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Re: Winter has arrived
If it was 80 recon I would be laying in the river with the dogs.
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Re: Winter has arrived
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Lots of snow in northern Minnesota. This has been my first winter on skis. I imagined that putting on the straight skis would entail a bit of extra work, and I wasn't disappointed. I use the plane to commute between several different airports to instruct, so pulling the back seat and hauling the dolly wheels along has been the best option to get gas, in and out of hangars, etc...
I still can't get over how well the plane floats over the really deep stuff--plane would sink in maybe 12 inches and when I jump out I'm well past my knees in the white stuff.
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Winter has arrived
Originally Posted by
wmvosburgh
Lots of snow in northern Minnesota. This has been my first winter on skis. I imagined that putting on the straight skis would entail a bit of extra work, and I wasn't disappointed. I use the plane to commute between several different airports to instruct, so pulling the back seat and hauling the dolly wheels along has been the best option to get gas, in and out of hangars, etc...
I still can't get over how well the plane floats over the really deep stuff--plane would sink in maybe 12 inches and when I jump out I'm well past my knees in the white stuff.
What skis, prop, motor combo are you using?
Below is a photo a friend just sent me, it shows the tri gear stance really well.
I was in three overflow situations recently were I just stayed on top and no wories. Watched a 200hp pa12 get in it and just barely get back on top the other day: taxied off the packed strip for some reason. Pulled up to Don Lee's for fuel the same sunny day and thought it was odd all his birds were on the ground. Then I noticed they had been breaking through into the overflow. The Batplane just stayed on top. Reckon if I ever get in it I will be screwed three ways
Snowing some more right now.
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Not sure why photo comes up at low resolution...?
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Last edited by rocket; 03-14-2018 at 02:00 PM.
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Re: Winter has arrived
This has the 160 hp engine and borer prop sitting on federal 2000's. The tailwheel has one of the old aeroski fixed tail skis.
I had a few folks suggest I switch to a cruise prop for the winter, but I'm glad I didn't. I never got into slush, but on a few days where the temps went over 40 I was glad to have every last bit of "pull" available in the deep stuff, especially taxiing downwind.
I was surprised to see how the ground or snow handling characteristics were similar to handling the plane on floats--especially in the deeeep stuff. The very first time I got the dolly wheels off and went out to taxi around to get a feel for the thing I thought, "Gee, thing is kind of a pig on these right turns...?" Then the "use-your-brain" warning horn went off in the cockpit and I tried making left turns and using proper aileron corrections...
In the middle of all this I'd been pouring over the threads on tailwheel spring replacement, ordered a new pa-18 spring from Alaska, and installed that. Yowza! What a difference a proper tailwheel setup makes. Turns on the snow are now dreamy and I can make all those tight turns into the hangar on the dolly wheels without brakes.
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Re: Winter has arrived
Originally Posted by
wmvosburgh
This has the 160 hp engine and borer prop sitting on federal 2000's. The tailwheel has one of the old aeroski fixed tail skis.
I had a few folks suggest I switch to a cruise prop for the winter, but I'm glad I didn't. I never got into slush, but on a few days where the temps went over 40 I was glad to have every last bit of "pull" available in the deep stuff, especially taxiing downwind.
I was surprised to see how the ground or snow handling characteristics were similar to handling the plane on floats--especially in the deeeep stuff. The very first time I got the dolly wheels off and went out to taxi around to get a feel for the thing I thought, "Gee, thing is kind of a pig on these right turns...?" Then the "use-your-brain" warning horn went off in the cockpit and I tried making left turns and using proper aileron corrections...
In the middle of all this I'd been pouring over the threads on tailwheel spring replacement, ordered a new pa-18 spring from Alaska, and installed that. Yowza! What a difference a proper tailwheel setup makes. Turns on the snow are now dreamy and I can make all those tight turns into the hangar on the dolly wheels without brakes.
I tried to use my wheel prop '56 I think but it just didn't do. My seaplane prop 82-4? rips her off the snow and keeps her from becoming a snow ornament in the deep stuff. I can use it on skis but only because there is no tire in the way.
Three airglass 2000 via STC.
You are right about the float comparison I always pull the Johnson bar brake first time on floats and skis too. I always tell first time ski pilots that flat light is glassy water time only the snow is never flat like water: burms, humps, and hills of snow become invisible.
Rocket
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Re: Winter has arrived
Launching out of lake hood AK
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Re: Winter has arrived
Made my way onto the Ruth Glacier for my last of the season ski flying...
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Re: Winter has arrived
Rocket,
Great pictures, thanks.
PG-13?
"You can only tie the record for flying low."
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