Aircraft and ground maintenance questionnaire

a result of icing. Both ground icing (snow or ice on the aircraft before flight) and

in-flight icing (actual or forecast) are covered by the one question. The question-

naire results are summarized in Table 8; a compilation of results by unit is given

in Appendix F, which includes respondents' written comments.

The majority of units report that their aircraft are never or rarely grounded

because of icing (Table 8). Within Germany, only three units out of 15 experi-

ence more frequent occurrences of aircraft being grounded; the units reporting

monthly or weekly groundings are ones whose aircraft are not hangared. In

Korea, two out of six units experience weekly (or bi-weekly) aircraft groundings;

one of those units, however, is represented by two independent questionnaire

responses, one of which indicates that aircraft groundings occur rarely, the other

which indicates that they occur weekly. The frequency of groundings (rarely vs.

monthly or weekly) at Fort Drum and at Fort Campbell depends on the unit

reporting. There are weekly groundings at Forts Sheridan and Wainwright, and at

the National Guard facility in Indiana.

Whether groundings occur frequently enough to be considered a problem

depends jointly on the weather and the facilities at a location. In Korea, all units

contend with insufficient hangar space to shelter all their aircraft from snow and

ice events (Aircraft and ground maintenance questionnaire, Part B, "how are

aircraft on the ground protected from the accumulation of snow or ice?"). It

varies by unit whether aircraft parked on the flight line are protected with covers

(e.g., canopy, blade). Although aircraft are exposed to ground icing, the icing

events are either not numerous enough or not severe enough to cause more than

occasional grounding in Korea.

If hangar space is not available, the effort to keep aircraft flyable during

ground icing events is significant. The 421st MEDEVAC Battalion in Wies-

baden, Germany, typically moves its aircraft into the hangar the night prior to

scheduled flights. Emergency response aircraft, however, are not hangared; they

are continually brushed of accumulating snow and are sprayed with anti-ice fluid,

if necessary. The unit notes that using anti-ice fluid is not the preferred method

of keeping its aircraft free of ice because of potential damage to electrical compo-

nents and other materials.