FedEx Express Cessnas Getting Anti-Ice System
Installation of the first TKS ice protection system on a
single-engine Cessna Caravan is underway at CAV Aerospace,
headquartered at the Salina Aviation Service Center.
"We originally developed and installed the system in this very
hangar basically in the same spot," said CAV Aerospace President
Kevin Hawley over the buzzing of power tools. "Before we were in
our current facility, we could not have fit this aircraft into the
two hangars we had, so we absolutely had to have this space. The
Salina Airport Authority has helped us in many different ways. When
we started this process they got us all the space and support we
needed to get it going. Any kind of equipment you could
imagine, if we needed it we were able to get our hands on it.
We installed the original prototype of the TKS System on the
aircraft provided by Cessna. That was completed in early 2008. Then
Cessna took that data and in essence resubmitted that approved data
for certification."
FedEx Express took advantage of the new ice protection
availability right away, partnering with Yingling Aviation to
upgrade their fleet of approximately 250 Cessna 208 Caravans with
TKS Ice Protection Systems in Wichita. "FedEx really does their
homework and when they take something like this on its like they
are giving it their seal of approval," explained Hawley.
"It's really a validation of our TKS system."
Photo Courtesy CAV Aerospace
With the FedEx Express fleet being taken care of in Wichita, the
rest of the more than 1,200 Caravans in operation today can visit
CAV Aerospace's North American Headquarters, here in Salina to
upgrade to TKS. The first of these conversions is underway on a
Caravan owned by Superior Airways, a chartered air service based in
Red Lake, Ontario, Canada at Red Lake Airport.
"This one used to have a booted system," said CAV Aerospace
salesman Jeff Holden. "The new owner of the plane, recognizing how
well TKS works, came to us and said 'can you take that off and put
on your system?' So what it really means to us it that people are
recognizing just how effective TKS is as an ice protection
system."
Photo Courtesy CAV Aerospace
Superior flies cargo, fishermen, hunters, firefighters, First
Nations individuals, medical patients and law enforcement to and
from remote communities to the north in Northwestern Canada.
The 27 First Nations communities north of Red Lake have only ice
road access for a six-week period during the winter and the extreme
arctic weather conditions and terrain are unforgiving. Red
Lake is the northern terminal of the highway system in the region.
Consequently, the flights provided year-round by Superior Airways
are a crucial life preserver for area inhabitants.
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