Project Title:

Affordable de-ice system which preserves laminar flow on NLI~ airfoils

  94-1		03.01		2233



  Affordable de-ice system which preserves laminar flow on NLI~ 

  airfoils

Abstract:

Lancair International, Inc. proposes an integrated de-ice/anti-

ice protection system which does not degrade laminar flow on the 

natural laminar flow (NLF) wings for general aviation. When the 

TKS ice protection is not in use during cruise flight, the air 

flow enters through the laser drilled holes of the TKS system in 

the stagnation region, where the accelerating flow decreases the 

local pressure, destabilizes the boundary layer and so disrupts 

the NLF of the airfoil. The effort includes development and 

testing of the new TKS ice protection systems to control and 

eliminate the boundary layer destabilizing effects. Innovative 

manufacturing approaches will be developed to integrate 

dissimilar materials involved while maintaining laminar flow. 

This will innovatively integrate manufacturing/installation 

techniques coupled with new TKS de-ice systems that when 

combined will produce a system which maintains laminar flow when 

the TKS is not in the active de-ice mode.


Commercial applications are enormous and immediate for both high 

performance kit airplanes, which now far outsell high 

performance, production general aviation aircraft, as well as 

for virtually all newly emerging certified versions of kit 

airplanes, all of which utilize highly laminar flow wing 

technology. Application would be available to many other 

certified. production general aviation aircraft.


Key Words


Lancair International, Inc.

2244 Airport Way

Redmond, OR  97756