ATA 30

Wing De-ice
We recently had a problem with the wing boots failing to fully inflate on a Westwind II. We looked at the distributor valve, all the aft equipment bay plumbing, and the boots themselves for excessive pinholes. All the pressures were within the system limits. We discovered that the wing lines run under the lav floor area, up each side of the fuselage to the wing root bulkhead fittings, and then to the boots. Because the lines under the floor are the lowest point in the system, moisture had collected in them over the years and turned the bottom of the tubes into Swiss cheese. We made new lines, and the system worked perfectly. Next time you are in the area for maintenance, take a good look at the lines, or even put a little pressure in them and do a leak check. It might disclose a similar problem.