A_and_C wrote:
the gliding fraternity say bugs cost them speed and have in flight bug removal systems
Or ask them what they do each spring to make sure the hundreds of holes for the boundary layer suction in high performance gliders are free …
Peter wrote:
In flight, one may need to fly on certain headings relative to the sun, to spot the fluid coming out everywhere.
Plus it’s almost impossible to confirm tail panels.
I think a better way to test TKS is on the ground.
It should use up way less fluid and the fluid coming out (or not) is much more obvious. In flight, one may need to fly on certain headings relative to the sun, to spot the fluid coming out everywhere.
OTOH a ground test leaves four neat lines of stick fluid on the ground 
It’s OK on grass…
I’ve been testing it on the first flight each month. With a few minutes’ run, this uses up way more fluid than using it for real. Usually…
TKS fluid is certainly approved for washing the panels (obviously ). I am not sure that just wiping them would do much to prevent the fluid draining out from the porous material inside, over weeks.
It seems to me that one has to run it airborne maybe once a month and accept the waste of say 1 gallon, and the subsequent wash-down, and if the system has not been used for a few weeks then the first entry into icing conditions needs the pump ON an extra few mins earlier.
The propeller ice protection starts up almost immediately every time; takes about 20 seconds.
I was adviced by my CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot) to use a rag with TKS fluid on the panels once a month or so (unless the system was used recently) to keep the panels from drying up. Seems to work well.
On our Diamonds we cycle the system every Monday. There are times where the dust block elements and we have to put the system on MAX to ‘blow through’.. Indeed, even that didn’t work last week for one wing in a very smoggy environment. I’ve never experienced water ingress and associated ice.
I find that good housekeeping helps and we try to wash the leading edges every time we wash to windscreen, ie every day.
Interesting PDF; many thanks. Funny they want to see all panels tested if you expect to have to use it
I think the amount of fluid wasted to test all panels depends on how long since you last used it. After some weeks the stuff does seem to drain out (largely due to wing dihedral) causing a lag when it is used again. So on planes with minimal dihedral (e.g. Cessnas) this may not be an issue.
I don’t think one must wash it; it is just that
Tks has always been and will always be messy. No way around that. It’s simply one of the major downsides. Whether one really needs to wash off the residue from the aircraft after each use is a much discussed topic.
Peter wrote:
What were the exact instructions for this (if any)?
I ask because a ground test leaves a big puddle of sticky fluid on the ground, even if you turn it off the instant you see the fluid coming out.
And if you run the system until the fluid is coming out of every portion of every panel, you could be dumping several litres on the ground.
I don’t recall that happening. Maybe it is different with the factory installed system?
Checking fluid flow to the panels was part of the preflight for the decided TB20 I flew.
What were the exact instructions for this (if any)?
I ask because a ground test leaves a big puddle of sticky fluid on the ground, even if you turn it off the instant you see the fluid coming out.
And if you run the system until the fluid is coming out of every portion of every panel, you could be dumping several litres on the ground.
I have just comprehensively tested the system after it was drained (for the replacement of the fluid level sensor) and it took about a gallon (say 4 litres) before it was coming out everywhere. I did that in flight, obviously, but it still took about 10 of these
full of hot water to get the stuff off the plane, after I landed.
All year round the TKS should be used every 2-3 weeks or so to keep it from clogging up.
I have to agree, but it leaves quite a mess, unless you are fortunate to have a hosepipe with hot water running through it
