A method for de-icing liquid on a surface of an airplane includes supplying de-icing liquid to and through a spraying nozzle of a de-icing vehicle through a pipe that connects the nozzle with a tank assembly of the de-icing vehicle, where the liquid is delivered to the spraying nozzle as a mix of an anti-freeze liquid and additives, the anti-freeze liquid is delivered to the pipe from an anti-freeze liquid tank via a first dosage pump, and the additives are delivered from an additives tank via a second dosage pump.

An aircraft heating assembly including an internal combustion engine having a liquid coolant system distinct from any fuel and lubricating system of the engine and including cooling passages in the internal combustion engine for circulating a liquid coolant from a coolant inlet to a coolant outlet, a coolant circulation path outside of the internal combustion engine and in fluid communication with the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet, and a heating element in heat exchange relationship with a portion of the aircraft to be heated. The coolant circulation path extends through a heat exchanger configured to remove a portion of a waste heat from the liquid coolant. The heating element is in heat exchange relationship with the coolant circulation path to receive another portion of the waste heat therefrom. A method of heating a portion of an aircraft is also discussed.

An aircraft heating assembly including an internal combustion engine having a liquid coolant system distinct from any fuel and lubricating system of the engine and including cooling passages in the internal combustion engine for circulating a liquid coolant from a coolant inlet to a coolant outlet, a coolant circulation path outside of the internal combustion engine and in fluid communication with the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet, and a heating element in heat exchange relationship with a portion of the aircraft to be heated. The coolant circulation path extends through a heat exchanger configured to remove a portion of a waste heat from the liquid coolant. The heating element is in heat exchange relationship with the coolant circulation path to receive another portion of the waste heat therefrom. A method of heating a portion of an aircraft is also discussed.

The present disclosure provides for informed de-icing by identifying a travel time range for an aircraft from a de-icing station to a runway; identifying a holdover window based on predicted weather conditions during the travel time range; estimating a takeoff time for the aircraft based on a takeoff queue for the runway and the travel time range; and in response to the holdover window expiring before the estimated takeoff time, delaying the aircraft from de-icing. In some aspects, informed de-icing includes, in response to identifying an aircraft scheduled for de-icing within a caution threshold of a scheduled takeoff time and to determining that a push time cannot be delayed: evaluating an effect of repeating a de-icing operation for the aircraft on flight operations; and in response to the effect exceeding an impact threshold: rescheduling the de-icing operation for the aircraft based on a new takeoff time.

In certain embodiments, the invention is directed to apparatus comprising a liquid-impregnated surface, said surface comprising an impregnating liquid and a matrix of solid features spaced sufficiently close to stably contain the impregnating liquid therebetween or therewithin, and methods thereof. In some embodiments, one or both of the following holds: (i) 0<ϕ≤0.25, where ϕ is a representative fraction of the projected surface area of the liquid-impregnated surface corresponding to non-submerged solid at equilibrium; and (ii) S.sub.ow(a)<0, where S.sub.ow(a) is spreading coefficient, defined as γ.sub.wa−γ.sub.wo−γ.sub.oa, where γ is the interfacial tension between the two phases designated by subscripts w, a, and o, where w is water, a is air, and o is the impregnating liquid.

In certain embodiments, the invention is directed to apparatus comprising a liquid-impregnated surface, said surface comprising an impregnating liquid and a matrix of solid features spaced sufficiently close to stably contain the impregnating liquid therebetween or therewithin, and methods thereof. In some embodiments, one or both of the following holds: (i) 0<ϕ≤0.25, where ϕ is a representative fraction of the projected surface area of the liquid-impregnated surface corresponding to non-submerged solid at equilibrium; and (ii) S.sub.ow(a)<0, where S.sub.ow(a) is spreading coefficient, defined as γ.sub.wa−γ.sub.wo−γ.sub.oa, where γ is the interfacial tension between the two phases designated by subscripts w, a, and o, where w is water, a is air, and o is the impregnating liquid.

An aircraft ground support unit, which is mobile, for supplying a service to an aircraft on the ground according to a specific servicing program is provided that includes a GPS to identify an instantaneous position of the ground support unit, a receiver suitable for identifying an aircraft by receiving information emitted by a transponder of said aircraft including one or more of: an instantaneous GPS coordinates of an aircraft position, an identity of the aircraft, a type of aircraft, a company of the aircraft, or aircraft status data, and a microprocessor configured for calculating a distance, d, of the aircraft from the ground support unit, selecting a predefined specific servicing program stored in a database corresponding to the type and company of the thus identified aircraft, controlling the ground support unit to implement the thus selected specific servicing program, and logging aircraft and ground unit data for airlines optimization.

An aircraft ground support unit, which is mobile, for supplying a service to an aircraft on the ground according to a specific servicing program is provided that includes a GPS to identify an instantaneous position of the ground support unit, a receiver suitable for identifying an aircraft by receiving information emitted by a transponder of said aircraft including one or more of: an instantaneous GPS coordinates of an aircraft position, an identity of the aircraft, a type of aircraft, a company of the aircraft, or aircraft status data, and a microprocessor configured for calculating a distance, d, of the aircraft from the ground support unit, selecting a predefined specific servicing program stored in a database corresponding to the type and company of the thus identified aircraft, controlling the ground support unit to implement the thus selected specific servicing program, and logging aircraft and ground unit data for airlines optimization.

A system and a method include at least one control unit that determines a de-icing time for an aircraft within a de-icing area of an airport, predicts a de-icing time for an aircraft within a de-icing area of an airport, schedules de-icing times for a plurality of aircraft within a de-icing area of an airport, and/or predicts demand for future de-icing operations of aircraft within a de-icing area of an airport.

In certain embodiments, the invention is directed to apparatus comprising a liquid-impregnated surface, said surface comprising an impregnating liquid and a matrix of solid features spaced sufficiently close to stably contain the impregnating liquid therebetween or therewithin, and methods thereof. In some embodiments, one or both of the following holds: (i) 0<0.25, where is a representative fraction of the projected surface area of the liquid-impregnated surface corresponding to non-submerged solid at equilibrium; and (ii) S.sub.ow(a)<0, where S.sub.ow(a) is spreading coefficient, defined as .sub.wa.sub.wo.sub.oa, where is the interfacial tension between the two phases designated by subscripts w, a, and o, where w is water, a is air, and o is the impregnating liquid.