A problem with icing that had grounded Sikorsky”™s M-28 fixed-wing aircraft under certain conditions has been solved to the approval of both the European and U.S. agencies charged with air safety, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The plane is described as “a twin-engine, high-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal structure, with twin vertical tails and a robust tricycle non-retractable landing gear, featuring a steerable nose wheel to provide for operation from short, unprepared runways, where hot or high altitude conditions may exist.”
M28 aircraft produced with the icing system will now be allowed to launch in icy weather that might otherwise delay or cancel flight operations, Stratford-based Sikorsky reported through its parent company in Hartford, United Technologies Corp.
The M28 airplane”™s icing system determines the temperature and moisture content of the surrounding environment and applies heat to the propeller, wing struts and critical aerodynamic surfaces to remove ice buildup.
EASA granted the certification upon completion of flight tests in the U.S. in 2012, which included flight-testing behind a CH-47D helicopter with special equipment that creates a cloud of ice in the air behind it. Final flight tests were completed in natural icing conditions and with simulated ice in Poland in March 2013. Those tests also included evaluations by the FAA, which granted its certificate following EASA”™s approval.
