Tim Roehl – TKS Testimonial

28th April 2017

Tim Roehl is President of Tornado Alley Turbo, Inc. in Ada, Oklahoma. He lives in the Midwest and flies all over the United States. Two of his aircraft—a 1984 Beechcraft B36 TC Bonanza and a 2007 Cirrus SR22—are equipped with TKS Ice Protection Systems. Both are inadvertent systems.

How did you get started in aviation? 

I started in aviation by working for a family-owned aerospace manufacturing company.

Why did you choose TKS?

My company had the requirement to travel to Duluth, Minnesota on a regular basis, as we were building turbonormalizing kits for Cirrus Aircraft. In the winter time, that resulted in flying in inclement weather and Hard IFR which sometimes involved icing.

What has TKS done for your mission?

TKS absolutely improves the utility of the airplane and the opportunity to go when needed. The system is not a FIKI-approved system; nonetheless, it has been very effective when encountering icing conditions. For the most part, it meets all of our needs for de-icing the airplane and feeling safe in doing so.

Do you have any memorable experiences with TKS?

Soon after we installed the TKS system on our Bonanza, we had the opportunity of flying at around 17,000 feet where there was a clear area adjacent to an IFR area. There was icing in the clouds of the IFR area. We were able to go in and out of the icing conditions and test the effectiveness of the TKS system. I would add that the icing conditions were significant. We found that the TKS system worked exceptionally well in dealing with the airframe icing.

Learn More About TKS for the Beechcraft Bonanza