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Working a night shift in Fargo changed how I handle de-ice boots
It was about minus twenty last winter, and we had a Cessna 208 come in with a pilot who said the boots felt 'soft' on one wing. I figured it was just cold stiffening, so I did a basic check and sent it. Two days later, the same plane came back with a full report of boot delamination on that exact panel. The pilot had to use a lot of anti-ice fluid on the next flight. My boss pulled the log and showed me my sign-off. I felt like a total fool for not doing a more careful hands-on check in the hangar light. Now, no matter how cold it is or what the pilot says, I run my whole hand over every inch of those boots, looking for any tiny bubble or give. That one call from Fargo air traffic about the fluid use really stuck with me. How do you guys check boots when it's freezing and you're trying to turn a plane fast?
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aaron_perry21d ago
But come on, is feeling up the boot with your bare hand really the only way? I get what @finleyl39 is saying, but that seems like overkill every single time. If the pilot isn't reporting an issue and the boots cycle fine, you're probably good. That Fargo thing sounds like a rare bad luck case, not the norm. Spending ten minutes feeling for bubbles in minus twenty weather just to turn a plane seems like a good way to freeze your fingers for no reason. Don't we trust the system checks and pilot reports anymore?
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finleyl3921d ago
Grab a work light and get your bare hand on that rubber, man. The cold hides everything, you gotta feel for that spongy spot.
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Honestly, that bare hand check is just asking for trouble in deep cold. You can see a lot with a good light and a quick visual, and your fingers going numb means you can't feel anything right anyway. Trusting the system and the pilot's walk-around is the whole point, otherwise we're just adding pointless steps.
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