Originally Posted by
SUPERTRAVEL
I know planes can't be deiced inbound but aren't the same freezing conditions effecting the aircraft yet they land without the deicing fluid on them.
The airplane's deicing systems can protect it in flight. The point of pre-takeoff deicing is to have a "clean" airplane at takeoff.
Seems like it would make more sense to take off right away rather than wait but is there some kind of "curing time" involved?
No curing time. We do try to takeoff as quickly as possible but there's still a lot to do.
When ice is actively forming, frost, snow, sleet, etc. in progress, deicing is a two-step process. The first step is to de-ice the airplane to remove the ice that is already on the airplane. This is done with an application of hot fluid called Type I fluid. Type I fluid can be full strength or diluted, depending on the air temperature. The second step is the anti-icing application which is a cold, very thick, Type IV fluid. This is a second application over the whole airplane. This fluid is a thick gel which sits on top of the airplane surfaces and keeps the falling ice or snow from touching the airplane. During takeoff, that fluid shears off around 80 knots, or so, taking any accumulated icing with it. The Type IV fluid can protect the airplane for some time, depending on the temperature and type icing, and allows enough time to takeoff before needing to be deiced again.
Once the deice and anti-ice applications are complete, the de-ice crew inspects the airplane to ensure that all ice has been removed. That information is relayed to the pilots who then start the engines to taxi and reconfigure the airplane from the deicing configuration to the takeoff configuration.