SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/drone-structural-icing-visible-moisture

Besides freezing temperatures, what else must be present for structural icing to form?

Visible moisture, such as rain or cloud droplets.

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  1. Strong gusty wind
  2. Bright sunlight
  3. Visible moisture, like rain or cloud droplets ✔

Why: Two things are needed for structural icing: flying through visible water such as rain or cloud droplets, and a temperature of 0 degrees C or colder where it hits the aircraft.

Huh, didn't know that: Airflow can cool a propeller or wing to 0 degrees C even when the air around it is a few degrees warmer.

The dad joke
Why did the drone refuse to fly through the cloud? It was trying to stay cool, not ice cold.
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References

Answer: Visible moisture, like rain or cloud droplets. Two things are needed for structural icing: flying through visible water such as rain or cloud droplets, and a temperature of 0 degrees C or colder where it hits the aircraft.

  1. Remote Pilot sUAS Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22), Chapter 3b www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf
    The aircraft must be flying through visible water such as rain or cloud droplets
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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