Ground Support Worldwide - 19

COVER STORY

By Josh Smith
Due to the seasonal use of deicing vehicles and
related equipment, officials at JBT have recognized
their customers face a serious issue of retaining
experienced staff on operation and maintenance
teams. To combat
this, engineers have
integrated new
features focused on
turning novice operators and mechanics
into experts.

Photo courtesy of JBT

enclosed basket provides additional warmth and comfort in the wintertime, but an open basket can provide better vision and versatility - for
example, using the vehicle for aircraft washing in warmer seasons.
"At our larger deicing operations, and where there is a significant
use of centralized deicing facilities, aircraft are deiced with their main
engines running," Cree points out. "There is a necessary drive to invest
in the latest enclosed basket deicing rigs, often with a single-operative
capability. This type of equipment creates a significantly improved
operating environment for our colleagues, while also providing many
additional options and enhancements for our customers.
"As part of the portfolio of services, we provide wet and dry exterior
aircraft washing services at several airport locations," he adds. "We
use our 'open basket' deicing rigs for this service, which allows us to
cross-utilize GSE throughout winter and summer months. The added
benefit of this approach is the use and maintenance of the equipment
is spread across the whole year, ensuring a good investment."
"I think that weight limit is important, too," Brown adds in regard
to basket design. "It gives users the opportunity to put two people in
the basket. That can help out with training significantly."
The capacity for deicing fluid, both Type I and Type IV, also
becomes crucial.
"It has a lot to do with turn-time and the ability to service multiple
aircraft throughout the operation," Houpt says, noting smaller deicers
may have a capacity of a few hundred gallons while larger units may
handle upwards of 2,000 gallons.
"When you're choosing what kind of truck you're looking for, in
addition to what airplane it's going to service, you have to know how
often you want to refill," Brown points out. "If you're going to have to
refill every truck, especially on a snowy day, you might want to consider a higher capacity of fluid - just so you don't have to continually
refill it all day."
Horsepower also becomes an important consideration, and the
amount necessary varies depending on application, such as the use
of forced air deicing.
GSS had ease of maintenance in mind when designing its swing
out module, allowing the engine compartment to pivot away from the
vehicle for better access.
"They don't want to crawl into the back of it, when they can just
be standing up and working on it. It makes it a lot easier for them,"
Brown says.
As with any piece of equipment, reliability and after-sale support is crucial. When bad weather threatens to delay or even cancel
flights, a deicer working properly when called upon becomes even
more essential.
"Reliability during cold weather operation is the foremost consideration followed by after-sale support," Redwine confirms.
"We've got specific timeframes," says Houpt. "Whenever a plane
is grounded, and they're out there prepared to be deiced, you have to
rely on your unit for the function and quickness of it - starting up,
getting up to temp and having the ability to deice, turn around and
anti-ice within the allotted time, so we can get the planes into the sky
as quickly as possible."

NEW FEATURES TO
CREATE EXPERT
DEICING OPERATORS

David Bunting,
EMEA regional
director at JBT,
explains the company has designed
intuitive control
functionality into its
latest deicing vehicle.
"This prevents inexperienced operators having to
fumble through complicated controls and switches
to prepare to deice," he explains, offering the
Tempest-i's EZ Jib function as an example, which
automatically syncs jib, boom and extended reach
movements. "The point is, anyone can pull back on a
joystick and thus this feature minimizes the operator
having to think about all the boom movements
needed to get to the perfect reach position."
The deicer's Boom Auto Park function brings the
boom safely into a rest position; Advanced Radar
APD provides operator feedback on basket, boom
and chassis position relative to the aircraft; and
the BakTrack feature provides extra reach for oneman operation. All these features are designed to
simplify operations.
"Experience level settings (novice, intermediate and
advanced) help training and improve operation confidence for a variety of operator experience levels,"
Bunting says. "These different modes slow and limit
boom movements so operators can build their confidence using advanced deicing equipment."
Maintenance is also streamlined with advanced
diagnostics that provide personnel with feedback
of all sensors and devices, allowing for quick
troubleshooting.

FEBRUARY 2020

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Ground Support Worldwide

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