CAV Aerospace, Inc. is beginning the first follow-on single-engine turboprop Cessna Caravan TKS™ ice protection installation at the Salina Aviation Service Center.
The installation follows announcement that CAV Aerospace worked with Cessna on the Service Bulletin leading to FedEx Express upgrading its fleet of Cessna 208 Caravan cargo aircraft with the TKS Ice Protection System. FedEx Express owns a fleet of approximately 250 Cessna Caravan aircraft.
The first follow-on Caravan TKS conversion will go to Superior Airways, a chartered air service based in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada at Red Lake Airport. Superior flies cargo, fishermen, hunters, firefighters, First Nations individuals, medical patients and law enforcement to and from remote communities to the north in Northwestern Canada.
Extreme Weather
The 27 First Nations communities north of Red Lake have only ice road access for a six-week period during the winter and the extreme arctic weather conditions and terrain are unforgiving. Red Lake is the northern terminal of the highway system in the region. Consequently, the flights provided year-round by Superior Airways are a crucial life preserver for area inhabitants.
“We are pleased that Superior Airways is our launch customer for these Caravan ice protection conversions,” said CAV Aerospace President Kevin Hawley. “Soon Superior Airways will join the operators of 6,000 aircraft around the world that use our proven TKS ice protection system.”
“I asked Kevin Hawley and CAV Aerospace to install its TKS Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI) ice protection system the Caravan we recently acquired for a couple reasons,” said Mike Misurka, president of Superior Airways, and an experienced arctic weather pilot.
Reliable and Proven
“Number one reason among those was they are reliable and know what they are doing. I wanted the same system that is going into new Caravans from the factory under a Service Bulletin Installation Kit. And CAV Aerospace can give me that as a Caravan TKS Repair Center,” he adds.
“We can be 200 miles from the nearest airport and you don’t know if the weather is suitable anywhere at that point. There is no ATC and it’s all uncontrolled air space. So, what are you going to do at 2 a.m. when you start picking up ice in flight?” he continues. “I’m a pilot myself, so I can’t put myself or my staff in a position where they don’t have an option to continue safe flight.” TKS gives Misurka peace of mind. Superior Airways also flies several Piper Navajos and a Cessna 206.
How Does It Work?
CAV Aerospace’s proven TKS system works by exuding a measured amount of glycol-based ice protection fluid through precision laser-drilled microscopic holes in wing leading edges fashioned of titanium, along with a dispersion mechanism for propellers.
The Caravan TKS conversion for flight into known icing is $96,500. It consists of installing new titanium over the leading edges of the wings, and on the struts, horizontal and vertical stabilizers in addition to a slinger dispersion system for the propeller. The system holds about 21 gallons of ice protection fluid, enough for three hours of use. Hawley estimates there are several hundred Caravans in use that would benefit from TKS ice protection.
OEM and After-Market
CAV delivers TKS™ ice protection systems to aircraft manufacturers and provides retrofit installations to after-market aircraft customers. CAV Aerospace, Inc. is headquartered in North America at the SLN Aviation Service Center on the Salina Airport in Kansas.
CAV’s corporate functions are in Salina, including, administration, engineering, marketing, customer support, purchasing, and installation activity. CAV’s customer base includes a number of aircraft manufacturers and more than 6,000 aircraft owners who fly their products:
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Cessna Aircraft |
Hawker Beechcraft |
CAV Aerospace Inc. is the North American subsidiary of CAV Aerospace Ltd., a global Super Tier 1 Supplier. The parent company has manufacturing centers in Consett, Leicester, and Wales, in the UK, and in Poland. It also has offices in Poland, and Manchester, UK
