• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

OK, now I'm configured for Spring ski-flying conditions in the Northeast.

Waldo M

MEMBER
Finger Lakes area, western NY.
Actually, I gave up for the season and put the airplane back on wheels today. I'm based in the Finger Lakes area. Maybe next year I'll try to tag along with the folks that bop around Adirondack lakes on skis in the winter.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0077.jpg
    IMG_0077.jpg
    101.1 KB · Views: 196
Actually, I gave up for the season and put the airplane back on wheels today. I'm based in the Finger Lakes area. Maybe next year I'll try to tag along with the folks that bop around Adirondack lakes on skis in the winter.

No, don't give up. You have stock brakes so switching from skis to tires is a 15 min job. I've switched twice on the same day. Always be ready to go, I even got NY ski time on the 3rd Saturday in May a few years back. This is upstste NY, snow is possible 12 months a year.

Glenn
 
No, don't give up. You have stock brakes so switching from skis to tires is a 15 min job. I've switched twice on the same day. Always be ready to go, I even got NY ski time on the 3rd Saturday in May a few years back. This is upstste NY, snow is possible 12 months a year.

Glenn

but you have skisophrania...:roll:

You have no idea what you are going to do... until you see the weather:lol:

Why don't you have one on skis, one of wheels in the winter? Or steal Peter's bird and have floats, wheels and skis all ready to go:p

I have been working the cabin bar with wheels, just got 6" today... might be the end of that!
 
Good point, Glenn. dig out the old bottle jack and I can swap back pretty quickly.

On a side note, I do have a another set of Federal 1500s that would take longer to mount. They are a full set including tail ski that came off an L-4. Instead of bungees to keep the ski tips up, they have a small hydraulic or spring canister attached to a flange that bolts to the gear leg where the brake assembly is attached. The brake assembly would have to removed to install them. I never tried to mount them, but that system does do away with the bungees.

I have never mounted the tail ski either. It seams like that might be useful in deep powder, but the tail is light enough on a PA-11 for forward elevator input and a little power to keep the standard tailwheel from causing too much drag in the snow.
 
Actually, I gave up for the season and put the airplane back on wheels today. I'm based in the Finger Lakes area. Maybe next year I'll try to tag along with the folks that bop around Adirondack lakes on skis in the winter.

Waldo, Welcome to the forum.. You need to go to the WAD and show TP cutting to the group!!

Doug
 
Good point, Glenn. dig out the old bottle jack and I can swap back pretty quickly.

On a side note, I do have a another set of Federal 1500s that would take longer to mount. They are a full set including tail ski that came off an L-4. Instead of bungees to keep the ski tips up, they have a small hydraulic or spring canister attached to a flange that bolts to the gear leg where the brake assembly is attached. The brake assembly would have to removed to install them. I never tried to mount them, but that system does do away with the bungees.

I have never mounted the tail ski either. It seams like that might be useful in deep powder, but the tail is light enough on a PA-11 for forward elevator input and a little power to keep the standard tailwheel from causing too much drag in the snow.

I can't tell from your pictures but are the ski tabs on your landing gear bolts year round or on the cables so you have to pull bolts out to install skis?

Glenn
 
The ski fitting tabs are installed year round. My thanks to Troy at Aero Ski Mfg. for providing them when we restored the airplane a few years ago.
 
How do those skinny skis compare to the regular Federal 1500's? We've got a set but nobody has ever tried them. Must have been a reason they were made that way?.
2b28fb9a9a6f1e3a8fd43985c3e663da.jpg


Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 
Brian I think those are 6" A1500 skis, then there are the 8 3/4" A1500A skis. The skinny skis are the perfect match for an A40 or A65 powered aircraft that doesn't have the thrust to push over sticky snow.

Glenn
 
The airplane has a C90-8F on it now, but was powered by an A65-8 for 69 years until the C90 was installed in 2016. The skis I have for it were acquired in 1964, but they were old then.

Regarding the comparison to the shorter, wider Federals, I don't know because I never flew on the others. The short skis look like they cover about the same area of snow, so the "flotation" should be the same. I'm guessing that your shorter skis make the airplane more maneuverable on the ground.

BTW, what is the model number of those short federals?
 
The airplane has a C90-8F on it now, but was powered by an A65-8 for 69 years until the C90 was installed in 2016. The skis I have for it were acquired in 1964, but they were old then.

Regarding the comparison to the shorter, wider Federals, I don't know because I never flew on the others. The short skis look like they cover about the same area of snow, so the "flotation" should be the same. I'm guessing that your shorter skis make the airplane more maneuverable on the ground.

BTW, what is the model number of those short federals?

SC-1 is 8" wide? SC-2 is 12" wide? And both turn shorter the the A series

Glenn
 
Back
Top