending on the weather system and urban vs rural enviroments.

On full scale aircraft, deicing the props & even the leading edge of wings is a serious issue.

There are products to fight this threat.
http://hartzellprop.com/products/propeller-de-ice-protection/

RC hobby class drones aren't meant to fly in those conditions. The props can become very brittle as well.


RedHotPoker

I have read wiping your props down with Rain-X  helps, have not personally tried it but it wouldn't hurt to see if it does help.

Not sure what Rain-x will do to the plastic ? works well on glass though

Hmmm... Thks. for your warning... I don't fly below P3S specs. Seems moisture is drawn to a warm motor anyways....  Then what?  Problems!

IIRC from my days on radio, the tower was at 145ft for AM, and if there was over 50% humidity, light wind, if it was under 38 degrees F we had to start watching the needles to be on ice lookout.  
I may very well be off a degree or two, it's been 20 years, but I think those were the numbers.  No surprise you iced up in that cold of air.  Glad it landed for you!

Yeah, be careful! Never doing this mistake again.

wow, that is quite a buildup for such a small prop!  glad it came back down under control!

Good you landed safely

This problems were beginning in the chill hood of the manned air travel in the past 30´ as the planes could fly higher and faster. The pressure difference on the wings are the starter of it.

RedHotPoker Posted at 2018-1-10 11:55
On full scale aircraft, deicing the props & even the leading edge of wings is a serious issue.

There are products to fight this threat.

Hi RedHotPoker, I think you will find that the usual commercial solutions for deicing are not really suitable for a small drone. HOWEVER, one of the major elements contained in de-icing fluids used for aircraft is “urea” more commonly known as “urine”, so now we all know what we have to do before we fly in such cold high humidity conditions. Go p*** on your drone before you fly.

Zsolti Posted at 2018-1-11 13:46
Yeah, be careful! Never doing this mistake again.

[view_image]

Cool picture, no pun meant.

We use rain x on our helmet lenses when racing karts so it should be ok

Dockater Posted at 2018-1-12 09:22
Hi RedHotPoker, I think you will find that the usual commercial solutions for deicing are not really suitable for a small drone. HOWEVER, one of the major elements contained in de-icing fluids used for aircraft is “urea” more commonly known as “urine”, so now we all know what we have to do before we fly in such cold high humidity conditions. Go p*** on your drone before you fly.

I have a better, bad weather solution, for us hobbiest types.. It's a neat little package.

As seen on/at www.RealFlight.com. Yeah, their Drone version is four aces... Winning!! Ha

I thought "peons" were like rank military new comers. Green horns on the range, so to speak.

RainX is great for beading rain drops and helping them run off the windshield glass easier. Not sure what effect that product will have with freezing humidity. Likely very little.


RedHotPoker

Dockater Posted at 2018-1-12 09:22
Hi RedHotPoker, I think you will find that the usual commercial solutions for deicing are not really suitable for a small drone. HOWEVER, one of the major elements contained in de-icing fluids used for aircraft is “urea” more commonly known as “urine”, so now we all know what we have to do before we fly in such cold high humidity conditions. Go p*** on your drone before you fly.

Yeah, always enjoyed doing my walk around in a freshly deiced aircraft

Dockater Posted at 2018-1-12 09:22
Hi RedHotPoker, I think you will find that the usual commercial solutions for deicing are not really suitable for a small drone. HOWEVER, one of the major elements contained in de-icing fluids used for aircraft is “urea” more commonly known as “urine”, so now we all know what we have to do before we fly in such cold high humidity conditions. Go p*** on your drone before you fly.

Our Company supplies De-Icing ... not only the spray used on wings - but also the additive to the fuel itself to prevent ice crystals in the systems.

Urea in fact is a product of chemical process and not actually Urine ... its production is an indicator of a countries industrialisation. From Urea, they then move into other forms of fertilizer. Urea is a base fertilizer and can be in powder, liquid or prilled form.

My labs used to sample and analyse millions of tons of the stuff .... for SAMAD and Ibn Al Baytar in Saudi Arabia, later for Urals Kali and other Russian producers.

Nigel

Dockater Posted at 2018-1-12 09:22
Hi RedHotPoker, I think you will find that the usual commercial solutions for deicing are not really suitable for a small drone. HOWEVER, one of the major elements contained in de-icing fluids used for aircraft is “urea” more commonly known as “urine”, so now we all know what we have to do before we fly in such cold high humidity conditions. Go p*** on your drone before you fly.

Dockater is correct.  After my first crash, I tried his method and have never had an icing problem.

solentlife Posted at 2018-1-13 04:01
Our Company supplies De-Icing ... not only the spray used on wings - but also the additive to the fuel itself to prevent ice crystals in the systems.

Urea in fact is a product of chemical process and not actually Urine ... its production is an indicator of a countries industrialisation. From Urea, they then move into other forms of fertilizer. Urea is a base fertilizer and can be in powder, liquid or prilled form.

Hi Solentlife, thank you for the correction and what you say is correct. Well almost correct, at least since 1828, before that urea was, well in fact, still is, the main nitrogen-containing substance in animal urine.

I am a medical doctor by profession so I do know a little about this substance. The body uses it in many processes, most notably for the elimination of nitrogen. It is formed in the liver by combining ammonia with carbon dioxide into CO(NH2)2.

In 1828 Friedrich Wölther a German chemist discovered that urea could be produced entirely using non-organic materials. This was a big thing and destroyed the then current doctrine of “vitalism”. Which is the belief that living organisms are essentially different from non-living things because they have an undefined “energy”. This was one huge down for the biologists.

Since then and also because collecting bat dung is so unpleasant the major source of urea is, as you say, chemically produced in powder, liquid or pellet (prilled) forms and as a consequence become much more boring.

If I need to use de-icer on my drone I will p**s on it, it is cheaper and can be easily restored by drinking a beer.

Happy flying – Dockater

Dockater Posted at 2018-1-13 06:54
Hi Solentlife, thank you for the correction and what you say is correct. Well almost correct, at least since 1828, before that urea was, well in fact, still is, the main nitrogen-containing substance in animal urine.

I am a medical doctor by profession so I do know a little about this substance. The body uses it in many processes, most notably for the elimination of nitrogen. It is formed in the liver by combining ammonia with carbon dioxide into CO(NH2)2.

Impressive!  Doc Dockater.  Do you take walk ins?  My stenosis is killin me today.

If we can urinate on the props for deicer wouldn't that be a sight for the neighbors. "Hey look, Joe Bob is going to fly his drone today. Pretty cold out though. Wait a minute, what's he doing!"

ALABAMA Posted at 2018-1-13 07:06
Impressive!  Doc Dockater.  Do you take walk ins?  My stenosis is killin me today.

Thank you. To be quite honest I take walk-ins, lie-downs, sit-ups and anything else that pays. You are welcome to come by, but your problem is not in my line, neither lumbar nor vascular. I have a good coffee machine though.

Zsolti Posted at 2018-1-11 13:46
Yeah, be careful! Never doing this mistake again.

[view_image]

OMG - that just goes to show how quickly moisture can turn to ice during flight!