This week, CAV Aerospace, Inc. is beginning the first of many single-engine turboprop Cessna Caravan TKS™ ice protection installations to be performed in its North American facilities at the Salina Aviation Service Center. We’ll blog the installation with plenty of photographs for our TKS owners, enthusiasts and those who would like an idea of what goes into a TKS installation.
The first 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.
More to Come!
We’ll be posting more soon. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, the 15th of October, and work will begin soon after.