Airframe De-Icing

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Member for

18 years 6 months

Posts: 1,077

When I arrived at the airfield this morning the air temp was -2 c and all of the aircraft were covered in ice.
we spent some time pouring warm water over the wings and tailplanes to remove the ice, only to have it freeze up again.
the water that ran under the wing also froze into droplets , necessitating the use of Kim-wipe dunked in warm water to get it off.

Is there any better way of de-icing an airframe that people use?

PS lovely day for it, we did circuits rather than stalling as the conditions were perfect.
I did 4 Circuits ranging from the absolutely dire and frightening, through gentle improvement to a perfect circuit followed by a greaser of a landing, well chuffed!
The extra speed that the Warrior carries over the 152 certainly makes things much more rushed in the circuit.

PPS lovely King Air Turbine in Conington, looked monstrous parked next to the Duchess and the 152s!!!

Original post

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,606

De-icing fluid though expensive is the most effective. If you are flying club aircraft, they should buy some and not be cheapskates.

Cold air=nature's supercharger

Member for

18 years 6 months

Posts: 1,077

De-icing fluid though expensive is the most effective. If you are flying club aircraft, they should buy some and not be cheapskates.

Cold air=nature's supercharger

They did mention it being rather pricey!

6 of my last 7 cars have been turbocharged (6 Saabs, 1 Impreza) so I know all about cool,moist, dense air=more boost, but why do you get more boost at the same time as less traction?:confused:
(Not so much of an issue in the Impreza:D )

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,606

Traction as in air over the prop or coverting torque to go-go-go! through your car tyres ;)

Alternatives? You need to source I would imagine an isoprop alcy mix that is safe to use on paintwork. Does Halfords do anything similar?

ICAO unsurprisingly has a regs on it and so is liely to be replicated in JAR-OPS also. ICAO DOC 9640 – Manual of Aircraft Ground De-Icing/Anti-Icing. Just out of interest there are three methods of removing ice whilst on the ground. From my textbook:

1. Hot Water ... heated to a maximum temperature of 95°C ... pressure sprayed onto the airframe to melt and blast away the snow/ice. After a surface has been de-iced, it must either be dried or treated within three minutes.

2. Fluid DE-icing ... applied heated to a minimum temperature of 60°C at the nozzle in order to assure maximum efficiency and sprayed at a pressure of 100 psi.

3. Fluid ANTI-Icing ... normally 100% concentrations of type II/IV fluids are used for anti-icing purposes on uncontaminated aeroplane surfaces... normally applied unheated. In extremes of climate...can be heated to a max of 60°C but if the fluid is overheated the thickening agent in the fluid forms into a gel.

The ideal one therefore is the last item. Spray, leave, then wipe off the slush.