Rutland-based Knight Farm Machinery – best known for its crop sprayers and cultivation equipment – is contributing to the all-weather operational capability of the Royal Air Force.
Working in collaboration with Aircraft Maintenance Support Services Ltd, based in South Wales, the company is currently manufacturing 22 specialist sprayers at its South Luffenham factory that will be used to apply de-icing solution on runways, hard-standings and taxi-ways at RAF stations in the UK and overseas to keep them fully operational in cold weather.
The RAF order follows the completion of a single de-icing sprayer for Luton Airport, which has already proved itself by keeping the airport open when flights were disrupted elsewhere by ice and snow on runways.
Like the machine built for Luton Airport, the RAF equipment has been designed to apply large volumes of de-icing chemicals quickly and in precisely controlled quantities to suit different temperatures and weather conditions. They had to be easy to operate and be suitable for towing by several different vehicles, including lorries and tractors.
The sprayers are fully self-contained units with their own diesel engines, so they do not need power from the towing vehicle. They also have a high-speed chassis with a fully sprung tandem axle, an air braking system, an adjustable drawbar and a full lighting system.
The machines built for the RAF have 3000-litre stainless steel tanks, hydraulically folding booms that open quickly to 12 or 24 metres, and a high-volume plumbing system that applies up to 70ml per m² at 19mph (30kph). An automatic control system maintains even coverage across a pre-selected speed range. The application rate can be changed quickly to suit the expected weather conditions, which helps to reduce the amount of de-icing fluid used, keeping down costs and the risk of environmental damage from product run-off.
The Luton sprayer has similar features but boasts a 6000-litre tank.
‘We have drawn on 20 years’ experience of designing and building sprayers to meet the requirements of AMSS and the RAF’, said Knight Farm Machinery’s managing director, Brian Knight. ‘While many of the individual components are the same as you would find on a crop sprayer, the end result in terms of specification and performance is quite different’.