With this winter, not only cars are full of snow and ice, but also airplanes. Robert Schuman has an extra task these days as a de-icer at Eindhoven Airport. He ensures that the appliances de-ice.
“That is quite a serious job. We have to tackle it properly,” Schuman says in Omroep Brabant’s radio program Afslag Zuid. The de-icer is also Operations Manager at ground handler Viggo at Eindhoven Airport.
Aircraft safely into the air
Schuman treats aircraft to make them ice-free. Certain parts of the aircraft, such as the wings, tailplane and tail, are cleared of deposits. “We must clean any ice, snow or layers that could reduce the aircraft’s carrying capacity to ensure that the aircraft can take to the air safely,” he explains.
But what kind of product do you use to clean an airplane? “I recently heard a passenger say: ‘That must be heavy chemicals they are spraying on that.’ Well, that’s not too bad,” he says.
Schuman explains that there are two types of liquid glycol. One type to clean the aircraft and the other to apply a protective layer. “If it starts snowing, the aircraft still has some time to prevent it from freezing again and can go to the runway.”
Passing information to cockpit
The crew starts by cleaning the two large wings and the side where passengers board. Next is the tailplane’s turn. It is also reported exactly how many liters have been used for cleaning. “We pass this information on to the cockpit, so that they can set the aircraft accordingly. Then they can take into account how much time they need to get to the runway.”
In normal frost, de-icing takes about fifteen minutes, but in heavy snow Schuman takes twenty minutes to half an hour. And if it snows hard enough, de-icers may have to start over again after cleaning, Schuman says.