B-52 Stratofortress de-iced at Minot Air Force Base
With wind chill temperatures into the negative 60s F (-51° Celsius), Minot Air Force Base, in North Dakota, faces serious icing conditions in late fall and mid-winter seasons.
Therefore, 5 Bomb Wing B-52 Stratorofortress strategic bombers based there need to be de-iced before they can be launched; an operation that can be conducted by shooting hot air on the fuselage along with a mixture of hot air and glycol shot by de-icer trucks.
Interestingly, the forward section of the aircraft can’t be hit with a de-icing truck and it is de-iced thanks to an electric heating system made of resistive elements embedded in the cockpit (as well as in other parts of the airframe).
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