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.
Keywords: Phase_I, NASA, Abstract, FY94
