Airplanes with windshield wipers?

From:  "Carl

Do commercial airlines (boein 737, etc) have windshield wipers, and if so, have windshield wiper fluid?

TB started off the discussion with this thought: 

No, due to the speed of the jets (cruising speeds of 0.74 mach) and an operating cruise altitude of 35000 feet. Wipers would be ripped off or lifted off due to "planing" at high speed. Also at 35000 feet, it is very cold and washer solutions do not work well at below freezing temperatures. The cold and speed of the jet makes wiper fluid impractical. At 35000 feet you are also flying above the clouds and when you are lower, the speed of the jet keeps the rain off the windshield.

merlin agreed with TB and wrote us this: 

No they do not. As far as I know there are no aircraft that have a standard windshield wiper. some aircraft have a fluid that is squirted onto the windsheild in-flight which causes water droplets to deflect (i.e slide away) at a faster rate.
The reason airplanes don't have windshield wipers is because the airflow over the windscreen (that's windshield in aviation terminology) is so great that water droplets deflect almost instantly upon contact.
Furthermore when aircraft encounter weather conditions in which rain is present, they are usually flying on instruments (I.E. flying without looking outside). I hope this clears up the windshield wiper issue for you.

Student pilot  shared his knowledge on the situation: 

Yes they do, they have one wiper for each front window. They can be used upto a specific speed (approx. 200mph i think), so only available on ground or approach. They don't have wiper fluid but rain repellant which enhances the view a bit.

Dima concluded with this final word: 

No, big planes like B-747/737 and so on have no wipers. They have a heating system instead.