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Cold Deicing Fluid


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hypothetical -- of course --

 

here is the situation, helicopter sitting in remote location, wet snow/rain falls for a few minutes, followed by a drop in temperature, causing the whole mess to freeze :( :down:

 

BUT, you were prepared and have deicing fluid in a garden type pressure sprayer that was sitting in the cargo bay, so it is naturally cold.

 

you find a ladder from some out-building and merrily spray the applicable surfaces in the hopes it will remove the rough snow/ice buildup.

 

anybody have any experience with using COLD deicing fluid, is it allowed on helicopters, how effective was it, or what would you do in this situation ?

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Just pee in it. That should warm it up enough!!!!! :up: :shock: Make sure after you have deiced and start the machine up, that you shut down and make sure all the frozen crap is off.

 

Fly safe all....Mini..

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Just pee in it. That should warm it up enough!!!!! :up: :shock: Make sure after you have deiced and start the machine up, that you shut down and make sure all the frozen crap is off.

 

Fly safe all....Mini..

 

 

Also make sure that you drink a few onces of Vodka, Wiskey, or Rum before you pee to bring up the acohol %. to extend the hold time on your deicing fluid. :up:

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Mac-Ex-wafu

 

lets assume this is just overnight minus 15 to 20

 

other than cold battery and fluids, what other 'worms' would you be talking about ??

 

 

"JUST overnight"?

 

This is certainly the right conditions for an A/C to become "cold soaked", there are many publications which you should have access to which will tell you about this, or your manufacturer will be able to give specifics.

 

Here is an article which discusses cold weather effects,

COLD WEATHER

 

a nice line from it "Never fly in icing conditions for which the aircraft is not cleared"

 

along with "Remove all frost, ice and snow from the aircraft – there is no such thing as a little ice."

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My two previous employers used to (they may or may not still do this) use methyl hydrate to de-ice blades. We would carry it in the cargo and it would do a great job especially when it wasn't colder than -15. I was asked once by the chief pilot if this product was approved for use on Astar blades and after a brief search in the manuals, it became very clear that it was NOT APPROVED. I contacted Eurocpter to ask them if they had any objections with us using this product and they said "we use MEK to clean and prep the blades, I don't see how this is going to hurt them, however, we can't endorse it because Eurocopter has not tested this particular product and therefore cannot guarantee it will not hurt the blades."

After this we stoped using methyl hydrate and started carrying the blade covers at all times and put them on when ever there was a slight hint the icing might be an issue.

At the time, the only product approved for Astar blades was Killfrost (if my memory serves me well) and it was only available in 45 gallon drums and was very expensive.

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One thing I have found from my experience is it may not be an approved method but many people swore by it before my time and it works for me is take a bucket and fill it with warm or hot water and then add some winter windshield washing fluid which keeps the water from freezing and pour it on to the blade. Caution though this method has the ability to get you wet and cold to start a day off not fun!!

 

Cheers

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If you're out at a remote site, and get some freezing rain during the middle of the day, wait till it stops.

 

Fire up the aircraft, run it at 100% flat pitch for about 5 minutes. Let the exhaust melt the ice.

 

Shut the machine down, wipe the blades down. Use a rag, I always carry a sponge.

For the windshield, throw the windshield cover on just as the rain starts.

 

Never put blade covers on if the blades have any dampness to them. The covers will freeze onto the blades. Better to leave the covers off if anticipating freezing rain. Use the 5 minute run-up method then wipe down the blades.

 

If it's colder than -10, and there's no chance of it warming up and freezing rain, then you can use blade covers.

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