CAV Ice Protection has introduced SLD Guard, a new airborne anti-ice system designed to meet new FAA aircraft certification regulations addressing Flight Into Known Icing Conditions containing supercooled large droplets.
In response to the 1994 ATR72 accident in Roselawn, Indiana, when a severe icing encounter overwhelmed the aircraft’s ice protection system, the FAA enacted new regulations for certifying aircraft for Flight Into Known Icing conditions (FIKI). These regulations took effect Jan. 1, 2016. SLD Guard provides expanded protections to meet these new requirements, according to company officials.
“SLD Guard provides anti-ice and de-ice protection from SLD conditions, as specified in the FAA regulations,” said Jerry Jordan, Vice President of Design Engineering. “Specifically, the system is designed for encounters with severe freezing rain and freezing drizzle, as defined in Appendix ‘O’ of the new regulations, allowing the aircraft to safely exit these dangerous icing conditions. SLD Guard now permits aircraft to be certified for continuous operation in all Federal Aviation Regulations section 25.1420 Appendix C and Appendix O conditions.”
How It Works
Working as a freezing point depressant system, SLD Guard is a hybrid technology designed to handle SLD ice accumulation on aircraft wings at critical flight controls. Thin titanium strips less than an inch wide are installed in the upper wing surfaces ahead of ailerons, as well as upper and lower surfaces on the horizontal stabilizer, preserving natural laminar flow.
The system dispenses an ethylene glycol-based fluid with a freezing point below minus 70° F from thousands of .0025-inch laser-drilled holes in each strip. Fluid is dispersed as air flows over the aircraft. The system performs as both a de-ice and anti-ice system during SLD icing encounters.
SLD Guard can be retrofitted into any existing ice protection system design such as pneumatic boots, thermal, expulsive and freezing point depressant. It can also be incorporated into a new aircraft design regardless of the primary ice protection system technology selected by the manufacturer.