Why are some aircraft able to fly in extremely cold climates (such as the Poles)? What causes them to not freeze over?

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I am a huge fan of flight simulation games (and aircraft mechanics in general), and this is a question that has always been interesting to me. Why are some crafts able to fly in super cold areas without freezing over and inevitably plummeting, while others have basically no chance of staying airborne?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

The temperature drops about 2C per 1000 feet (yes I just mixed metric and imperial – it’s an aviation thing)

So flying in freezing conditions happens a lot. For ice to form on a plane specific conditions have to exist that give the right amount of moisture and temperature. It’s kind of like a middle zone between too hot and too cold, then combine that with moisture and you have icing conditions. This is for most surfaces on the plane. This is the part that I think answers what you’re getting at. The mechanics of how it’s avoided are explained well in other comments.

For things like the pitot and carb icing is possible even in very hot temperatures and actually very likely. Even up to like 30C. I don’t think your question was aimed at this though. Most planes are outfitted with measures to avoid this because it is a very serious scenario to find yourself in

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