Sprry, I haven't read Buck's book. What is the name of it? My limited 
experience with deicer boots is that they are a constant headache to maintain 
and are a real job to install, at least on the C-46, especially the vertical 
fin. Operationally, they require a high skill level and some intuition to get 
the best performance out of them. Glidden came out with a silicone spray thay 
worked very well for a few minutes when applied to the boots before flight 
and then polished. It was also good for the prop blades but even a minute or 
two of flight in heavy rain would wash it off. In the C-46, when the prop 
blades threw off ice, some of it would hit the fuselage along side my head. 
What a racket. When I was flying the Turbo Twin Commanche out of GJT, I 
experimented with using strips of teflon tape about 2 inches wide on the 
leading edges of the wings and tip tanks. It worked very well and I am 
wondering why someone hasn't came out with a commerical product. It also 
protects against stone dings on the paint job. Over around Monument Valley of 
Utah was also a good place for ice in the late Spring.
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