Cessna will offer a TKS “weeping wing” anti-icing system for the Cessna Grand Caravan beginning next March. The system, manufactured by Aerospace Systems & Technologies, includes TKS panels (titanium laser-drilled with thousands of tiny holes) installed on the leading edges of the wings, wing struts and horizontal and vertical stabilizers. A sling ring protects the propeller blades, and a windshield spray bar eliminates the need for a windshield heater.

Also eliminated are the de-icer boots on the landing-gear legs and the front of the belly cargo pod. The modification improves performance and allows for the removal of the 200-pound weight restriction into known icing, which increases payload. Anti-icing endurance is more than three hours with a full tank. The tank will be installed in the second bay of the cargo pod, and Cessna engineers are working on finding a location for Caravans without belly pods.h