Jim_P_Pulfrew
XGE
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It was always about this time of year us sumpies would start to get the eye twitch as training began on the Mobile Runway De-icer prior to the winter.
Essentially they bolted two Life expired Derwent engines to the front of a bowser and used the exhaust to blow away snow/melt thick ice. A poor sumpy used to have to sit in a little wooden box between the engines and manipulate the engine throttles and nozzle angle. You were sat in direct line of the turbines and given the high possibility of the engines surging and the turbine leaping out of the casing, it was a very nerve wracking couple of hours running up and down taxiways. (Runways were chemically deiced to prevent the jet blast knackering the tarmac).
It was a fine line between producing enough jet blast to do the job, and ripping all the black mastic out from the concrete joints. It was also not known for cold, tired operators to open the throttles wide when the bowser was at slow speed and see if you could push the whole rig backwards. Though if the MTD wasn't switched on and tried to use the wagon to fight the thrust it could burn the clutch out and incur the wrath of the MTSS blokes. Best bet was to let us have our fun (and by doing so blow hot air into the freezing cabin), then carry on with the task!
I seem to recall we had the last set on TTTE and stopped using them about 1987?
Does anyone have any pictures? I did try google but it just comes up with chemical de-icer companies. Go on make a sumpy nervous again!!!
Jimps
Essentially they bolted two Life expired Derwent engines to the front of a bowser and used the exhaust to blow away snow/melt thick ice. A poor sumpy used to have to sit in a little wooden box between the engines and manipulate the engine throttles and nozzle angle. You were sat in direct line of the turbines and given the high possibility of the engines surging and the turbine leaping out of the casing, it was a very nerve wracking couple of hours running up and down taxiways. (Runways were chemically deiced to prevent the jet blast knackering the tarmac).
It was a fine line between producing enough jet blast to do the job, and ripping all the black mastic out from the concrete joints. It was also not known for cold, tired operators to open the throttles wide when the bowser was at slow speed and see if you could push the whole rig backwards. Though if the MTD wasn't switched on and tried to use the wagon to fight the thrust it could burn the clutch out and incur the wrath of the MTSS blokes. Best bet was to let us have our fun (and by doing so blow hot air into the freezing cabin), then carry on with the task!
I seem to recall we had the last set on TTTE and stopped using them about 1987?
Does anyone have any pictures? I did try google but it just comes up with chemical de-icer companies. Go on make a sumpy nervous again!!!
Jimps
DT_Xtremez_14: