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fluidyne skis

pzinck

Registered User
western,me
This is a little off topic,but figured you guys would know.What is a set of fluidyne 3600s in near new condition albeit 20 years old worth?. They are complete except axles and plumbing,they have the tank ,pump skis and cables and so forth.The gentleman gave his 1980 180 away years ago to his son.The son lives down south.I was told they might be had for $4.000. Are they much better than wheel penetration skis?. Landes wheel penetrations work great on my 180 h.p. cub.Do the 3600 landes work good on 185's ? or are the fluidynes the way to go ?. Thanks in advance.The other sites are a waste of time asking questions,but knew here you guys and gals would have some experience on subjects such as these.
 
pzinck said:
This is a little off topic,but figured you guys would know.What is a set of fluidyne 3600s in near new condition albeit 20 years old worth?. They are complete except axles and plumbing,they have the tank ,pump skis and cables and so forth.The gentleman gave his 1980 180 away years ago to his son.The son lives down south.I was told they might be had for $4.000. Are they much better than wheel penetration skis?. Landes wheel penetrations work great on my 180 h.p. cub.Do the 3600 landes work good on 185's ? or are the fluidynes the way to go ?. Thanks in advance.The other sites are a waste of time asking questions,but knew here you guys and gals would have some experience on subjects such as these.

4 Grand!! I wouldn't be talking about it or spreading the word until I had them in my greedy little hands! They generally self for at least 3 times that.
 
Wayne's right, buy them as quick as you can. I've got a set of 3600's. They work great. The only way I could possibly like them better was to have bought them for 4K!
SB
 
Yep,

The price is definitely right. Just drop me the guys phone number, and I'll happily save you the agonizing over whether they are any good.

Now, good or not, that's relative. Get a 185 into deep snow, or a bit of overflow, and you won't stop cursing those skis. They aren't much in the way of skis, but they are probably the best skis there are for a 185 when it comes to retractable skis.

MTV
 
I operated a 185 on 3600 federals/fluidyne for three winters part 135. They are great skiis, I was in very deep snow a lot. The outside ski want's to sink in a turn, just don't turn sharp, or stop and pump one wheel down to pivot around then pump it back up and take off. It's a lot of pumping, but you don't need your parka on with all that work! If you go IFR with them in the ski position ice can form on the bottom's.
 
arcticflyer,

I don't disagree with you much, as I said, the term "good" when it comes to skis is pretty relative, as is the term "great".

My perspective came from running the C3600 skis for several winters on several 185's, then running a 185 on straight skis (Landes 4000) for part of one winter.

That'll modify your perspective on what's good and what's great, for sure.

As I said, though, right now, there aren't many better alternatives for the 185 as far as retractable skis, though the Fli Lites would be my choice over the Fluidynes.

Gary Landes is in the process of building an all new retractable wheel ski for the 185, so stay tuned.

Still, the question was what are these things worth, and the answer is they are worth a lot more than $4 K.

MTV
 
arcticflyr said:
I operated a 185 on 3600 federals/fluidyne for three winters part 135. They are great skiis, I was in very deep snow a lot. The outside ski want's to sink in a turn, just don't turn sharp, or stop and pump one wheel down to pivot around then pump it back up and take off. It's a lot of pumping, but you don't need your parka on with all that work! If you go IFR with them in the ski position ice can form on the bottom's.

My 3600's take 54 strokes to actuate fully either way. That's 54 complete (up and down) strokes. How's that compare to you other guys?

SB
 
SB said:
arcticflyr said:
I operated a 185 on 3600 federals/fluidyne for three winters part 135. They are great skiis, I was in very deep snow a lot. The outside ski want's to sink in a turn, just don't turn sharp, or stop and pump one wheel down to pivot around then pump it back up and take off. It's a lot of pumping, but you don't need your parka on with all that work! If you go IFR with them in the ski position ice can form on the bottom's.

My 3600's take 54 strokes to actuate fully either way. That's 54 complete (up and down) strokes. How's that compare to you other guys?

SB

Have you got enough energy left to land the airplane, SB, after all that pumping??!! :lol: Guess that's the problem when they use such a small bore pump so it doesn't take as much arm strength to pump pressure. My (shop built) Hydraulic wheel skis take 17 pumps plate in and 15 pumps plate out....using a pump made for Murphy's amphibs...but if you have something that requires more than 200psi good luck to you unless you're a pro body builder. Due to cylinder selection I can cycle my skis on bare pavement (worst case as tire can't spin as plate goes under) at 150psi. In flight takes about 10psi during the motion and then a good push on the handle to lock at about 100psi in either direction. Wheels down is most important for 100psi or more as the plate retraction also pulls the tailwheel down into position.

Cheers,
Wayne
 
Re: Just installed LH4000

landesskis said:
We just installed the first flight test LH4000 (look at www.airglas.com) for pictures and info. The cost of the fli-lites is reasonable, watch what parts are needed. The Airglas LH4000's weigh 39 lbs. Aluminum skis are going to have a hard time keeping up with Thermo-plastic skis.

Is that 39lbs each Gary... or for the pair...and does it include all rigging?
 
Gary,
No doubt you're on to something good. Since I already have big skis....I'm much more anxious for you to adapt your new design to Cub sizes. I'd be buying a set of 2500/3000's right now if I could. Any comment?
SB
 
SB, I am patiently waiting for the cub version also. I just wish they came with a bigger tire. With the cargo pod everyone wants bigger with a bigger door. With the wheel skiis everyone seems to want bigger than 8.00 tires.
 
SB said:
Gary,
No doubt you're on to something good. Since I already have big skis....I'm much more anxious for you to adapt your new design to Cub sizes. I'd be buying a set of 2500/3000's right now if I could. Any comment?
SB

You and me both! Just certify the 4000's for a PA-18. This is about the size of foot print you need in deep snow anyway. At 39lbs each they're lighter then my Airglas 2500's with 1/4" thick UHMW extended bottoms to get them this size. Crash
 
Im interested to. Im going to be selling my cub this spring and trying to decide if I should keep my AWBs or let them go with the plane.
 
Crash, You have a very good point about certifying the 4000's for the cub. Would there be any negatives to that arrangement?
 
Re: Skis to big for cub

landesskis said:
The LH4000 is a big ski (85"Long x 24" wide). I have every intention of certifying a ski for the Cub (it is going to be a scaled down version).

Gary,

Many of us are looking forward to this new ski for cubs. I'm curious if you're going to stay with the 6.00 x 6 tires? Unless one uses 3" extended gear, I'm guessing that the clearance for the Borer prop might be a little short. What sort of modification will be necessary to the owners gear to attach the new skis- will we be able to use our existing gear, or will we need to replace?
 
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