Ski Dolly pictures
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Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Brian, I'll try to post a photo out of my gallery. My first attempt with the new system. If unable, I will post a link to my gallery. I assume you are asking for the AeroSki style of dolly with a wheel on each side of the ski.
Beware, the dolly in the photo was built to the dimensions on the AeroSki dolly drawing and will not work on a SuperCub, the inboard wheel hits the Cub lower "shock strut" tube. It will work on a Cessna, but the AeroSki drawing should be revised to give you more than the "100 degree angle" between the retract lever and the wheel mount end-plates.
In later versions I have extended the inboard side further to clear the Cub shock strut and also given more "over-center" for a more secure "wheels down".
The ones I have built are all 4130 double-sleeved except for the "end-plates" which are 3/8" mild steel strap.
They are tough enough to taxi with a C-180 loaded to 2950.
Good Luck. D
Beware, the dolly in the photo was built to the dimensions on the AeroSki dolly drawing and will not work on a SuperCub, the inboard wheel hits the Cub lower "shock strut" tube. It will work on a Cessna, but the AeroSki drawing should be revised to give you more than the "100 degree angle" between the retract lever and the wheel mount end-plates.
In later versions I have extended the inboard side further to clear the Cub shock strut and also given more "over-center" for a more secure "wheels down".
The ones I have built are all 4130 double-sleeved except for the "end-plates" which are 3/8" mild steel strap.
They are tough enough to taxi with a C-180 loaded to 2950.
Good Luck. D
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cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
The problem with the single outer wheel is that it really stresses the gear but it's fine if you are only going to pull it out of the hangar with the dolly, but I think your asking for trouble if your going to taxi it any distance on the single wheel.
Glenn
Glenn
Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Glenn, have you tried single wheel dolly's?? I don't know about Rick's use of the Aero Ski dolly as a single sided deal, but I build other single wheel dolly's that work great. I taxi with them in a loaded a/c, even through snow. I have several guys using them on 185 Cessnas, as well.
DAVE
NimpoCub
Registered User
Nimpo Lake, BC . . . AKA "the Floatplane Capital o
Don't plan/need to taxi w/the wheels, but would be nice when pulling the plane out'a the neighbors' hangar when I mount the skis, and also maybe to lift the skis off the ice when parked, instead of the hassle of inserting 2x4s under the skis.
STD, where's that pic?
STD, where's that pic?
cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
Dave I used the single wheel on my pa11 and it always looked like it wanted to twist the axel upward but I only had 1 1/4 axles, the SC 1 1/2 and C180/185 axles look to be stronger then the ones on my Cub.
Glenn
Glenn
Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Rick Papp
FRIEND
Bristolville, Ohio
Nimpo,
I searched high and low for my copy of the drawings. I think I loaned them out and did not get them back. I got them from aero ski in Brooten MN 320-346-2285. They were happy to fax me a copy.I built them to their drawings But only use one side. PM me and we can trade phone #s for some fine tuning ideas.Dave's angle change is a real good mod. I also made my Handles two part to stow easy in the plane if I needed to take em with me. Call aero ski and I'm sure they will help you. Rick
I searched high and low for my copy of the drawings. I think I loaned them out and did not get them back. I got them from aero ski in Brooten MN 320-346-2285. They were happy to fax me a copy.I built them to their drawings But only use one side. PM me and we can trade phone #s for some fine tuning ideas.Dave's angle change is a real good mod. I also made my Handles two part to stow easy in the plane if I needed to take em with me. Call aero ski and I'm sure they will help you. Rick
cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
Dave your setup looks fine but I still think that the 2 wheel setup puts less stress on the gear, HD I'm sure makes a difference but I'm flying 70 year old junk and when I look at the single dolly wheel at a 10* angle it looks like the gear is having trouble staying straight. JMO
Glenn
Glenn
Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Cubdriver2, be careful with ski-flying and regular-duty gear. Be careful!
D
D
cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
Dave I agree, I've got 500 hrs on 50, 60, 70 year old gear on skis, I get chills when I watch the Ohio Bush Plane guy's pick up the tail and just turn the plane 90* without any foward or backward movement while turning, I was taught that skis need to be moving forward or backward when turning, just picking up the tail and turning the plane twist the living $hit out of the gear, the J4 that I fly now has the weakest gear that I have flown skis on, 150hrs on it and so far it's working out with a lot of respect for the weakness that it has.
Glenn
Glenn
spinner2
MEMBER
Montana
Looking through the archives for ski dolly's and found a few good pictures. I have LW 2500s and a hangar but I'm thinking of trying some straight skis. It would seem like the tail of the skis dragging might be a problem when pushing the plane backwards into the hangar. Having no experience with Dolly's I wonder about that. Or do the Dolly's pivot the ski high enough to lift the tail above the concrete?
Bill Rusk
BENEFACTOR
Sandpoint, Idaho
Dan
What I do is attach a string/small chain/cable/whatever you want, from the rear of the ski (at the check cable attach point) and lift the back of the ski pulling the front down extending the bungee, and then attach (use an "S" hook) the other end of that cable to the rear cable fuselage attach point. It just lifts the back of the ski and makes it ride level so you can maneuver without dragging the back of the ski. I do this when taxing on the pavement to get to the snow. Take the dollys off and also take this cable off. Go fly. Put dollys back on, put cable on. Taxi back to hangar. Put plane in hangar. Go sit by fire and try to warm up.LOL
Hope this makes sense.
