Boeing says a key part of 777-9 icing certification isn’t just flying into cold weather, it’s building “designer ice” on purpose.
For recent certification efforts, a multidisciplinary team crafted hundreds of precisely shaped, 3D-printed “ice” forms that are temporarily attached to the aircraft to mimic worst-case ice build-up on critical surfaces. Tooling and equipment designer Gunner Santana assisted in producing the shapes, while aerodynamics engineer Brad Hood explained how regulations influence multiple icing scenarios across different flight phases, speeds, and weights, which then determine which ice geometries must be simulated to ensure compliance.
In total, Boeing says engineering teams developed about 600 required shapes/designs, producing the drawings and overseeing printing. Structures lead Matt Goldor’s group converts final designs into the digital datasets needed for production, and for the latest test round, they added 60+ new shapes to the library. The shapes are fabricated in a Boeing Test & Evaluation lab in the Puget Sound area and were used during flight testing based out of Moses Lake, Washington.
Images: Boeing