Graham Warwick/ATLANTA
ELBERTA INDUSTRIES has completed development of a mobile de-icing vehicle designed to be operated at an airport gate, at the end of a runway or remotely.
The Elberta, Alabama based company has designed the Expeditor to meet new US Federal Aviation Administration rules, which set time limits between de-icing and take off.
The Expeditor features four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering; a walk-in/stand-up engine room and galley; an enclosed de-icing operator's cab; and a non-rotating boom mounting a remotely controlled nozzle.
The nozzle can be rotated through 370° horizontally and +30°/-10° vertically. The nozzle platform, which can be raised to more than 10m by the main boom, mounts an extendable, scissors-type, boom, which can increase the nozzle's reach by almost 10m.
The 25,000kg vehicle has an 11,370litres (3,000USgal) tank capacity; almost 9,500litres for Type I de-icing fluid or water and almost 1,900litres for Type II anti-icing fluid. The nozzle can pump between 40 and 280litres/min.
Source: Flight International
