Falcon 900 and Keeping your Cool

July 2018

The Falcon 900 air-conditioning system is one of the most efficient systems out there. However, keeping it at peak performance does take some effort.

Along with inspecting the LP water separator every six months, you need to be able to recognize the symptoms of a malfunctioning air-conditioning cooling system. The weak link here is the Turbine Anti-ice system. It consists of a temp probe, an amplifier, and a hot air valve, all used to keep the temperature up-stream of the LP water separator greater than 37°F. This is important because if ice forms in the separator, extensive damage will occur to the internal swirl vanes or worse, airflow to the pressure vessel will be completely blocked.

Here is a simple step to test the Falcon 900 air-conditioning cooling system. While on the ground during a humid day with the APU bleed air running, select full cold then monitor the cockpit gaspers for the next couple of minutes for slowly diminishing airflow. This is indicative of ice forming on the separator sock.

The photo below may be a bit blurry, but you can clearly see the LP separator is completely filled with ice due to a malfunctioning turbine anti-ice system.