Equipment to remove rubber

[andujar]

NHRA can create a smaller version of this machine to help them when they must do a scrape of the starting line at different points during an event.

 

[Cliff]

Wow, had never seen a machine like this. When I worked at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, they would have to clean off excess rubber from the runways, but didn't use a machine like this. This would be great for cleaning a track surface. Maybe even adapt a laser leveling device to this truck to grind down the bumps.

 

[.]

The Minneapolis airport has a machine similar to the one shown above. It's only a few years old and only two guys out of probably 120 maintenance guys are trained to run it. The one at MSP is built on a Freightliner chassis (if I'm not mistaken) and was rumored to cost over 1 million dollars. It does the removal with super high pressure water and captures all the removed rubber into a hopper at the back of the truck where it can be dumped into a recycling container at the shop. In Minneapolis, rubber removal is only performed during the spring, summer, and fall months..... in the winter months the rubber is controlled by the snow plowing and brooming process. Mainly the brooming process...... with either a dedicated Oshkosh runway broom, or an Oshkosh MFE which has a runway plow, AND a runway broom on the same machine.

Oshkosh runway broom

Oshkosh MFE (Multi Function Equipment) Plow AND broom

 

[mgty3whlr]

My brother-in-law works at Philly International airport. I can't remember the equipment that they use but, It's big and the amount of time it takes to clear a runway was insane. I'll ask him again over Christmas and let you know.

 

[.]

My brother-in-law works at Philly International airport. I can't remember the equipment that they use but, It's big and the amount of time it takes to clear a runway was insane. I'll ask him again over Christmas and let you know.

If you're talking about rubber removal, yeah it's a loong process. Even with the modern equipment shown in post number one of this thread. The truck with the rubber removal equipment barely moves.... something like 1 mph... it's very slow and the rubber removal device is not that big.

If you're talking about plowing snow.... the guys at MSP have perfected that process. The crew at MSP can start with a completely snow covered runway and in 15 minutes they can have the entire runway and all priority feeders plowed, broomed, sanded, sprayed with E36 liquid deicer, and traction tested.... If traction test numbers come back in the reasonable range the runway will be immediately reopened. All within 15 minutes.

 

[4onthefl4]

From snow to solar!

 

[mgty3whlr]

If you're talking about rubber removal, yeah it's a loong process. Even with the modern equipment shown in post number one of this thread. The truck with the rubber removal equipment barely moves.... something like 1 mph... it's very slow and the rubber removal device is not that big.

If you're talking about plowing snow.... the guys at MSP have perfected that process. The crew at MSP can start with a completely snow covered runway and in 15 minutes they can have the entire runway and all priority feeders plowed, broomed, sanded, sprayed with E36 liquid deicer, and traction tested.... If traction test numbers come back in the reasonable range the runway will be immediately reopened. All within 15 minutes.

I was talking about snow removal from the runway. I imagine for the rubber removal, It would be very time consuming. I'll ask him about that also.

 

[sammi]

Oh, that's great, automation will take the jobs away from at least a half dozen start line crew members. What's next, a robot to spray water and wave you into the burnout box?

 

[J]

The Minneapolis airport has a machine similar to the one shown above. It's only a few years old and only two guys out of probably 120 maintenance guys are trained to run it. The one at MSP is built on a Freightliner chassis (if I'm not mistaken) and was rumored to cost over 1 million dollars. It does the removal with super high pressure water and captures all the removed rubber into a hopper at the back of the truck where it can be dumped into a recycling container at the shop. In Minneapolis, rubber removal is only performed during the spring, summer, and fall months..... in the winter months the rubber is controlled by the snow plowing and brooming process. Mainly the brooming process...... with either a dedicated Oshkosh runway broom, or an Oshkosh MFE which has a runway plow, AND a runway broom on the same machine.

Oshkosh runway broom
View attachment 9715

Oshkosh MFE (Multi Function Equipment) Plow AND broom
View attachment 9718

Driving one of them trucks would be a fun job!

 

[Cliff]

Oh, that's great, automation will take the jobs away from at least a half dozen start line crew members. What's next, a robot to spray water and wave you into the burnout box?

Hey, no problem with the robot getting whacked in the ribs with a piece of rod..... Or going deef with noise, or all that good stuff.