200 Million in Arctic Deep Freeze - Winter Flying Precautions

[HiloHawaiian]

If your friend is seeing an LG TV for $450 it's an LCD. The OLED 55" is around $1500 and the 65" is $2100 as of today. The 77" is about $5000. Black Friday sales will save you a few more dollars. You should take a serious look... and don't pay too much attention to the hate that I'm about to reply to. Lemons can happen with any product. I can direct you to the AV forums I'm on with hundreds of people who stand by OLED and will echo the same statements I'm about to echo below.




I won't deny burn in can be an issue depending on the programming you watch but it's not a guarantee at all. Too many people think it is and that's just totally untrue. If you want to watch CNN all day like your old boss definitely DO NOT buy an OLED. That would be like buying a Ferrari as a grocery getter. Completely unnecessary. OLED is the best picture. Bar none. I own one and love it. But I also use mine in a home theater to watch 1080p and 4k UHD discs. I don't use mine to watch CNN 24/7 but for the record I have tuned into CNN and FOX News many many times and had experienced no ill effects.

If I was a 24/7 CNN junkie I'd have bought an LCD for $299 because those don't burn in no matter how long the ticker is on the screen.

As for your TV... it sounds like you just got unlucky. I've had my 65" B7 for 20 months... it has about 3600 hours on it and I haven't had a single problem. No burn in. No main board failure. No problems at all. Just a flawless picture that when paired with my Dolby Atmos sound system makes for an amazing home theater experience.

To each their own.

Agreed, I have 2 friends that love their OLED’s. Best of luck, I’m done with LG (except for their great washers & dryers, LOL).

As for Home Theater, it’s really a total, systematic approach that makes it work, more than the TV. The room must be right. The lightning controlled. I find the dim LED’s stuck onto the back of the TV to be really good, like a movie theater. Audio and acoustics are so important. I’ve found there’s really no substitute for true 5.1/7.1 surround. Even the best $1000+ sound bars with wireless subs & satellites can’t compete with a good surround receiver, a massive sub, rear, and/or side speakers. We constantly get fooled by sounds behind us, thinking it’s somebody in the house.

It’s a royal pain to run wires all over a room, but there’s no reliable wireless solution for rear speakers (amazingly). I got a 15” Polk Audio sub on Craigslist, for $50 — it makes a world of difference over my old 10”.

 

[Alaska]

Hmm, is that a Sleeping Lady I spy? There sure is a difference between your area and mine!

No Sleeping Lady in that one. Pioneer Peak. Snow is pretty well all gone already. 51 Last Tuesday and big winds. Winter has been one continuous Chinook.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Agreed, I have 2 friends that love their OLED’s. Best of luck, I’m done with LG (except for their great washers & dryers, LOL).

As for Home Theater, it’s really a total, systematic approach that makes it work, more than the TV. The room must be right. The lightning controlled. I find the dim LED’s stuck onto the back of the TV to be really good, like a movie theater. Audio and acoustics are so important. I’ve found there’s really no substitute for true 5.1/7.1 surround. Even the best $1000+ sound bars with wireless subs & satellites can’t compete with a good surround receiver, a massive sub, rear, and/or side speakers. We constantly get fooled by sounds behind us, thinking it’s somebody in the house.

It’s a royal pain to run wires all over a room, but there’s no reliable wireless solution for rear speakers (amazingly). I got a 15” Polk Audio sub on Craigslist, for $50 — it makes a world of difference over my old 10”.

This is what my Home Theater looks like

 

[Ansia]

This is what my Home Theater looks like

View attachment 5622

Is that Big Mouth Billy Bass hanging on your man cave?

 

[Troff]

In a recent discussion with @Alaska in the Meet Ups Forum the topic turned to his recent "close call" where his aircraft lost its ability to stay in the air but fortunately was just a few feet above ground level. The conditions were ambient air temperatures at 28°F with fog present down to ground level. Snow on the ground and hoar frost on the vegetation. It was the perfect conditions for his props to begin icing up and causing erratic instability which resulted in the drone doing a flip in the snow. If it had been at flying altitude the results would probably have been costly.

At least half or more of the United States and nearly all of Canada too will encounter below freezing conditions during winter. And if you have a desire to fly there are only two options: Take your vacation to a tropical climate and bring along your drone or tough it out back home and prepare to fly under potentially risky weather conditions. I am in that second "camp" here in Alaska and since my EVO is only a few months old it has not provided me the opportunity to fly it during cold temps. So I did some research on anti-icing treatments for aircraft, both manned and unmanned.

A number of years ago NASA discovered a mix of propylene glycol and a plastic polymer which created a gel to be applied to surfaces that are subjected to ice formation. It didn't really prevent the ice from forming but instead created a barrier to prevent the ice from adhering directly to the hard surface. And it allowed the ice to be easily 'wiped' off. I tracked down the company NASA gave the patent to in Palm Desert, CAL but I can't find a source of their Ice Free product.

PRESTONE, the anti-freeze maker, has concocted a product that sounds like it will be more suitable for drone prop treatment to prevent icing or at least reduce it. Its called ICE & FROST SHIELD and comes in a spray bottle or can of liquid. Its designed to be sprayed onto a vehicle's windows and mirrors before the frost or icing occurs. Its polymer base and secret sauce create a condition where the ice crystals cannot adhere to the glass and will allow the vehicle owner to easily brush or scrape off the accumulation.

I think this might be a suitable product to treat our drone props as an ice prevention tool. It is carried in every car parts store, like Napa, O'Reilly, and even in some Walmarts. The price, $6.99 USD for a whopping 32 fluid ounces. It if don't work on my props I will use it up on my truck this winter. But I believe it has promise, especially if you treat the props just before take off. I will be taking the treatment a bit further by putting multiple applications on the props and allowing each treatment to dry. Hopefully it may create a shield barrier down at the microscopic level where tiny pits and irregular surfaces exist on the props that would be points where the frost may begin. I'll be buying some today. Our first winter weather is arriving with potentially 1/4" of freezing rain today. Of course I'd never fly in rain, mist, or even fog as the risk is too great. And its not good filming conditions either. But icing on aircraft can occur under other atmospheric conditions too so an ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure.
View attachment 5562

I do want to add that pilots should realize when air temperatures are border line just above freezing that once you go to altitude the air temperature could be several degrees cooler and icing conditions might be present. Most cold weather residents know that even at 20° below zero frost can and does frequently form on our trees and vegetation from suspended water vapor and humidity. There is a lot happening at the molecular level when it comes to humidity in frozen air and even with ice fog. So I think a prop treatment plan is probably good preventative medicine. It sure can't hurt.

There is de-icing and anti-icing. Very different things. What attracts more ice? Thin leading edge or fat leading edge? Air temp of course has a lot to do with icing, but relative humidity has more to do with it. Have a look at a book called "Weather Ways". Fantastic! You'll be out-guessing your local weatherman in no time.

 

[Claude9]

I use vegetable oil. I just rub it into the props & wipe off the excess. Flying near freezing conditions is most dangerous. If there is a 2 degrees C difference between ambient air temperature & the dew point icing will occur. As mentioned please keep in mind about the lapse rate, air temperature decreases with altitude. Fly safe.

 

[Alaska]

I wrote the post about my props icing. It was perfect conditions for it, humid, fog almost to the ground and the temperature. I just never thought about it. It certainly made me choose to not fly this fall when conditions were similar.
As far as just cold, no issues. I have flown at 18 below zero and lots of cold weather in between with no problems.