Frost on the Wings

An employee of Saltspring Air is covering the wings of this Dehavilland DHC2 with sleeves to prevent the build-up of frost on the wings. Ice on wings is really bad. It stops aircraft from performing properly and can cause them to fall out of the sky.

The dull areas on the wings and fuselage are condensation which is probably already freezing as it is already -2ºC. The sleeves are black to absorb light energy and produce a modicum of warmth.

Here he is turning the craft to access the other wing. This aircraft was delivered from the factory on 06-Jul-1956. The contrail in the sky is probably Alaska Airlines headed for Seattle.