Air Canada tests jet de-icing strips to end blasts of glycol
As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, airlines are wheeling their de-icing equipment out of storage, typically a heavy truck with a large tank and boom-mounted cannon that sprays ice-melting glycol onto an aircraft’s wings and upper fuselage. What’s been a routine process for decades can add half an hour or more to an aircraft’s preparation for takeoff — a costly nuisance when quick turnarounds on the tarmac at congested airports are key. Last year in December, Southwest Airlines Co. suffered severe travel disruptions during a massive winter storm, in part because it couldn’t keep up with de-icing its jets. Air Canada is now exploring a novel concept to thaw its aircraft — one that does away with the hundreds of gallons of glycol and crew that spray it onto waiting jets. Instead, the airline will use heated tape strips to get the plane takeoff ready with just the flip of a switch. Canada’s flagship carrier is the first airline to fit hundreds of adhesive ice-melting strips to the upper fuselage, wings and tail of an Airbus SE A320 aircraft, with the rest of the fleet following next year. Electrons on the plane’s surface begin to shake when animated by a high-frequency current, which travels from an electric box inside the aircraft through to the strips. The movement generates heat, causing the ice to melt. The concept was developed by a Boston startup aptly called De-Ice. Co-founder and CEO Alexander Bratianu-Badea, a trained chemical engineer with a finance degree from MIT, said he was inspired to explore the technology a few years back while suffering a lengthy delay when his plane sat on the tarmac waiting for its glycol shower. Since then, the 32-year-old has worked with the FAA and Transport Canada, as well as Air Canada and other airline executives, to create a technology that’s expected to complete regulatory tests next year. So far, the system has proved it’s safe and can withstand intense weather and in-flight conditions, Bratianu-Badea said in an interview. “The idea would to be to start with Air Canada, to deliver systems and improve that experience for passengers,” he said. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-12-06/star/air-canada-tests-jet-de-icing-strips-to-end-blasts-of-glycol
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Air Canada tests jet de-icing strips to end blasts of glycol
As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, airlines are wheeling their de-icing equipment out of storage, typically a heavy truck with a large tank and boom-mounted cannon that sprays ice-melting glycol onto an aircraft’s wings and upper fuselage. What’s been a routine process for decades can add half an hour or more to an aircraft’s preparation for takeoff — a costly nuisance when quick turnarounds on the tarmac at congested airports are key. Last year in December, Southwest Airlines Co. suffered severe travel disruptions during a massive winter storm, in part because it couldn’t keep up with de-icing its jets. Air Canada is now exploring a novel concept to thaw its aircraft — one that does away with the hundreds of gallons of glycol and crew that spray it onto waiting jets. Instead, the airline will use heated tape strips to get the plane takeoff ready with just the flip of a switch. Canada’s flagship carrier is the first airline to fit hundreds of adhesive ice-melting strips to the upper fuselage, wings and tail of an Airbus SE A320 aircraft, with the rest of the fleet following next year. Electrons on the plane’s surface begin to shake when animated by a high-frequency current, which travels from an electric box inside the aircraft through to the strips. The movement generates heat, causing the ice to melt. The concept was developed by a Boston startup aptly called De-Ice. Co-founder and CEO Alexander Bratianu-Badea, a trained chemical engineer with a finance degree from MIT, said he was inspired to explore the technology a few years back while suffering a lengthy delay when his plane sat on the tarmac waiting for its glycol shower. Since then, the 32-year-old has worked with the FAA and Transport Canada, as well as Air Canada and other airline executives, to create a technology that’s expected to complete regulatory tests next year. So far, the system has proved it’s safe and can withstand intense weather and in-flight conditions, Bratianu-Badea said in an interview. “The idea would to be to start with Air Canada, to deliver systems and improve that experience for passengers,” he said. <br/>