Bill
What I do is attach a string/small chain/cable/whatever you want, from the rear of the ski (at the check cable attach point) and lift the back of the ski pulling the front down extending the bungee, and then attach (use an "S" hook) the other end of that cable to the rear cable fuselage attach point. It just lifts the back of the ski and makes it ride level so you can maneuver without dragging the back of the ski. I do this when taxing on the pavement to get to the snow. Take the dollys off and also take this cable off. Go fly. Put dollys back on, put cable on. Taxi back to hangar. Put plane in hangar. Go sit by fire and try to warm up.LOL
Hope this makes sense.
Bill
Two ways to keep the tail up on ski dolly's. First the the cam-over that rest on the ski is made long enough to put a downforce on the front to lift the tail of the ski. Or use a strap on tail of the ski connected to the rear safety cable frame connection. I have made a few dolly's in the past the best one was for a friends pacer and the ski sits flat and he can ever taxi with them. The ones I made for myself the tail would drag a bit so had to strap them up for long taxi. If you make the cam-over stop a sliding tube in tube it is very easy to adjust.
DENNY
DAMM that Bill is fast!!:lol:
DENNY
DAMM that Bill is fast!!:lol:
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spinner2
MEMBER
Montana
That makes good sense and easy to do. Thanks for the quick responses.
My my hesitation with straight skis has been that some winters we don't get much snow that sticks around in the valley. A lot in the mountains but maybe not in the river valley. How well does landing straights with UHMW bottoms on smooth damp grass work? How about takeoffs?
This winter has been good, especially for an El Niño winter but we never know.
Last Monday at Ryan Field by West Glacier. Probably 18" of powder on a 12"+ base. All fun.
My my hesitation with straight skis has been that some winters we don't get much snow that sticks around in the valley. A lot in the mountains but maybe not in the river valley. How well does landing straights with UHMW bottoms on smooth damp grass work? How about takeoffs?
This winter has been good, especially for an El Niño winter but we never know.
Last Monday at Ryan Field by West Glacier. Probably 18" of powder on a 12"+ base. All fun.
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I am not that good of a pilot for grass on skis (should work but will be short landing). With the plane in the picture I think you could make it work if you think about it. If they blow the snow off runway like we do here midfield will last a lot longer than normal ski strip. One of the Backcountry guys had a post on making a runway out of snow from back of truck when he had to land on frozen ground.
DENNY
LIFE ON THE EDGE! THE VIEW IS WORTH IT!!!!!!!
DENNY
LIFE ON THE EDGE! THE VIEW IS WORTH IT!!!!!!!
cubflier
MEMBER
Palmer, AK
I operate on grass quite a bit and it works fine for me. I have Landes 2500 with the original glued on bottoms and that may be a factor. Dry brown grass produces heat and bolted on uhmw bottoms can get wavy from heat expansion, whereas, the glued on bottoms only get thicker when they expand so they hold their flat shape. Depending on the type of grass, it may tend to wear groves in the uhmw. Mine are quite groovy.
Around here the friction of the grass can be quite variable but for the most part it's a high friction event. Takes offs are the limiting factor and in the late spring when the grass is at it's most aggressive resistance I am confined to very light loads taking off. Sometimes it's so grippy I pass and take the Maule on wheel skis. I use WD-40 to protect the bottoms on take off and to ease in the initial take off roll. If I can find a puddle I hit it to cool the skis and to give me more slip. A long shallow puddle is a dream. Very slippery and skis will float the plane an fairly low speeds. Landings are as you would expect. Come in with power on, tail low and drive it on to the grass. In a 20kt head wind you can stop in the distance of your cub.
It's not for everyone and we have had a case last year where someone at another field got an upside down view of where they came from. I suspect you will do fine.
Jerry
mvivion
SPONSOR
Bozeman,MT
Dan,
If you can taxi up close to the hangar, you really don't need dollies. Install a winch in the back of your hangar, and winch the plane in, then rig up a rope yoke to drag it out with a pickup. Simple, and works. The plastic on the bottoms won't even hardly notice, since the skegs will take the friction of dragging it. If you have epoxied floor in your hangar, it will scratch it up some. If plain concrete, who cares.
I did this for a couple seasons, and it worked great.
MTV
Mi. ( Yooper)
I built a set of ski dolly's for my Airglas ski's and every time I take it out I put a new cotter pin in, I would like to find a clip that would fit with out having to remove and reinstall every time I use the dolly's, Great question, hopefully someone on here has an idea of what works.
Rick
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Mi. ( Yooper)
http://www.supercub.org/forum/showt...he-Shaft-Cotter-Key&highlight=cotter+pin+clip
check this thread out, has some good info on alternatives to cotter pins for your axel nuts
check this thread out, has some good info on alternatives to cotter pins for your axel nuts
spinner2
MEMBER
Montana
View attachment 28082
I built a set of ski dolly's for my Airglas ski's and every time I take it out I put a new cotter pin in, I would like to find a clip that would fit with out having to remove and reinstall every time I use the dolly's, Great question, hopefully someone on here has an idea of what works.
These outside collars with the pin came from Airglas and the nuts from Stoddards. I think I saw both available at Stoddards last spring though. This setup leaves the inside of the axle open for a dolly shaft.
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