Weight of snow on wings

(Michael Horowitz) wrote in message . com...
Holger - airplane is an hour's drive away over uncleared roads; I"d
prefer the broom approach - just trying to see whether or not I should
plan on camping out under the plane during a snow storm. - Mike

The structure should be good for at least minus 2 Gs, so at a normal
wing loading of about 8 psf, it should be OK unless the snow gets
really wet and deep. If there's any wind, tie it down facing into the
wind so the snow will tend to flow off.
Better to worry more about water trapped under heavy, wet snow:
it'll find its way into the wing and tanks and do damage. Water
freezing in hollow spots expands and breaks things. A T-cart shouldn't
be too bad, but some airplanes have many little pockets where water
accumulates. Wooden airplanes with their plywood gussets are bad that
way.

Dan