ISSUE FEATURES

DE-ICING
Winter is never over – it just moves between the hemispheres. In consequence, de-icing is a hardy perennial, but one that is cultivated by only a few specialists. We take a look at suppliers’ products, developments and the importance of recouping waste fluid.

For US supplier JBT, it’s the tempest de-icing range that is currently the most interesting product in this category. JBT’s tempest has been around for quite a few years now and the product has undergone steady enhancement and modification. For example, there has been the move from two engines to one, which has accordingly reduced the de-icer’s carbon footprint.

The tempest de-icer is available in several configurations, ranging from open to enclosed baskets; pre-mix or proportional mix; one man drive or two man drive and comes with boom heights from 13.7 metres (45 feet) to 16.7 metres (55 feet). All of the configurations are easily adaptable insofar as the tempest is concerned because of its purpose-built, customised chassis that is designed exclusively for de-icing. This means that the various configurations are totally integrated with the tempest’s design, providing a more efficient operating system than might be the case with a de-icer built on a truck chassis.

According to Ed Sachs, JBT AeroTech de-icer engineering Manager, the most obvious trend being witnessed with de-icers is that more customers are ordering the tempest with fluid conservation systems.

“This is because of rising glycol costs and environmental concerns,” he explains. “The days of dousing aircraft with glycol are coming to an end as de-icing systems and techniques that save on fluid use are rapidly on the rise. JBT AeroTech offers AirFirst forced air assist and proportional mix systems that promote savings of up to 70%. Both systems have been available for many years, but it has only been recently that operators have developed techniques and disciplines that maximise fluid savings.”

In this respect, AirFirst is an excellent example of a system that has been misunderstood and which has not truly reached its potential. There is a misconception on the part of some who think that AirFirst is only effective when blowing dry snow off aircraft, which would limit its effectiveness to very cold operations and high altitude airports located in areas like the rocky Mountains and the alps. Yes, AirFirst is very effective with dry snow, but the greatest glycol savings are realised when removing frost, which makes up the majority of de-icing operations over the course of a season.

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