Definition
AC 135-17 is an FAA Advisory Circular titled 'Pilot Guide—Small Aircraft Ground Deicing.' It provides guidance and recommended practices for pilots of small aircraft on recognizing, preventing, and removing ice, frost, and snow contamination on aircraft surfaces before flight.
Plain English
It is an FAA guidance document that explains how pilots of smaller aircraft should handle ice and frost on the airplane before takeoff.
Context Anchor
Seen as a reference in FAA training material when ground icing, preflight inspection, and safe takeoff condition are being discussed.
Derivation
Advisory Circular' means an official FAA publication offering guidance — advisory rather than regulatory. The number '135-17' identifies the specific document: the '135' series relates to operations, and '17' is its sequence number within that series.
Why Pilots Care
It gives pilots a direct source for deeper regulatory or procedural information tied to the handbook material.
Intuition Check
Do not read “AC 135-17” as an aircraft system or a regulation number by itself. Here it means a specific FAA guidance document about small-aircraft ground deicing.
Example Sentence 1
Before flying on a frosty morning, the pilot reviewed AC 135-17 to refresh the recommended ground deicing checks.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots often consult AC 135-17 to clarify points raised in the Instrument Flying Handbook.