The winter of 2011. What can I say…it made travel adventurous for almost anyone…and I am no exception. Earlier this week, Scott and I, traveled to Iowa City to visit our brilliant daughter studying Creative Writing at the University of Iowa, (did I mention she is going to be published!) Just a day before we arrived, they got dumped on…18 inches of show and it was 24 hours before the snowplow did it’s magic on the streets of Iowa City.
Thankfully, the streets were passable by the time we arrived. To someone who does not live in the snow, somehow it is all magic, we had a wonderful time….but when it came time to go back home to Los Angeles is when the fun truly began.
It started off innocently enough, grey skies. By the time we were headed for the Eastern Iowa Airport, the wind had picked up and it was gently snowing. When we had checked in and cleared security, everything was still fine in Iowa, but Chicago was having problems. There we sat, as the sun slowly set in the west. Flights were being delayed out of Ohare as it was now snowing…and then the news that the entire Airport had lost power! Oh my…what to do? Should we wait it out? Should we change our travel plans and fly home through Dallas? Thankfully the outage was only for a short while…we were on our way with only a 2 hour delay.
The sun set over the midwest and the snow…the views were breathtaking.
One of my favorite views of Chicago is to see the Cloverleafs of the interchanges…it reminds me of Bugs Bunny Cartoons!
Part of what was so interesting for me was to see the airports of the midwest working in this weather. Yes, there were lots of snowplows working the taxi ways, but of more interest to me, the fascinating equipment that is used to de-ice the airplanes. It was amazing to watch and experience from afar and from within.
Who new…is it just the wings and tail that get de-iced? No the fuselage get de-iced too! Is it done by machine or by hand…the answer is both. As I peered out my window, I watched these scutter-like pieces of equipment working on the planes.
The equipment is tall enough to tower over the biggest aircraft, yet sort of fragile looking. It worked slowly and with great care. As it was already dark, the hull of the aircraft was examined with strong lights to see where the ice had collected and then with long delicate finger-like attachments, the fuselage was carefully sprayed with the de-icer and examined again. The whole process took about 45 minutes and had a primal feel to it…like a dragon was attacking the plane, roaring and issuing huge puffs of steam as it was consumed.
Men and machines worked inch by inch over the body of the plane from tail to nose. It depends on what aircraft you are on, but sometimes there is a roaring noise during the spraying…and then you know the process is working when your window is slimed with the mixture of water, dirt, and glycol running off.
Fascinating! I personally would like to thank all the people who make it safe for us to fly in the winter. I have tremendous respect for what they do and beyond that, it was an amazing process to watch.
After weeks of being away from home…I am glad to be back in the warmth of Los Angeles. 
It was 14 degrees when we left Iowa City…today in LA, it’s in the low 70′s.
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De-icing is very important. I just looked the way it was done, well, there are better procedures. I can say so, because I was working for our national airline nearly 39 years and I also was de-icing coordinator. More info in my About me page.
Happy Sunday!