Ground Support Worldwide - 18

Photos courtesy of Southwest Airlines

COVER STORY

GSE Features
Because of the complexity winter poses to
ground support operations, regular updates
to GSE aim to make the turnaround process
smoother.
"We have a new fleet of deicers from JBT
we are using for the first time in MSP this
season," Southwest Airline's Redwine offers
as an example.
With more than 200 deicing vehicles in
their GSE fleet, Menzies Aviation is utilizing
several advancements.
"This ranges from the use of forced air
and 'fluid blend up' technologies in our more
advanced enclosed basket deicing rigs, to the
use of intuitive hardware - both fitted to the
deicing rigs in the form of telemetry and
sensors, and handheld devices, which provide real-time visibility of aircraft deicing
activities to our customer airlines and also to
the wider airport communities," Cree says.
"We recently introduced the ability to
electronically deliver the anti-icing code to
the aircraft following deicing, via ACARS,
or directly into an EFB," he continues. "This
seamless transfer of the required deicing
data enhances the deicing experience provided to each aircraft's flight crew."
From a manufacturer's perspective,
Ground Support Specialist has developed its
GS2100 Wraptor deicer to provide versatility
to those working in the field.
"We are able to handle those small, little commuter aircraft all the way up to a
wide-body," Brown says, adding the first
generation is an open-basket design, but

18 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

an enclosed basket option is
also in the works.
Features - ranging from a single-engine vehicle and purpose-built chassis,
to a 44-foot, 6-inch working height and
2,000-gallon total fluid capacity, to its
147.6-horsepower engine and swing-out
module for maintenance ease - were integrated from feedback GSS received for service providers on the ramp.
A single-engine design, Brown notes,
eliminates some environmental concerns
and reduces the number of components
that may need repair.
"These are heavy machines, so they have
a lot of maintenance that they have to have
on them. Reducing that definitely reduces
the maintenance," he says. "It also makes it
a green deicer. While we don't offer equipment that's electric, this is an option where
it's going to reduce emissions."

FEBRUARY 2020

Spec'ing Considerations
When making a deicer purchase for a station, there are multiple factors to weigh.
"New technologies should always be welcomed and embraced," Menzies' Cree says.
"And we work with the GSE providers to
develop and employ these in order to enhance
the provision of services to our customer's
aircraft."
Again, climate, weather patterns and
traffic volume can play a major role in these
decisions. Officials at GSS note an operation
can handcuff itself if it misses the mark on
determining a certain working height or fluid
capacity.
"How many planes are you deicing that
day? How often are you able to put more fluid
into your deicer?" Brown asks.
In addition to determining the boom
height and working height necessities, the
basket style also needs to be considered. An

Ground Support Worldwide

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