Airport tries for a little ice breaking: As winter nears, Albany International trots out new equipment for tests

COLONIE, Oct 31, 2009 (Albany Times Union - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- AIN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- A brand-new, $280,000 Batts De-Icer Pro 4,000-gallon pumper truck was poised for its first test run at the Albany International Airport as security personnel shut down Runway 28 in mid-afternoon to make sure it worked before the first snowfall.

Grade the test an incomplete.

Luckily, it was partly sunny, with temperatures in the upper-50s Thursday as a mechanical glitch and air-pressure problem made the debut of the big, fancy new de-icer less than stellar.

It's an essential piece of equipment for the airport's sprawling 1,200-acre facility, where four wide runways stretch the equivalent of a 100-mile, single-lane highway.

After 20 minutes of tweaking, the de-icer's broad metal sprayer wings unfolded mechanically like some sci-fi butterfly. They promised to melt a 100-foot-wide swath of snow and ice on the runway in a single pass, but instead dribbled a weak stream of water (no potassium acetate was used in the test) onto the tarmac's concrete. The runway is grooved and slightly crowned to promote runoff.

Shakedown cruises are essential for troubleshooting the machinery long before the snow flies, said Donna Abdella, lead airfield maintenance supervisor. She's a 15-year veteran at the airport and the only woman on the crew.

"We've been doing this a long time and we'll be ready for the first snow," Abdella said. "It's very rare when we can't keep up with the snowfall and have to shut down a runway."

The new de-icer truck is an improvement over the previous model, since the operator no longer has to step outside the cab to unfold the sprayer wings manually or pull-start a balky engine.

For Thursday's test, an armada of heavy equipment, including a giant power brush and outsized snow plows, one with a 40-foot blade, followed the de-icer in tight formation during a simulation of a snow emergency along the bone-dry runway. It passed for mechanized ballet.

"We prefer snow because it's easier to deal with. Ice is not fun," said Abdella, whose crews work in 12-hour shifts around-the-clock during snow or ice storms.

The mechanical "brain" of the snow operation is a fifth wheel concealed in the trunk of a 2008 Saab station wagon, painted a bright yellow, with buttery-soft black leather seats, which sit well with airport operations supervisor Bob Heitz.

He drives the Saab at a steady 40 mph up and down the four runways, which range in length from 6,000 to 8,500 feet. The fifth wheel, a high-pressure friction wheel, spins in contact with the tarmac and prints out a real-time sensor reading that shows the level of friction on the runway. If the friction drops too low due to snow or ice, hampering a jet's braking ability, the de-icer and plow crews launch into action.

One curious terrain obstacle the crews can't overcome at the eastern end of runway 28 is the Latham water tower, with its distinctive orange and white checkerboard paint. The tower predates a preponderance of commercial jets, but requires pilots to take a steeper approach angle that essentially shortens that runway for landings.

With 1.4 million passengers expected to fly out of the airport in 2009, the Batts De-Icer Pro will need to be at the top of its game this winter in order to ensure the travelers will be free to move about the country.

"We'll be ready," Abdella vowed.

Paul Grondahl can be reached at 454-5623 or by e-mail at pgrondahl@timesunion.com.

To see a video of the de-icer test runs, got to http://www.timesunion.com

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