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| The dry facts |
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During normal operation, the extremes of temperature and air pressure create large variations in the retive humidity inside an aircraft. The outer skin of the aircraft is extremely cold and when the cabin air meets this surface, condensation occurs in the form of frost that turns to ice. When the outer skin heats up during landing, the ice melts. Most of the water runs out through drainage vents when the aircraft is on the ground, but some accumulates in the insulation blankets and as pools in the fuselage.
The passengers provide the majority of the humidity during the flight, as every person on board exhales around 100 grams of water an hour. The negative effects experienced with condensation cover many areas of aircraft operation: economics, safety, maintenance and health. | |
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