New Avionics Corp. has unveiled an ice sensor almost entirely composed of plastic, making it ideally suited for placement near antennas on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other small aircraft.

Save for contact wires, the model 9732-UAV ice-detecting transducer has no metal, making it invisible to RF energy. The model weighs less than 10 g with no moving parts and can detect ice layers of 0.001 in. or less in thickness. The hermetically sealed unit consumes less than 2 W power and is NASA icing wind-tunnel tested. The sensor's body consists of Delrin and Acrylic plastics and measures just 1.5 in. long with 0.25-in. diameter and can be mounted almost anywhere on an aircraft. The sensor conforms to SAE AS-5498, paragraph 5.2.1.1.1 requirements in lieu of published FAA technical standard orders for in-flight icing detectors. It is listed in SAE aerospace report AIR-4367A, paragraph 4.11. The RF-invisible sensor can be mounted in close proximity to GPS and other aircraft antennas without causing interference.