Applications such as these melt the ice to a point where it can be removed by manual means. Ground support equipment also vary in type. The ground support equipment can also be highly sophisticated and capable of heating and dispensing large quantities of water and deicing fluid. However, use of this type equipment may not be good for small airplanes. They operate under high pressures and high temperatures which could damage small planes.
Some airports have a central deicing location at the departure end of a runway.
The advantages of this arrangement are that it provides an excellent place for conducting the pretakeoff contamination check, and it reduce the time between deicing and takeoff. The anti-ice, protective coating delays the reformation of ice, snow, or frost. Ice is slow to absorb it or to melt when in contact with it. Heating the FPD fluid helps the process, but as the ice, etc., melts, it dilutes the FPD fluid, which then begins to run off. If all the ice has not melted, the aircraft may need additional applications of FPD fluid until it is totally free of frozen contamination.