Flight Test Results for Autonomous Icing Protection Solution for Small Unmanned Aircraft

Abstract

The primary focus of the work presented in this paper is a proof-of-concept study of a novel electro-thermal-based autonomous icing protection solution (IPS) for small unmanned aircraft. The solution includes a central control unit, where several control algorithms, ensure temperature control of electro-thermal sources, applied to exposed aircraft surfaces. The solution includes three different control procedures (icing detection, anti-icing, and de-icing) that are validated through test flights conducted in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway.