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Fli-Lite 3000 Ski

Poor Joe

FOUNDER
P.O. Box 57 Jermyn, Pa. 18433
Hello, I'm new at this so bear with me. I have a PA-12, 150 HP.,Borer 82-42 prop, flaps, and 18 tail on Dodge 3" PA-18 extended gear with 1-1/2" axles. I've found a great set of 3000's at a reasonably low price and would like to put them on. From what I can find the 3000's were not approved for the 12. Does anyone have, or know anyone who may have a 12 with these skies on. Field approvals, 337's, or any ideas. THANKS [/b]
 
Fli lite 3000

Poor Joe: Are you talking about the wheel penetration 3000's? Or are they wheel retraction? Either way I don't think I've ever seen them installed on a PA-12 or 18. Too Heavy/ Too Large.
 
Fli Lite 3000

Nanook: The 3000's came off of a PA-18 in Canada and I also saw a cub in Palmer with a pair but never a 12.

Landesski: The skis are retraction type and I believe you are right about Wipair. I"ll have to give them a call. I do have all the rigging, parts, and drawings from the cub.

THANKS FOR THE REPLY:
 
3000 Parts

Hey - I'm posting this for a friend - can anybody help out?:

_________________________________

Brad,

Need some help dude. We are refurbishing a pair of Fli-Lite skis and we have some missing parts. I was wondering if you could throw out the info to the respectable people you associate with. They don't make the ski any more so I'm sure the only parts to be found are in someone's hanger or barn.
Flui Dyne Fli-Lite Skis
Model 3000 Mark III
1 ea Front bungee cable assy.
2 ea Axle assy. for a Scout
2 ea Slider bars

Thanks for the help in the hunt.
Chuck
 
Fli Light 3000

Cubus Maximus: Brad

I spoke recently with Wipaire parts dept. and then transfered to the engineer in charge of the skis. He said that they purchased all of the inventoy from the previous manufacturer but everything was unsorted and in storage at this time. He said that they would probably begin selling and or manufacturing in the near future. You might try calling them.

Poor Joe
 
Thanks Joe!

Wip is not to far down the road and since this has to go on a MN DNR airplane asap they weren't feeling very helpful. I appreciate the info though!

Brad

(Happy Thanksgiving!)
 
Hello, I have a set of fli-lite 3000s clones and have some rigging questions. Does anyone know the best tip up angle to rig for with ski down? Was going to try Atlee's recommended 1.5 up and was wondering what the wheels down tip up would be? Also can you cycle wheels up/down on the ground with the fli-lites?

Thanks
 
Fli-lite 3000s are perfect for a 12 w/18 gear.

I had them on my 12 and loved them. None better for floatation, ease of use, and failproof design.
 
Mine were rigged a little flatter than specified. On purpose. I don't remember the specs and my old mechanic is no longer with us.
I don't recall the angle changing but I never paid much attention.
I cycled mine up/down on the ground without consequence. No worries on snow or ice. I only did it on dirt to test function after installing.
 
I have stewartb's PA-12 now, and have become a bit of an expert in the FliLite 3000's. For the paperwork, there is an STC, approved in like 1959 I think. It was issued before the requirements to have individual issueance of an STC per aircraft, so you may have to cite the STC if your mechanic can't use it alone with a 337. In any case it would be seemingly easy Field Approval with the STC. I have the STC and full and 1/2 size drawings and the approval 337 for my PA-12 with deviation for being on 3" extended PA-18 landing gear.

Kelly Verem sold all of his parts for FliLite 3000's to Burl, but Burl has not resold much of it other than to me, so he and I are talking about me taking possession of the parts. Tunnels are the hard parts to find, but I have one good one which I may make a mold of and have some new ones pressed and formed as an owner produced part. The slide strips are another wear item. My mechanic this year made a new set out of hard nylon with the right routered slots for my skis, and made up 3 extra replacement sets I have on shelf. He is tooled up to make more as well.

Stewart is correct about the rigging. I have all of Kelly's data, and the rigging for bungees and cables are different dimensions than original, but meet the specifications of 43.13 for ski rigging. I like the way they are rigged.

I really like the skis, and at 48lbs per ski they are a wheel ski that won't kill your empty weight like an AWB that is double that. I cycle mine all of the time on the ground, primarily when I am out at a remote location, I put a small piece of plywood under the tire location, and pump the skis up to keep them out of potential overflow or freezing down. Pump them down before leaving. I do it in the hangar as well when needed.

You can PM me if you want more information although I am headed to Ohau to flyfish for world-record-class bonefish and fly sailplanes Wednesday through Sunday.

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"You can PM me if you want more information although I am headed to Ohau to flyfish for world-record-class bonefish and fly sailplanes Wednesday through Sunday."

Geez Mike, I can't imagine what you'll be doing once you retire and have some extra time on your hands.. water skiing maybe??
 
I had a set of fli-lite 3000's on my 12 for 25 years. On 18 gear. I installed petex bottoms. Floatation was good. They were not light but served me well. They were installed by field approval. The engine was a 160 hp O-320. It had 18 wings with a cuff and part of the time VG's
 
Poor Joe: Are you talking about the wheel penetration 3000's? Or are they wheel retraction? Either way I don't think I've ever seen them installed on a PA-12 or 18. Too Heavy/ Too Large.

funny. First I can recall Nanook writing a completely wrong response. 14 years ago!
 
The Fli-Lite 3000's that I had and the only ones I am familiar were used on the 180's. They had a twin beam, with an opening between. When the sliding plate was in place the tire rode on top of it. When the plate was retracted hydraulically the skis moved upward and allowed the tire to penetrate. There was a small tire in the back that kept the tails from dragging in a hard landing area.
 
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Mine were rigged a little flatter than specified. On purpose. I don't remember the specs and my old mechanic is no longer with us.
I don't recall the angle changing but I never paid much attention.
I cycled mine up/down on the ground without consequence. No worries on snow or ice. I only did it on dirt to test function after installing.

I have Stewart's plane now and all the rigging specs. Also Burl has all of Kelly Vrems Flilte 3000 parts. I have a few parts, for instance the plate slide strips which I had 10 sets fabricated last year. Love this ski.

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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Fli-Lite 3000

Hi All,

We are an AMO in Chilliwack, BC Canada.

We recently completed a major repair on a Fli-Lite 3000 that included a side tunnel replacement which required us to build the forming tooling. Now that we have the tooling for the most complex part of the ski we can offer our services to owners of these skis.
Contact us at: info@eastructures.com or 604-792-8327

Cheers,
Nigel
 

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The tunnels look great. If you don't mind show us the tooling, inquiring minds want to see :smile:

Tim
 
The tunnels look great. If you don't mind show us the tooling, inquiring minds want to see :smile:

Tim

Thanks Tim! We are quite pleased with the results.

As for showing the tooling, I'm sure you can understand that since the tooling is of our design and manufacture it is therefore proprietary information.

Cheers,
Nigel
 
Are you guys rebuilding 3000s for sale? I'd be interested in a pair. No approvals required.

Hi Stewart,

We aren't offering rebuilt units for sale and have no inventory of skis. We wanted to get the word out that we have tunnel tooling and can repair or overhaul skis if someone has a set they want repaired.

Cheers,
Nigel
 
Thanks Tim! We are quite pleased with the results.

As for showing the tooling, I'm sure you can understand that since the tooling is of our design and manufacture it is therefore proprietary information.

Cheers,



Nigel

Nice try.:lol:
 
I'm in the market for a good or repairable by EA structures set of Fli-Lite 3000's. If anyone knows of a set that's available or is thinking about selling please message me. Thanks
 
Hello everyone! I have a pair of Fli-Lite 3000's that I just bought for my Maule M4 210C here in Sweden. Can someone here please help me to new front bungee shock cord ring? Does aircraftspruce have them? I'm also looking for new hose assemblies but I just found p/n and I think these can be ordered from aircraftspruce; MS28741-4-0510 and MS28741-4-0365.
 
The original sized small bungee ring isn't available any more. When I replaced the ones in Scooter's pictures above I used the best size available and had to make new, shorter cables to fit.
 
Hello everyone! I have a pair of Fli-Lite 3000's that I just bought for my Maule M4 210C here in Sweden. Can someone here please help me to new front bungee shock cord ring? Does aircraftspruce have them? I'm also looking for new hose assemblies but I just found p/n and I think these can be ordered from aircraftspruce; MS28741-4-0510 and MS28741-4-0365.
If legal to use in your country, you would be way ahead to use springs instead of bungees and hook them to the bottom motor mount instead of the front gear bolt. Much easier to pick up a heavy ski front and less susceptible to temp changes.
 
Are 6x7 tires the ones to use with these skis? Eyeballing it, looks like 8.5 or 8 will rub. Just wondering if anyone knows before I place a order.
 
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