SIUav8er
Narcosis
thats waaaaay too nice for a freighter!
Fedex Caravan Fleet Upgrades
- Thread starter jhugz
- Start date
thats waaaaay too nice for a freighter!
Monk
Well-Known Member
hahahahahah
A150K
Well-Known Member
Don't worry, everything will be MEL'd in a few years.
Boris Badenov
This is no laughing matter.
Wisdom from a guy who's Been There. Builds up fast in the tops of those summer storms, but as mentioned above, not a big issue because you have all kinds of Outs. The worst I've ever been scared by ice was in a low-powered machine under an inversion in freezing rain. If you have the power (and pressurization) to climb, even in a turboprop, ice is (usually, in my experience, etc etc) not that scary. Course, I never flew a Caravan, and I think even the 210 that scared the turds out of me was much better in ice than the ole Flying Roadblock. YMMV, be careful, and all that.
Boris Badenov
This is no laughing matter.
Can't speak for the "big iron", but in a 210 or Baron, the only penalty you take for TKS is whatever the fluid weighs. Which generally isn't that much unless you have to take along extra jugs because you have a 7 leg day and (IMS) it's only good for about an hour on the "high" setting. Also FWIW, I've never seen a substantial amount of ice accrue with the TKS on "high", no matter how bad the conditions. "Normal" is a different story. That said, if I had to choose between a booted 210 and a TKS'd 210 in ice, I'd pick the later every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It's expensive, but it Works.
braunpilot
What day is it?
:yeahthat:
In the C210 you lose some cargo space in the baggage compartment but it's not a significant amount.
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
The TKS system is lighter than the boots, but the added weight of the glycol makes you end up losing some weight if you have full tank of fluid. It doesn't, at least not yet, change the icing limitation on the caravan which is in known (not forecast) icing on a 675hp engine you are limited to MTOW of 8550 (instead of 8750.)
braunpilot
What day is it?
While I know nothing about the Caravan. 200# doesn't seem like that much to lose. Am I wrong?
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
Not really. If you have a 600HP engine you're limited to 8000lbs MTOW in known icing though.
spasekace
WHOligan
Now I can't speak about the weight penalty of TKS vs. boots, but I have flown with all 3 systems (Boots, TKS, hot wings). Hot wings are definitely the best followed closely by TKS and boots are a very distant 3rd. The twin commanders I flew for 2 years had TKS and enough liquid for about 4.5 hours at normal flow and about 2.25 at high flow(IIRC). Keep on mind that the high flow will keep severe ice off the a/c for 2 hours. Why you would be in severe for that long is beyond me, but it'll do it. Biggest problem was refilling the damn tank. As for the weight penalty... who cares. My ass is on the line and if the owners were smart enough to install TKS in the a/c, I'm gonna use it and go fly through known ice and get the job done without worrying about it.
I'm glad to see the system is being installed on other a/c. This should save some lives.
I'm glad to see the system is being installed on other a/c. This should save some lives.
braunpilot
What day is it?
That I can see would be a limitation.
Agreed. How many gallons did the Twin Commander hold? In the C210 & Baron it's only ~6.7 gallons (or 2.5 norm & 1.25 max flow)
avi8tor1983
Well-Known Member
Haha!! I was ramp checked a month ago. The fed was looking at the AFL to see if I was airworthy and saw the total time on the airframe. (over 13,000 hours on this one) He looks at me and says, "does your company ever retire airframes?!"
spasekace
WHOligan
Ok I'm pulling this from my posterior, but I think it was 17 gal.
And even 1.25 hours at max should be more than enough to get you out of the bad stuff. Probably shouldn't be hanging in out in severe ice very long anyway.
BajtheJino
I'm looking at you.
I never had the crap scared out of me in a Caravan flying in ice and I'm so stupid I hated to change altitudes. Usually too busy reading the paper.
One thing about TKS (which I've never used) I'm confused about. There are plenty of times you get into icing and its not forecast and vice versa. If you get into ice and didn't have the system turned on and you start building will it shed the ice? Or are people just turning it on every time its cold outside and there's clouds in the sky? Is the fluid readily available at FBO's?
I don't like change. It scares me.
ctab5060X
Well-Known Member
That sounds about right. I know the high setting could just about get me from MEM to MKC if I ever needed it. On the normal setting, I could turn it on on takeoff, leave it on and have plenty of fluid for a missed approach and flight to an alternate. If you topped off the TKS and the fuel, you would probably start running out of TKS about the time you were starting to use your reserve fuel.
Yes, it will shed the ice if it is already formed on the airframe, as long as it is not too much. The high setting will shed it, but it may take a minute or two. TKS is technically an anti-ice system, but it does have de-ice capabilities to a certain extent. I have picked up moderate icing that started building on the leading edges with the TKS in the normal position. Flipped the switch to high, cleaned the wing off and continued the climb to get on top and out of the ice completely.
That being said, TKS works best when used as anti-ice, so get it on before you get into icing conditions. And don't forget to prime the system during your prelight
Not sure about FBOs, but I think it is readily available at most, especially at larger airports. If memory serves, there are some corporate jets that also use TKS.
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
It has a little refueling nozzle that looks a lot like a single point fueling system on the left side of the plane.
flyboy6585
Well-Known Member
Not to brag, but the BE99 I was flying the other day had 44,000 hours and 75,000 cycles.
Boris Badenov
This is no laughing matter.
There are still unprotected surfaces.
