Leading edge ice in Australia, B737-8

89

u/41PaulaStreet 3h ago

I’m not a pilot. I thought ice was a bad thing.

121

u/FlyingSceptile 3h ago

Ice isn't a good thing, but this isn't anything significant. Also on the 737 the anti ice system is fully manually controlled, so its up to the pilots to detect the ice and turn on the anti ice. This amount of ice is probably difficult for the pilots to detect

72

u/looper741 3h ago

The inner slats (actually Krueger Flaps) are not heated on the 737, so ice buildup is acceptable here. The slats outboard of the engines are all heated. The winglets are not.

19

u/SubarcticFarmer 3h ago

The most outboard slat on each side isn't heated.

That said, not an issue with the 737. It's a tank when it comes to ice.

7

u/ReadyplayerParzival1 2h ago

The guppy can take a big load

4

u/Spin737 B737 2h ago

On a Jurassic and Classic the outboard is heated. On the MG and Max, it’s not.

24

u/Qkwerty 3h ago

Can confirm, landed safely

26

u/skeetchamp 3h ago

Are u sure?

5

u/Competitive_Ride_943 2h ago

I think they crashed and are just saying they landed safely

2

u/Maximus560 3h ago

How do pilots detect ice? Is it a sensor, a change in performance, or a conditions thing?

30

u/FlyingSceptile 3h ago

Good ole Mark 1 Eyeballs. Typically you're looking at something outside that's easy to see right in front of you like the windshield wiper assembly or something else thats unheated. If there's ice forming there, there's a good chance there's ice forming on the wing.

E: Applies to 737 like OP's example

3

u/Porschenut914 3h ago

Is there any reason to not deice when descending and going through clouds?

5

u/Some1-Somewhere 1h ago

More fuel burn, plus the high temperatures slowly damage some parts over time especially if there isn't water/ice to carry that heat away.

4

u/HolyLiaison 3h ago

Mark 1? You like it old school! I think they're up to Mark 3 with built-in AI these days!

-6

u/Cepheus7 3h ago

737 and most other airliners have ice detectors on the side of the plane. It provides an annunciation to the crew when ice is detected.

9

u/GuppyHawk 2h ago

737 with ice detectors. You make me laugh. Good one!

6

u/railker AME-M2 1h ago

Looking for an image of ice on the wiper and turns out ice detectors were an option for the Classic/NG. No idea how many aircraft actually installed it.

3

u/Independent-Reveal86 2h ago

Yeah, nah. Some airliners have ice detectors but not all do. On the A320 it’s just a probe sticking out in front of the windscreen, it “detects” ice by having ice visible on it. There may be options for something more sophisticated but plenty of airliners are running around with the pilots just looking to see if ice has built up (see below).

3

u/Cepheus7 2h ago

Fair enough. The CRJs i fly have ice detectors.

2

u/Independent-Reveal86 2h ago

Yeah the BAe146 I used to fly had an ice detector as well.

1

u/railker AME-M2 1h ago

And then I think the ATR has both? A sensor and a dedicated visual gubbin outside one of the side windows.

1

u/BeenThereDoneThat65 ATP I G450 I G550 I GV 56m ago

It starts to vibrate when there is ice on it

1

u/Independent-Reveal86 46m ago

What does?

1

u/BeenThereDoneThat65 ATP I G450 I G550 I GV 36m ago

The stick ice detector

1

u/Independent-Reveal86 2m ago

It doesn't, not the one in the picture anyway.

1

u/tracernz 19m ago

The A320 can also have 2 automated ice detectors fitted on the bottom of the fuselage and some airlines have them. It will give you FWS messages when you should turn the AI one and when you don’t need it anymore when those are fitted.

1

u/Jazzy-Cat5138 14m ago

Is that the "ice detector" you were describing? Interesting shape to it, with that inner portion that's exposed by the slots. What would this part actually be? A shape that complex presumably has some sort of functional use, and I suspect it's for more than just detecting ice. Is it a light source and a lens, so you can actually see ice buildup in the dark? Also looks like it has holes at the base.

5

u/ma33a 3h ago

Depends on the aircraft, some have an ice detector that will alert if it has ice on it. Some have a little black stick on the windscreen wipers that turns white (gets covered in ice) when there is ice.

2

u/chicknsnotavegetabl Stick with it! 3h ago

on a 737

do you really want to know

1

u/nexrad19 2h ago

On the 737 you can just look out the window at the wing

-6

u/CouchPotatoFamine F-100 3h ago

I might be reaching up and pushing my “call attendant” button then.

3

u/yourlocalFSDO 3h ago

This section of the 737 leading edge isn’t heated so there’s no way to remove ice, it’s not an issue to have ice build up there

0

u/CouchPotatoFamine F-100 3h ago

How about an ice scraper

8

u/Sasquatch-d B777 2h ago

This is equivalent to a snowflake falling into a lukewarm glass of water and calling it ice water. This is minuscule and perfectly safe.

It would look incredibly dangerous well before it turned even a little actually dangerous.

2

u/cdnav8r 1h ago

If you're in Cessna 208 Caravan it's a problem. That said, even a Caravan could take this amount of ice.

10

u/cyberentomology Avgeek/ex-Airline 1h ago

There’s no rime or reason…

15

u/Andrewdusha 3h ago

It’s not necessarily dangerous just because there’s some ice on the leading edge. However, icing can become dangerous if supercooled water produces glaze/clear ice with runback, allowing ice to accrete aft of the area protected by the aircraft’s anti-icing system. That can alter the wing’s airflow and reduce lift. So the concern isn’t simply “there’s ice here”, it’s ice accumulating beyond the protected area and affecting the aerodynamics.

18

u/JuliosvNerds 3h ago

Hate to be a pedant, but that’s a 737-800

34

u/Dear-Wolf322 3h ago

Do you really hate it, though?

6

u/JuliosvNerds 2h ago

Technically correct is the best kind of correct!

1

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1

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5

u/Rupperrt 2h ago

Or at least B738 if you’d want to abbreviate it correctly

1

u/Uberazza 2h ago

Standard ICAO aircraft code

1

u/BlueDotty 1h ago

more like frosty coating

1

u/Rich-Quote6243 1h ago

That section is not heated, leading edge anti ice doesn’t exist on that or the last bit near the winglet.

1

u/BeenThereDoneThat65 ATP I G450 I G550 I GV 58m ago

That’s not icing yes it’s leading edge frost but that’s not even close to ice

-7

u/747ER 3h ago

This is a 737-800, the 737-8 is a different type of plane which Qantas doesn’t fly.

1

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1

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-34

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14

u/IllDonkey9125 3h ago

OP never said there was a safety issue.

1

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Watch Me Fly Leading edge ice in Australia, B737-8

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