Researchers from the U.S., Canada, Britain and France are participating in a major aircraft icing study taking place this winter primarily in the Montreal area. Canada’s National Research Council is leading the Alliance Icing Research Study with its Convair CV-580 in partnership with NASA’s DHC-6 Twin Otter.
The study will focus on freezing rain. When a winter storm develops over Montreal, the Convair and Twin Otter, joined by three other research aircraft, will set out from various airports and converge over Montreal to collect storm data at different altitudes.
In total, 65 flights are planned. The Montreal area was chosen because of its high frequency of freezing precipitation. Underwing probes aboard NRC’s Convair collect images of cloud water and ice particles.