Author Archives: uavicinglab

** NEW PUBLICATION ** The operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in icing conditions can be significantly limited because of aerodynamic performance penalties. For example, ice accretions on wings reduce lift and increase drag. The increased drag requires the aircraft to increase thrust, thereby increasing the required energy and limiting flight endurance and range. GoodContinue reading “The challenge of predicting drag increases under icing conditions”

Doctoral candidate Joachim Wallisch at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics and NTNU UAV Icing Lab will hold a trial lecture and defend his doctoral thesis for the degree of philosophia Doctor (PhD.) Thesis title Recucing Energy Consumption of UAVs in Icing Conditions with Active Electrothermal De-Icing Protection Systems Trial Lecture Related Challenges in Aviation: Surface Icing, Ice Shedding, and ContrailContinue reading “Defense of thesis – 20 July – Joachim Wallisch (online stream)”

Doctoral candidate Nicolas Carlo Müller at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics and UAV Icing Lab will hold a trial lecture and defend his doctoral thesis for the degree of philosophia Doctor (PhD.) Thesis title: Ice accretion effects and ice protection systems for UAV propellers Trial lecture: Pathways to Certifying UAVs for Icing Conditions: Technical Requirements (civil & defense), MeansContinue reading “Defense of thesis – 15 July – Nicolas Carlo Müller”

Doctoral candidate Bogdan Løw-Hansen at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics and the UAV Icing Lab will hold a trial lecture and defend his doctoral thesis for the degree of philosophia Doctor (PhD.) Thesis title Modelling and validation of atmospheric icing effects on small fixed-wing UAV’s Trial Lecture Optimal Excitation Maneuvers for UAV System Identificatoin in Closed Loop Flight Time andContinue reading “Defense of thesis – 13 July – Bogdan Løw-Hansen”

**NEW PUBLICATION** In one of our recent icing wind tunnel campaigns, the NTNU UAV Icing Lab investigated how ice accretion affects the performance of a UAV propeller in collaboration with Ubiq Aerospace and the Université du Québec à Chicoutimii (UQAC). What happens when a drone rotors are exposed to icing conditions and start to develop irregularContinue reading “How Ice Affects Drone Propellers: Results from Icing Wind Tunnel Experiments”

**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 flowContinue reading “UAV Icing: Icing Effects on Control Surfaces”

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 iceContinue reading “UAV Icing at the Unmanned Nordic Conference”

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 theContinue reading “UAV Icing at the European Aerospace Science Network’s Research Webinar”

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 icingContinue reading “UAV Icing at the Aircraft Icing Forum”