But, do they play 'paintball' with planes? What is de-icing and why it saves your life if you fly in winter
You are comfortably seated by the window. It's freezing outside, but it's nice and warm in the cabin. So much so that, if you are [...]
You are comfortably seated by the window. It's freezing outside, but it's nice and warm in the cabin. So much so that, if you're in Business Class, you're perhaps sipping a chilled champagne flute. Take a look outside and see Some strange vehicles with arms and platforms Who 'get under their skin' and, suddenly, They shoot steaming liquid in the direction of your plane. It takes a few moments and you can't see anything from the window, because it is covered with a thick and, perhaps, colored liquid.
In this article:
Don't worry, this is not a maxi paintball game among airport employees. Nor is there any fire on board. In fact, that liquid shot toward the plane is meant to warm it up. Or, rather, to Heating its aerodynamically critical parts, such as wings and horizontal and vertical tail surfaces.
When, in fact, temperatures drop below freezing while the plane is stationary at the gate between flights, Ice formations can be generated on the fuselage that are very dangerous Should the airplane take off in that condition. On a large airliner, in fact, ice significantly increases takeoff weight. Also Can alter the shape of aerodynamic surfaces, making them perform less well, and hinder the proper movement of flaps and slats.
It is then that the so-called de-icing is carried out.. If there is a snow accumulation on the aircraft, the procedure is performed in two stages: in the first stage, the accumulation is removed with low viscosity liquids, 'fired' on the plane with considerable pressure and at temperatures that, depending on the amount of accumulation, can vary 55 to 80 degrees Celsius.
In a second step, you perform a procedure that prevents ice from reforming before the aircraft begins its takeoff run. In this second phase they are 'fired' on fuselage and wings substances referred to as pseudoplastics, which contain polymers that can thicken the mix of water and antifreeze substances used (the latter are Ethylene glycol or, more often, propylene glycol, which is less toxic than the previous one).
These viscous substances often colored orange, yellow, or otherwise garish hues, wrap around the fuselage, wings, and tailwings like a film e are able to prevent ice reforming for up to more than two hours after their application. This is important at those airports (such as New York's JFK) where temperatures in winter can be very low and taxiing times before takeoff very prolonged, especially at certain times of the day.
Many airports, among those located in areas with harsh climates, have equipped themselves with Multiple pitches for performing de-icing, which are generally located near the runway heads, so as to minimize the time between de-icing and takeoff as much as possible and thus avert the reformation of ice while not using huge amounts of antifreeze mixtures.
The procedure, which lasts on average between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the 'size' of the aircraft, has in fact A high price: for the environment, because antifreeze and 'thickening' substances are pollutants if they end up in the ground or in a watercourse or reservoir (many airports have facilities that can recover-and reuse-part of the fluids that are used in de-icing operations); And for the pockets of the airlines who use the service: the amount of liquid needed to 'de-ice' a large commercial aircraft varies between two thousand liters and four thousand liters at a time. And the cost per liter of the 'mixtures' used typically ranges from two to three dollars per liter. You do the math...
