Icy Runway Conditions

 


                                                                        Icing in aviation

    During takeoff and landing there are many environmental factors pilots need to consider. Such as runway conditions, winds, weather, visibility, and so on. I believe one of the biggest environmental factors is ice. Ice has a plethora of impacts, such as subpar runway conditions, freezing rain, and effecting flight instruments. Now ice may not be the most "effective" environmental factor since icing conditions are basically non-existent in normal altitudes around the equator, but it is still serious nonetheless. I believe that ice on runways can be completely resolved in a very simple way. Now growing up in the north, heated sidewalks are very common and work extremely well. I can see a very simple application like heated sidewalks transitioning to runways. Currently, majority of airports use chemicals to lower the freezing point. While an easy application, this still leaves the runway wet, causing a lesser runway condition to still be present. With heated runways, there would be no ice, and (while not actively snowing) no wet conditions either. While this technology is available, unfortunately most airports are just "delaying" the process from swapping over to heated concrete.



References

Heated concrete image 

https://le-cdn.hibuwebsites.com/bd10c4476af449ccaa7c23a981927908/dms3rep/multi/opt/hydronic-heating-underfloor-heating-516w.jpg

Icing in the Aviation Environment 

https://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/weather-and-atmosphere/icing-in-the-aviation-environment

Airport Winter Operations 

https://airport.nridigital.com/air_jun20/winter_operations_airports


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