In many respects yes, but in a few no. As far as keeping ice off the
airframe TKS is the best, better even than heated leading edges (which can
suffer from "run-back icing"). TKS is clearly better in large droplet
icing, at least for the surfaces with TKS, everything else is still a
problem. The downsides of TKS are weight of the fluid and making a mess in
the hanger.

The disadvantages of boots are that they are subject to static discharges
which make pin holes and also deteriorate over time. I guess that thy have
weight too (!!!) but nobody thinks about it since it is part of the empty
weight. With recipricating engines, reliabliity of the vacuum pumps is also
an issue. A frequent misconception about boots is that they do not clear
all the ice. This is true on a "per cycle" basis but the ice is removed on
subsequent cycles (the little pieces of ice adhering to the boots are not
the same little pieces of ice that were there 30 minutes ago.

Both systems require maitenance, the main item with boots is renewing the
preservatives and silicone surface treatment.

I think that the reason that many people seem to have a low opinion of boots
is a function of flying with 30yr old leaking (maybe flapping too) boots
being inflated by a worn out vacuum pump. You never hear the Citation or
Pilatus guys complaining about their boot's effectiveness.

Mike
MU-2





"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...
But a KI TKS system is better than a KI booted system.