This thread is a real eye-opener.
What it shows is that as a group, professional pilots are severely devoid of full scientific understanding of things that contaminate and degrade the thing that they need most - the wing.
It is also clear that even when the group does exhibit some understanding of the problem, that there is very little understanding of how to control rectification of it because of casual delegation of responsibility to people who squirt goodness knows what with varying degrees of diligence comprehension or communicative ability, coupled with a reluctance to don bad weather gear and actually get out, sometimes more than once, to get up a ladder or up in a hydraulic basket to make a direct observation-based decision.
Seems to me there's a lot of guessing that it'll be alright on the night based on the fact that it was ok last time.
I'm with despegue on the need for annual re-training (and I'd add note-swapping) on this - with ATC, airport ground ops management (the fluid purchasers/sellers) and the deicing team in the same classroom as the pilots. From what I have seen, there is far too much "going through the motions" and far too little understanding.
Going through the motions is better than not (so long as the fluid is to spec and applied properly), but I can tell you, because I have watched it do so, that some deicing fluid left on the airframe freezes at high altitude and we can only guess what that might do to supercritical wing performance. I have seen blueish types applied in Europe oozing from RJ wing orifices down the side of the fuselage two hours later on the apron in the UK. Where does it go next? Does it matter? Probably not now, but what was this stuff and when and where did all the rest go before it dissipated?
To my knowledge, no book documents the cause or the course of it once it's out of the nozzle, and I am not entirely sure that the book that documents it after it leaves the tanker is always kept to a fine standard.
PS I very much agree with LTD's style of bringing the original matter to the attention of his neighbours on the ramp and the community at large. To those that say you don't need to name and shame I say "You do".
Last edited by slip and turn; 7th Dec 2007 at 11:33.