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During a recent visit Don Goetz told me that

Lancair was testing two de-icing systems: one

thermal (electric) and one which breaks the ice

into pieces with vibrations.  He said that one of

the systems should be released for retrofit by the

end the year.



Boots?  Ask the man who has owned them.  I have,

on a Baron.



They are expensive, high maintenance and

unreliable.  The one time I really needed them

they were frozen shut.  Through a leak or whatever

moisture had gotten inside.  During the pre-flight

they worked fine - of course, it was not freezing

on the ground.



Should one still be interested, please don't

forget that you need 18psi to inflate them and

vacuum to deflate.



Once you have them, you should learn to use them.

>From whom?  I took the Flight Safety course on the

Baron, and they were discussed a lot but there was

no practice, neither real nor simulated.  It is

easy to say you should wait until there is 1/4" to

1/2" before you pop them, but I am certain that,

like most other skills, it takes a while before

you have an acceptable level of skill.



Just for information: On the Baron (known ice), in

addition to the windshield, the stall warning and

fuel vents were heated.  Also, MT offers

prop-deice for around $2000.  It uses between

8-12amps.  They said they were using the system on

the Piper Mirage.



Flying mainly in Europe, I certainly want to go

the de-ice route, but God forbid that the only

solution is boots.



John Herminghaus

catignano [at] tin.it