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.

FMI: www.weepingwings.com