Thermawing got good reviews from AviationConsumer. Why did Cessna not certify Cessna TTX not with Thermawing and went instead with nasty and expensive TKS fluid?
Post moved to existing thread of identical name.
I knew a TTX dealer in the early days and his comment was that it was a “homebuilt” system, with local hot spots burning out. It was fixed later but by then Cessna dropped it.
TKS is very effective but obviously has other issues like endurance. It is also really messy.
Does Thermawing still exist?
I could not find a product page on manufacturer’s website.
What planes was it available on? TTX was one.
Kelly owns the STC, but IIRC, recently they may have sold it to another company.
What are the issues with Thermawing?
I don’t know much about specific problems but first thing that comes to my mind is faulty alternator (or losing the engine). If it’s SEP you lose deicing instantly because no battery can be backup fot such high consumption. Unlike that TKS has backup battery for the pumps even in MEP aircrafts.
How often does an alternator fail. Given that it has been reported that Thermawing works well, improving the alternator reliability should be a small problem to solve. There must be more to it. @Alexis: My question is related to used planes that are equipped with it. Thank you.
From what I can recollect when the Columbias were first to be equipped with Thermawing, and then later went to TKS:
So between a reputational problem with its launch aircraft, conservative pilots and Cessna, it didn’t make it,
Emir wrote:
Unlike that TKS has backup battery for the pumps even in MEP aircrafts.
Where did you get that ? I have NEVER seen a dedicated back-up battery for the TKS system.