Page 6 - Sept24T

Check for Icing
by Thomas P. Turner
“It’s only September,” you’re probably thinking. It was 104° Fahrenheit in Wichita, Kansas, when I wrote this last month. Still, now’s the time to check
and prepare your airplane’s ice protection systems—and yourself—for the coming season. Let’s look at the major types of ice protection systems and what you should do now to ensure they will be ready.
Deice boots
Inflatable rubber deice boots have been the standard aircraft deicing system for almost 100 years. They’re still ubiquitous in piston twins and most turboprops, and even some jets still employ pneumatic deice boots.
Pneumatic deicing boots remove ice by inflating at the pilot’s command, breaking up ice that has adhered to the wing, horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer leading
4 • TWIN & TURBINE / September 2024
edges so the slipstream may blow away the ice. If there are holes in the boots or if internal issues prevent some or all of the boots from inflating, the system’s ability to remove ice is reduced. Also, any discrepancy with the surface deicing system invalidates the “flight in icing conditions” authority for certified airplanes. Don’t wait until you start picking up ice to ensure the system is working properly.
Refresher Training
Here’s how a typical Pilot’s Operating Handbook de- scribes the operation of a pneumatic surface deice system:
Deice boots cemented to the leading edges of the wings, horizontal tail surfaces and vertical tail sur- face are operated by engine-driven pump pressure. Compressed air, after passing through the pressure