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Wheel ski design

It expands in every direction and exerts so much pressure that it will bulge and finally break the item that it is between.
 
arcticairalaska said:
It expands in every direction and exerts so much pressure that it will bulge and finally break the item that it is between.
Click to expand...

not sure what you are thinking about/context ;-)

yes it TRIES to expand in every direction, but you need to put it in context..

the conversation is about a lightning hole in a piece of say .100" aluminum, say 1 1/2" hole..... the .100 thick water is constrained on edges by the .100" aluminum and will take path of least resistance when it freezes and go up/bulge.... try it!
 
I'm getting ready to built a set of Wheelskis for my experimental cub and like Frenchy's home built skis. I'm wondering what kind of 12 volt actuators he used?
 
nwardalaska said:
I'm getting ready to built a set of Wheelskis for my experimental cub and like Frenchy's home built skis. I'm wondering what kind of 12 volt actuators he used?
Click to expand...

If you do, please share info and photos. I'd like to build a set also. I believe the actuators can be purchased on Mcmaster.com.
 
im there for ya in the lighting holes...if you are super worried about delam..... just glue the plastic to the aluminum the ice will grow up
 
Thanks Frenchy, I found the actuators on the web site. Just trying to get a materials list together. How big of tires can you use with your skis?
 
nwardalaska said:
Thanks Frenchy, I found the actuators on the web site. Just trying to get a materials list together. How big of tires can you use with your skis?
Click to expand...

I use 5 inc. wheels on my skis, everybody else here in Rimouski use 6x6 tires on these skis.
 
Ground clearance is important to consider when choosing wheel skis.

What ever happened with 8856Charlie's experimental Rosti clones?
 
SB. don't hurt me like that. I wait also!!

He's a busy man................ Moved his manufacturing facility to Wasilla......... Sold his retail end. .......That's his bread and butter..........Now his spare time is spent working on certification of several of his most popular lightweight Carbon/graphite Cub replacement parts, and spare time fab of composite structures for other applications.

I've pushed and pushed, but I don't want to fry him......so I wait. At some point, I'll go borrow the molds. But I've got my 180 to finish and my Carbon fatbike wheels to get into production.

Like Randy has said.......a properly designed graphite structure to replace an aluminum structures will save about half the weight, generally. I have proved that out!
 
FWIW The Datums (experimental only) have a good 3 or 4" at the lowest point at the trailing edge, a lot more elsewhere. Even if taking off from pavement and flying to pavement, I always cruise with them in the ski mode (not pictured...) as then they and the 6:00 tires I need to use when on them have less drag overall then my 29" Airstreaks, I cruise mid 90's.
2013-01-08_16-15-53_242.jpg
 
Courierguy: You seem pleased with your Datums. I'm seriously considering a pair for my Exp. PA-12 - probably 3000's, for next year.

Can you give us more detail about how they perform, especially in deep snow and in rough conditions? (I REALLY don't want to get stuck a hundred miles from nowhere!).

My first choice would have been Rosti-Fernandez 8001's but they are way out of my price-range. The Datums look really good, at less than half the price. A little heavy maybe but if they are strong then I'm not too concerned about the weight. I like the ease of installation/seasonal change-over that the electric's provides.
 
I like them a lot, plenty of flotation for my light bird, though I did manage to tweak an attach bracket recently due to a freak situation ( see the thread " ski flying humor" on bcp.org) on how that happened..... regular hard use, bouncing off frozen mounds, side loads, etc for 120 hrs so far no problems. Great factory support also, my only problem has been the customs BS, you wouldn't have that problem!
 
Great! Thanks very much.

The ground clearance is a consideration for me since our strip is gravel, so good to hear there is plenty.

I PM'd you on the same subject - you can disregard that.

Larry
 
Okay - I'm committed now! I'll be sending Jean-Marc a cheque on Monday for a set of his 3000's for my (Exp.) PA-12-160.

I won't be using them until next fall, which gives me plenty of time to encur many of the other ski-related expenses!
 
Ask him to show you the picture of the big amphib on his wheel skis, that's pretty wild.....

I would be all depressed over ski flying ending, but now I get to put the 29" Airstreaks back on, and will have brakes again!
 
This was a great thread and needs reviving. We are in the middle of a lousy winter in south central Alaska with too warm/ minimal snow conditions . Wheel skis are looking better and better! The Rossi clones that 8856C was working on are still a no show but sure had our hopes up. Frenchy, those are great skis you made and I will probably use your excellent videos to make a set. Any changes or ideas you wish you would have done? Are the aluminum sizes you used all working out to be strong enough ? I like the little more curve that Irishfield had on his and will do that for deep snow performance. Irishfield, could you please post pictures of how your retractable tail wheel was linked to the plate? Courier Guy, your Datums look good. Why do they have such good ground clearance when raised? Could AL skis like Frenchy made be made to do that?
 
Our winter here in Idaho, at least at the 5460' level, is pretty sparse so far. I've used the ski ramp twice, the other 2 times since putting the Datum's back on I used the wheels, as the ramp's snow is melted off again exposing the gravel. The Datums suck up pretty high, leaving a fair bit of tire exposed, a great feature but one that precludes me using a dual brake setup like many do. That's OK as my brakes are good enough anyway, a fair trade off. This gravel bar landing on the wheels skis was about the limit of what they can do rough field wise.
 
gpepperd said:
This was a great thread and needs reviving. We are in the middle of a lousy winter in south central Alaska with too warm/ minimal snow conditions . Wheel skis are looking better and better! The Rossi clones that 8856C was working on are still a no show but sure had our hopes up. Frenchy, those are great skis you made and I will probably use your excellent videos to make a set. Any changes or ideas you wish you would have done? Are the aluminum sizes you used all working out to be strong enough ? I like the little more curve that Irishfield had on his and will do that for deep snow performance. Irishfield, could you please post pictures of how your retractable tail wheel was linked to the plate? Courier Guy, your Datums look good. Why do they have such good ground clearance when raised? Could AL skis like Frenchy made be made to do that?
Click to expand...

There is 4 sets of those wheelskis here in Rimouski, so far so good. The only problem i had ,was with one electric actuator. There is a plastic bushing on the end where the shaft go out, it froze and the bushing got out, there is only one screw on the bottom to attach that bushing. I ad 2 more screws on top and lube the shaft so it won`t freeze.
If you want more ground clearance, you can use larger diameter tires and maybe built the skis a little wider for side tire clearance.
I really like them

Frenchy
 
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