De Icing Q/A

Jack : How long did you work with the Deicing unit?

Andrew : I worked in the Deicing unit for about a year and a half.

Jack : Whats the difference between the two types of fluid?

The most common two deicing fluids in aviation are Type 1 and Type 4. Type 1 is or- ange in colour and used as a “De-Ice” to remove any existing adhering frost, snow, or ice from the aircraft. Type 4 is green in colour and used as an “Anti-Ice” which is to as- sist in preventing further accumulation after the aircraft has been deiced. Type 4 is used when there is current precipitation present i.e. snow, hail, active frost, and other things like freezing drizzle/rain. One of the precautions of using Type 4 is that it can only be applied to aircraft with rotation speeds (Vr) of 100 knots or greater. This is be- cause Type 4 acts as a blanket over the wing, catching any falling precipitation until departure, where a speed of 100 knots needs to be achieved in order for the fluid (including the contaminants) to be blown off the aircraft.

Jack : What month do you start Deicing?

Andrew
Deicing usually begins around the end of October until about the end of April. This is largely dependent on where you are geographically. I’ve deiced as early as September and remember a huge snow storm in May, where we had a full day of deicing and were swimming in the local lake the next week.

Jack : What’s the challenging part about deicing?

Andrew

There are many challenging aspects about deicing, the most challenging is the envi- ronment. Our unit had an open bucket with a spray gun attached to the operating truck which consisted of two crew. One of the crew members would drive and the other would be in the bucket spraying (we usually flipped a coin to decide who was going in the bucket that day). Going in the bucket could make for a very long day. Usually I’d be 30-40 feet in the air and it could be 30 knots of winds in snow and freezing rain, blow- ing in your face, all while spraying deicing fluid on the aircraft. Another challenge would be when you were driving the truck, especially in the slush and snow, to be very dili- gent in ensuring s safe distance from the aircraft. Combine this with trying to be as efficient as possible, in order to keep steady operation flowing, made for quite challenging days.

Jack : How long does it take to deice one plane?

Andrew
It largely depends on the the particular aircraft and the weather that day, but I’ve de- iced aircrafts as fast as 3 minutes and we’ve been as long as 60 minutes in some cas- es. On average an aircraft can be properly deiced in 10-15 minutes.

Jack : Do you speak to the pilots when they come in?

Andrew
Usually I would try and speak with one of the pilots as they were doing a walk around of the aircraft so we could both get a good look at the situation and the de icing re- quirements. This allows for a clear understanding from both parties and to make sure safety is the top priority.

Jack : How long are your shifts?

Andrew

The shifts we worked were 12 hours each and we ran a 4 day on 4 day off program. If there was a lot of snow coming that week, we would usually keep a few extra guys on just to cover the overflow of aircraft.

Jack : How many planes have you de-iced in one day?

Andrew
The most planes I’ve deiced in one day was 17. This was in the dead of winter in a big snowstorm, on a high traffic day. Some of the bigger facilities like Toronto and Montreal can do hundreds of aircrafts in one day ranging from King Airs to Boeing 777.

Jack : How did you get into de-icing

Andrew
I got into deicing as an entry level opportunity for my career to becoming a pilot. Once I graduated my aviation program and completed all of my licenses, I found myself in a ground position with a Northern Canadian operator. This was common as a first job in aviation to becoming a pilot as the operator would get to know you and your work eth- ic. Once a flying position opened up, you would be likely one of the first candidates.

Overall, working the deicing unit was a great experience, you learned so much about airline operations and how much work it takes to get an aircraft flying.