Ground_Support_SeptemberP2019 - 25

GROUND SUPPORT
EQUIPMENT

are surprised it's taken so long to come up
with the idea.
"It's one of those things that when we
present it, people say, 'why has nobody
thought about this before?' Because it is
so obvious," Hovden says. "We're talking
today about driving automated cars and
flying with no pilots, so why do we need a
person to stand there and do this manual
operation to the plane? It doesn't make any
sense for the future."
The MSG works similarly to the way an
automatic carwash operates. After a plane
enters the MSG's hangar, the robotic arms
of the system descend and move around the
plane for automatic washing and deicing,
needing only a person in a cabin on the ceiling above the system for operations, and a
person on the ground to help coordinate, as
crew. The aircraft is helped guided through
the MSG by an electric tug.
"It's all automated so it's a lot safer and
more environmentally friendly," says Hovden. "It's very exciting and it's really something very new. This is the first automatic
system for washing and deicing aircraft in
the world. It's always been done by manual methods - using trucks for deicing and
washing - washing is still usually done
by hand washing. There are some other
methods, but they are time consuming and
expensive. With our system, the deicing will
take only four to six minutes and washing
will take about 20 minutes."

The environmental benefits of the MSG
are multifold. Being inside a hangar allows
for the easy capture and containment of
ADF and an on-site recycling system makes
for quick processing of the fluid, which can
then be resold. The automatic nature of the
MSG also ensures only as much deicing
fluid as needed is sprayed.
"Normally, you have one deicing truck
on either side of the plane and it's sometimes hard for them to make the exact same
movements and use the exact same amount
of fluid. But in our system, it is all pre-programmed so you know you will have exactly
the correct amounts according to the regulations," Hovden says. "We're capturing all
the deicing fluid and recycling it, so there
is no spillage into nature and it's also a lot
more cost efficient."
A clean aircraft is, as MSG's research
points to, an environmentally friendly aircraft and by streamlining the washing pro-

cess, Hovden says airlines can expect lower
emissions from their planes.
"We have research telling us that you can
get as much as 2 percent savings for fuel if
you fly a clean aircraft as opposed to a dirty
one, and 2 percent is a lot of CO2 emissions
and saves costs for the industry," she says.
"We talk to many airlines about this issue
now and they tell us it's very time-consuming and complicated to do the washing. You
have to put the aircraft away for the night
and have hangar capacity and it's time consuming, which is why they don't clean it
as often as they should... So, we think by
making it easier and quicker to clean aircraft, it will get done more often and be a
contribution to the environment by itself."
Another added benefit, Hovden explains,
is that a regularly cleaned aircraft has an
increased longevity.
"They tell us in sandy areas that the lifetime of an engine is lowered by up to 75 per-

SEPTEMBER 2019

AviationPros.com

http://www.AviationPros.com

Ground_Support_SeptemberP2019

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