There is rain-x for helmet visors which works on plastic
I have a free sample bottle of it, labelled "BVBA/SPRL", on the shelf but never tried it.
I wonder what that bottle is. BVBA/SPRL.
It is the Belgian expression for limited company (Dutch and French): besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid/société privée à responsabilité limitée.
I have dug through old emails and it appears to be Safewing MP1 which is a Type 1 de-icing fluid.
It is a yellowish liquid.
It would make sense that a deicing fluid might work for a short while. There are different types of those, with different holdover times. However the specs of these specifically say they do not provide in-flight ice protection.
Does rain-x actually work against ice? I know it works well to repel water droplets and make them run off, but that's a different idea to water droplets freezing upon contact with a subzero surface.
It would make sense that a deicing fluid might work for a short while. There are different types of those, with different holdover times. However the specs of these specifically say they do not provide in-flight ice protection.
Deicing fluid is specifically meant to stay attached and blow off on the takeoff roll.
Does rain-x actually work against ice? I know it works well to repel water droplets and make them run off, but that's a different idea to water droplets freezing upon contact with a subzero surface.
It is worth remembering that Rain-X is specifically not good for perspex - it will cause discolouration cracking and crazing. It does apparently work well on glass.
I just came across this NASA-produced video called "Icing for General Aviation Pilots". While some of the content is US-specific I think it might be of interest to other members of the Forum as well.
Filmed from the cocpit of a A36 Bonanza single engine piston.
Personally, if I had picked up that sort of ice (maybe 15mm of rime) I would fly around in warm air for a bit before landing with it - unless not possible in which case I would aim for a nice long runway and cross the runway threshold maybe 20kt faster than normal.
At a wild guess, and knowing the TB20, he was halfway to being uncontrollable even at full power (at whatever speed could be maintained in level flight).
I read that the thinner the airfoil, the more vulnerable to icing it is. The Bonanza got rather thick airfoils, even more so the Cessnas. The TB20 and especially the Cirrus got thinner airfoils.
An odd atitude on the video. In an aircraft without deicing equipment that had picked up that much ice, I think I would have been a little more focussed on flying than providing commentary.
