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ERDC/CRREL TR-02-13
display. The questionnaire results are summarized in Tables 1215; a compila-
tion of results by unit is given in Appendix D, which includes respondents'
written comments.
1. Aircraft deicing technique that can have aircraft flight ready in less than 30
minutes.
As cited in the discussion of the Aircraft and Ground Maintenance question-
naire, the amount of time to deice an aircraft in a hangar ranges from one to four
hours, and depends on the amount of ice coating the aircraft and on whether heat
from an AGPU or Herman Nelson heater is used. If the aircraft is deiced outside,
the estimate is threefour hours to clear the rotor blades and twothree hours to
clear the airframe, for a total of six hours. Reducing that task to a 30-minute
effort would both greatly diminish the during- and after-storm consequences of
snow and ice events (in terms of how long aircraft remain unflyable as a result
of being iced), and also reduces the time that personnel must commit to deicing
aircraft.
Not unexpectedly, commanders who considered that the time required to
deice an aircraft (Commanders questionnaire, part A) has a moderate or high
adverse impact on their mission also consider that a 30-minute deice technique
would moderately or highly improve mission accomplishment. Surprisingly,
however, the majority (61%) of commanders who rated the current deice time
as having a low impact on their mission in turn consider that a 30-minute deice
technique would have a moderate or high impact on their mission. This may
reflect an appreciation of the future benefit of quicker deicing under other cir-
cumstances. A relevant comment from a respondent to the aircraft and ground
maintenance questionnaire is that deicing is not necessarily a problem at a unit's
home station, especially if aircraft are hangared, but that at a field site without
hangars, it can be a "show stopper."
Of the units in Germany, 50% of the commanders rate a 30-minute deice
technique as potentially having a high impact on their mission; 79% rate the
potential impact as moderate or greater (Table 12). In Korea, 71% of the com-
manders consider that rapid deicing will significantly affect (high impact) their
mission. All the responding commanders at Fort Drum rate a 30-minute deice
technique highly; that is consistent with their situation of severe winter condi-
tions with frequent snow and ice events and insufficient hangar space for their
aircraft. Overall, 74% of the commanders responded that a 30-minute deice
technique would have a moderate or high impact on their mission.
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