Latest from the Blog
UAV Icing: Icing Effects on Control Surfaces
**NEW PUBLICATION** The adverse effects of in-flight icing on small fixed-wing UAVs are a research topic with increasing interest. While the research primarily focuses on clean wing configurations, the impact of leading-edge ice accretion on the aerodynamic performance with deflected control surfaces has been neglected. However, ice accretion has a significant effect on the flow…
UAV Icing at the Unmanned Nordic Conference
I’m looking forward to speaking at UNC 2026, a key Nordic industry event bringing together UAV operators, regulators, and technology developers. The conferene is 9-10 Febuary in Oslo, Norway. Icing remains one of the most underestimated risks in UAV operations across the Nordics, often grounding missions far beyond Arctic regions. Even small amounts of ice…
UAV Icing at the European Aerospace Science Network’s Research Webinar
I’m very honoured to be invited to speak about this at the European Aerospace Science Network (EASN) research webinar on 19th December at 14:00 CET. In my talk titled “Icing on Emerging Aircraft: Research Needs for UAVs and Beyond”, I’ll introduce why icing remains such a pressing challenge for unmanned and disruptive aircraft—and why the…
UAV Icing at the Aircraft Icing Forum
I’m incredibly honoured to be invited to speak at the upcoming Aircraft Icing Forum, a recurring monthly forum that brings together experts from research, industry, and regulatory bodies to discuss aircraft icing technologies, certification, and operational challenges – hosted by the FAA and NASA. The Aircraft Icing Forum plays a unique role in the icing…
Aerodynamic challenges of UAVs with thermal de-icing systems
** NEW PUBLICATION ** Operating drones in cold weather causes multiple challenges. Atmospheric in-cloud icing is one of them. Aircraft are often grounded during potential icing conditions because of significant performance degradation caused by ice accretion.Ice protection systems (IPS) are one way to mitigate icing-induced performance degradations and to open the atmospheric flight envelope. However,…
Panel discussion on challenges of icing for disruptive aircraft and AAM at Aviation Forum
At the AIAA Aviation Forum 2024 in Las Vegas, a selected panel of experts from across the aerospace sector came together to address one of the most pressing challenges facing the industry today: the impact of in-flight icing on disruptive aircraft designs, such as fully-electric aircraft, UAVs, and eVTOLs. The panel was led by the…
UAV icing at the AIAA Aviation 2024 Forum
Last week, the AIAA Aviation Forum 2024 took place in Las Vegas, with over 2,900 attendees from more than 41 countries. The UAV Icing Lab participated and presented the latest developments in the field of UAV icing. The following papers with involvement from the lab were presented at the conference:
RCN support for the 2nd UAV Icing Workshop
We are thrilled to announce that the Norwegian Research Council (RCN) will be supporting our 2nd International UAV Icing Workshop with a grant of 100,000 NOK. The workshop will be held in Trondheim 03-04 December and organised by the UAV Icing Lab. This funding will allow us to keep the event free for all attendees,…
Exploring New Frontiers: Icing Research for Green Aviation
The NTNU UAV Icing Lab has obtained funding for a new research project in collaboration with UBIQ Aerospace. Together, they have received 9.1MNOK (0.8MEUR) in funding from the Norwegian Research Council for an innovation project with the title Zero Ice Shield: D•ICE Ice Protection for Aviation’s Green Evolution. The project’s motivation is the development of…
Advancing UAV Safety: Electro-Thermal Ice Protection for Propellers
In a recent presentation at the AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition in Orlando, master student Markus Frey had the pleasure of representing the NTNU UAV Icing Lab. In this session, we explored innovative research set to revolutionize the safety and reliability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) operating in challenging weather conditions. The focus was an…
Bridging UAV Icing Innovations to Clean Aviation
Last week, our team from the UAV Icing Lab had the privilege of attending the NTNU Clean Aviation evening with Rolls-Royce, Avinor, and Widerøe. This event not only provided us with a deeper understanding of the latest trends in aviation technology but also opened our eyes to the significant potential for synergy between our work…
New Advancements in Ice Protection Systems for UAV propellers
The NTNU UAV Icing Lab, together with Mejzlik Propellers, and UBIQ Aerospace have developed a system to protect the propellers of UAVs when flying in icing conditions. In clouds in cold conditions, the propeller can collect ice and reduce the aerodynamic efficiency of the propeller. The developed electro-thermal ice protection system prevents ice accretion and…
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