iscover
De-icing a 747 takes around 400 to 500 litres of de-icing fluid. Each winter, the Lufthansa Frankfurtjet base anti-ice crews use more than a million litres of de-icing fluid at a cost of around $A2.80 a litre. It is estimated that between $A20m and $A30m annually is spent by the world's airlines on de-icing of aircraft through the harsh Northern winter, something that fortunately we in Australia have little conception of.
European Winter Aviation
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European Winter Aviation Widely Different From the Australian Experience
We are truly blessed with the weather in Australia. Indeed this is one of the many reasons we boast such an impressive aviation safety record. In Europe and North America, the winter takes on a different meaning as pilots routinely fly in conditions not even imagined in Australia. As you begin to curse the frost on the front lawn then envisage the following scene at Lufthansa’s massive Frankfurt base.
It is a wintry morning at Frankfurt airport as falling temperatures have set the day’s work pattern. Tankers rumble out filled with ‘ADF’ – aircraft de-icing fluid. The ‘ice age’ is making its yearly reappearance. For Lufthansa mechanics, that means regular duty on de-icing aircraft as the only way of ensuring punctual takeoffs in ice and snow.
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