Cox and Company developed an innovative low-power de-icing system for the leading edge of the rear horizontal stabilizer of the Raytheon/Beechcraft Premier I six-seater executive aircraft. The system consisted of an Energy Storage Bank (or ESB), a De-Icing Control Unit (or DCU), and electro-mechanical expulsive actuators located on the top and bottom of the leading edge. The actuators were deformed coils, and the ESB contained special high-voltage capacitors which were charged and discharged, in sequence, as controlled by the DCU. When the ESB discharged into the actuator coil, it would deform, basically hitting the ice off of the wing.
I was the project manager and lead electrical engineer for the ESB and DCU, creating the schematics, MIL-STD-275 PC board layouts, PLD coding and mechanical drawings, as well as performing full RTCA DO-160 environmental pre-flight testing and writing a MIL-HDBK-217 FMECA (Failure Mode and Effects/Criticality Analysis). The DCU contained redundancy of life-critical functions and performed a pre-flight test. Both the ESB and DCU passed testing, met FAA conformity, and were released to production in 1997.
My title at Cox and Company was Senior Electrical Engineer. I was employed at Cox from 1995 to 1998. While at Cox, I also created: