[GingisK]

If there is wind, an even higher temp would have to be reached and maintained for any signifigant melting to occur.

Not true. Wind will evaporate ice even if that wind is very cold. The air merely has to have low humidity.

I know some guys who dug a C-130 out of the ice in Antarctica. They used things much like leaf blowers as excavating equipment.

[knarf]

"I know some guys who dug a C-130 out of the ice in Antarctica. They used things much like leaf blowers as excavating equipment."

The abandoned P-38 Lightning was steamed out with a made-for-the-job 4 ft., round steamer using the melted ice for the steam creation.