Forced air deicing has been around for some time. This method is designed to work in conjunction with deicing fluids to effectively remove snow and ice from an aircraft while reducing glycol waste. In a recent edition of the AviationPros podcast, Lee Williams, president at Avia Enviro, and Rudy Yates, president at Ground Support Specialist, discussed the evolution of forced air deicing nozzles and future plans for the technology with Ground Support Worldwide editor Josh Smith.
The forced air technique began with the United States Air Force trying to remove heavy deposits of snow on aircraft in northern areas like Alaska, Williams says.
“They would have three-, four-foot snowfalls on their wings and putting fluid on there just seemed to be going backwards,” he remembers. “So, they had developed a system where they were using bleed air from air starts and it was a crude system but it seemed to work. I saw this equipment and in making my rounds and talking to Federal Express, Rudy Yates at the time was chief engineer of Federal Express and I told him about it. He and I developed and built the first commercial forced air system and when the Air Force saw that, they granted us a research agreement to continue development to bring it to the commercial industry so they could purchase it.”
Over the past 20 years, this equipment has remained largely unchanged. But now, the system has been updated. The new system, according to Williams, can save up to 70-90% fluid and is 30-50% faster than the previous system. In 1988, the EPA ruled deicing fluid is a hazardous material, and reducing the use of this fluid can help companies meet EPA standards.
Yates mentions Ground Support Specialist will be testing a new forced air nozzle in July. The company will collect data from these tests and use it to make an adjustable nozzle that the user can adjust from the basket of the deicer truck.
“I would say that based on the testing that’s going to occur this summer, it’s very likely that you will see the new nozzles on aircraft deicers during the season of 2021-2022,” he says.
To listen to the entire podcast, click the link. AviationPros.com/21217850
