04.01.06 'Special'
Edition: The FAA has just announced an unusual AD in
advance of the public release of a new product line whose existence was only recently leaked
to the Aero-News Network. The AD targets the AS&T
"SlickWings" system, a modification of the TKS anti/de-ice system
that has been retrofitted to allow the use of a solvent/detergent
solution to clean an airplane in-flight.
The problem centers around the SlickWings simple operating
protocols that involve a single switch that turns the system
on and off... After a recent FAA test flight, the FAA Check
Pilot who had flown a SlickWings-equipped aircraft just prior to
the awarding of an upgraded STC for the system, forgot to shut the
system down. This test flight was conducted with a special new
cleaning solution that also produced extra suds and bubbles in
order to offer some additional excitement for airshow and aerobatic
performances.
After the system had been left on for several hours, the battery
was not only run down to the point where it required an APU to get
the airplane started again, but the bubbles ultimately filled the
hangar to the rafters with thick suds (as shown below). Little
damage was done to the aircraft in the hangar, but a line-person
was injured when he walked into an aircraft's leading edge
(enveloped in the suds) and knocked himself out cold.
The AD will direct all future operations to be limited to
in-flight use only, though AS&T has indicated that
forthcoming versions of the SlickWings System will delete the
need for such an AD since they will have a timer built into the
system to limit unattended and uninterrupted operation to
fifteen minutes without direct pilot intervention.
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