Saratoga Airplane - Jim Jennis lives in Virginia and flies around the East Coast and Midwest. Jim owns a 1979 Cessna 182RG and a Piper Saratoga II TC equipped with the TKS Inadvertent Ice Protection System. He flew TKS equipped aircraft for 10 years.
Ever since I can remember, when I was three years old, all I wanted to do was fly. I left the Boy Scouts when I was 12 to join the Civil Air Patrol and got my pilot's license. I have been flying since 1975, single engine, multi engine and private pilot.
Saratoga Airplane
For the Cessna 182, TKS was the only anti-icing system available. Me and my partner who owns the plane are both instrument pilots. We fly a lot all year round, sometimes in adverse weather conditions. TKS was the only anti-icing system available for the 182. We flew TKS and had such a good experience.
Kathryn's Report: Piper Pa 32r 301 Saratoga Sp, Saratoga Flyers Llc, N185dx: Accident Occurred May 16, 2016 Near Alpine Casparis Municipal Airport (e38), Alpine, Brewster County, Texas
For Saratoga, Piper had other options. You can buy boots for the Piper, but we liked the TKS much better than the boots we got from TKS.
This completely opened up the flight mission from October to April. We fly all year round, but in the past we have had many problems where we have had to completely abandon a mission and go somewhere else on a commercial plane. Or we got somewhere and had to delay departure because of ice. This opens up six to seven months of flights for us.
We are located in the Shenandoah Valley, which lies between two mountain ranges, the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Mountains. They are not big mountains like in the west, but there is lots and lots of ice. There is a lot of moisture and ice in the Appalachians, especially west of where we live.
In this part of the country, TKS is most useful when you have cloud cover during take-off or landing. We switch on the system before take-off and then fly up through the cloud layer. This will protect against ice. After climbing a few thousand feet, the cloud layer disappears and there is no more ice. Same with instrument approach descent. Icy conditions are possible below the clouds. We turn on the system before the first descent. As we descended through the cloud level for the approach, we saw that the TKS system was working very well.
Piper Aircraft Saratoga Ii Tc Airplane N4164m In Flight Textured Photo Foam Back
In November 2017, we installed the TKS system on the 182RG at your previous installation center in Salina, Kansas. After installing it, we flew back to the east coast. There was a cold front that we had to fly through all the way to Illinois. TKS was the only reason we made it to Illinois. A cold front caught up with us. The next day we were to fly through it from Illinois back to Virginia. It was just amazing what it did for the plane.
We took off in conditions where icing was likely but not known for sure. The TKS was able to handle the ice conditions we encountered. We never had a constant build up of ice or change in elevation every time we had to get out of it. We used the system throughout the trip. This allowed us to escape and fly safely. It was our first and very memorable experience using the TKS system. It made us believers.
What I have always liked about TKS is that it distributes fluid over the wings and provides drag. For example, when I have flown in light twins with boots, ice can form behind the boots. This can cause some problems with the airflow of the wings. With TKS, if you start the system early and get the wings wet, the TKS will keep the wings from icing on the surface more effectively than boots.
We have used the system on 182RG for 10 years. Looks and functions the same as the day it was put on. The craftsmanship and quality are top notch. If we had boots on the plane, we would be dealing with cracked rubber, possible replacements and thousands of dollars worth of maintenance.
Piper Saratoga Pa 32 301 N8454r
Maintenance was excellent. We support the TKS system according to the user manuals. We changed the filters and once a month we turn on the system to clean the panels. They look like new. All we did was change the filters as per your recommendation. We were very happy with it on both planes.
If you are a serious instrument pilot who wants to be concerned about safety and mission year-round, invest in a TKS. It is indispensable for us. Not everyone flies planes like us. But if you fly like we do year round, I wouldn't fly a plane without TKS.
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