How do planes keep ice off wings during flight?

Every airline handles their own de-icing, including purchasing, storing, and applying de-icing and anti-icing fluids to their planes. De-icing solution is a mixture of propylene glycol and water, heated to around 150 degrees, and sprayed under pressure to the wings of an aircraft.



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Clear ice is dangerous for flight because it can lead to: Decreased lift – due to disruption of airflow over the wing and tail surfaces. Increased drag – due to sheets of ice protruding beyond the wing. Increased weight – a large amount of ice can accumulate rapidly.

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It's not uncommon to see planes being sprayed before takeoff. The spray is a heated mixture of glycol and water. It has a lower freezing temperature than just water. This breaks off ice already formed and prevents more from building up.

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Water salutes have been used to mark the retirement of a senior pilot or air traffic controller, the first or last flight of an airline to an airport, the first or last flight of a specific type of aircraft, as a token of respect for the remains of soldiers killed in action, or other notable events.

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Maximum Time
In the United States, airlines are not allowed to keep passengers on the tarmac for more than three hours on domestic flights and four hours on international flights without allowing them to disembark. After this time, the airline must either return to the gate or provide alternate transportation.

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But, is there an exact temperature that makes it too cold for a commercial airplane to fly? “There is not a specific temperature,” says Tom Haines, Senior Vice President of Media, Communications & Outreach at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

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Inland's Portland plant takes the spent chemical and recycles it back into usable propylene glycol to again deice planes at several other airports — or for other uses, such as windshield wiper fluid or lavatory fluid. That process takes several months.

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Contrails have been around since the dawn of aviation. The word is short for condensation trails. These contrails happen when humidity and temperature cause the moisture in the air to condense and form what we see as white clouds coming from the back of jet engines.

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Fuel dumping (or a fuel jettison) is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff, or before landing short of the intended destination (emergency landing) to reduce the aircraft's weight.

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