Aircraft Deicing Operations

is about the same amount of time it would take to achieve deicing results usingconventional ADFs [13].There are currently three InfraTek Deicing System facilities in the US and one inOslo, Norway. The largest by volume is the one installed at JFK International Airport inMarch 2006. The facility was operating during the 2006-2007 deicing season. Thesystem is designed to provide deicing services for up to a 747-300 size aircraft [18]. Thefollowing performance benefits have been documented: Approximately 90% reduction of glycol use per aircraft under snow and iceconditions. No glycol use for defrosting operations.Furthermore, in terms of budget management, using the InfraTek system allowsmore accurate winter operations budgets for customers since the system charges a fixedfee based on the size of the aircraft. Conventional deicing methods are priced based onthe volume of fluid applied, which varies based on the severity of winter weatherconditions. However, cost data is currently limited by the number and scale of facilitiesusing the InfraTek system.5.1.1 Implementation IssuesAlthough IR energy systems have been in development since the mid-1990s, their use isnot yet widespread. A few things to consider over their implementation are: The physical size of systems such as InfraTek make planning and design forsuch a system quite complex. Certain airports might not be able to accommodatesuch a facility as the structure needs to conform to FAA part 77 – ObjectsAffecting Navigable Airspace. Due to the aircraft processing capacity of an InfraTek type system, an IRfacility can present a bottleneck during peak traffic hours. Traffic analysis iscrucial for airports looking to adopt an IR system. While IR systems reduce the need for ADFs, thus limiting the environmentalimpact from these fluids, the system cannot provide anti-icing protection. SomeAircraft Deicing Operations.Anna Vasilyeva13