Aircraft Deicing Fluid

[Pilot]

Does anyone know where you can by aviation deicing fluid in Ireland. I'm looking for deicing fluid for decing general aviation aircraft while on the ground rather than inflight.

I see it can be purchased from the UK, but the delivery costs are more than the product itself! http://www.kilfrost.com/online-shop/gen ... -fluid-25l
So I was wondering if it was available for collection anywhere in Ireland?

It would make winter flying a lot easier!

I'm not interested in anything that's not designed for aviation....don't need to take any chances with the aircraft surface!

Thanks
P

[Roll_your_own]

Are you sure you want to fly in conditions where you need to use Kilfrost?
Assuming you know what you are getting into, you could try Kemfast who are based in Shannon.
They are agents for Aeroshell and lots of other aviation products and I suspect they could point you in the right direction. Good luck...... J.

[aviatorsguide]

Some great flying to be had on those really cold days. Airplanes fly much better in the cold, and if the minus 13c episodes of last year are anything to go by then a plan b for deicing is in order. Kemfast is probably the best starting point, and if you could get a concentrate that would work with a knapsack sprayer then then would be a good job.

Very costly exercise keeping airplanes with VP props outside in low temps. Seals in the props get damaged and red dye everywhere.... The UK propshops clean up after a good hard snap. There were 5 aircraft inbound to Brinkleys in Cambridge the same day as me this year all with the same seal troubles. Hard on batteries too in hard cold frost, and starting technique needs to be bang on.

Preflight de-Ice is not nice with a bank card and a sweeping brush. Lets see what solutions come out of this...

W

[Pilot]

Thanks guys.

Have no fears about my plans to fly in icing conditions! That is not the plan! I just found last winter that by the time I figured out that it was a nice day to fly, got to the aircraft and finally got all the snow and ice off it, it wasn't that far away from sunset! The winter days can be pretty short.

So my interest is in finding something that will help speed up the process of deicing the aircraft on the ground, so that I can get flying in nice clear weather as soon as possible

I had thought of Kemfast but their website doesn't give anything about deicing. I'll try give them a call to see if they do infact have something, and if not, if they know who might have.

Thanks for your recommondations.

Preflight de-Ice is not nice with a bank card and a sweeping brush.

Agreed! And unless you're extremely careful, probably not great on the paintwork either. I also see people using hot water, but would have great fears about where that would go and refreeze.

Getting the heavy stuff off with carefull scarping and letting the sun do some work by faceing it into the sun does work, but it's hard work, and takes time.

The idea of a professional aviation solution from Kilfrost seemed like a nice solution at £95+some resonable shipping costs. But the shipping costs were another £125stg, which while not an expensive cost in aviation terms, it is a bit much for an odd winter trip. I doubt that I'll make more than two trips that involve deicing. So finding source in Ireland would be good.

P

[stovepipe]

Hi there
Deicing fluid, as used by airlines, is applied hot from a pressure hose so it's a bit of overkill for small GA aircraft. Also, the holdover time depends on the air temperature and the amount and type of precipitation. Quite often, the cheapest and easiest way to get a light aircraft fit for flight in cold temperatures is to get it indoors, be it under a polytunnel or into a hangar or shed or even an improvised tent and get a space heater going. In extreme temps, you need to consider draining the oil and keeping it warm on a stove and pouring it back into the engine very shortly before start-up.After that, once you get it started, you need to let it warm up FULLY before attempting to go to take-off power. You also need to cycle the prop at least half a dozen times to guarantee that the fully warmed up oil has circulated in the hub. You also need to make sure the flight controls have been visually examined for contamination before moving an inch.

regards
Stovepipe

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