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Winter Travel

Farmboy

MEMBER
Middlebury, VT
I’ve seen a lot of photos of old snow traveling machines but got to say I’ve never seen the backwards 150’s.

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Transmitted from my FlightPhone on fingers… [emoji849]
 

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Hmmmmm....... 8)
 

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Must be a reason for the backwards 150's. I'd think three skis with tall pedestals on regular gear and a front engine would get the job done. Fit the right prop of course...perhaps only pushers designed for swamp runners were available. Brake with a drag or pin through skis. Maybe it took several hours at the local beverage shop to come up with a better plan.

Gary
 
My father built a few of those in the early fifties out of damaged t-craft and cub fuselages also running backwards. Of course they were low powered with no UHMW on the skis so he made them with a transverse front spring on them with two front skis as he said it was easier to make two tracks than three in tough going snow. They has fixed pitch wood props of course. With the props available today with adjustable pitch and plastic ski bottoms it would be possible to build some fun machines. My brother began restoring one of my dad's original machines about 10 yrs. ago based on a T-craft frame but passed away before it was finished.
 
When my folks lived in the Centennial Valley of SW Montana, the road out to the Interstate closed for the season when the first big snows hit in November, typically. Most everyone in the Valley took their cars out to Monida where warm storage was available, and travelled in and out via what they called "Snow Planes", like these. My parents owned one with a Ranger inverted six on it, three skis and a homebuilt cabin enclosure.....no heater.

At work, my Dad's outfit had a slightly bigger one with a Wright Whirlwind engine on it. That thing was a real blaster. Again, three skis. Neither of those had starters, and nobody pre heated them.....seriously. I suspect they were well worn. Light weight oil. I propped the Whirlwind more than once and the Ranger a few times.

By mid winter, they could go just about anywhere in the Valley with these things, and didn't have to worry about fences, etc, because of the amount of snow that Valley used to get.

BTW, it was a 38 mile trip out to the cars from their house. They usually went out once a month for supplies, overnighted in Idaho Falls, then made the trip back in the next day.

About the time they moved, the office had acquired a Thiokol tracked machine....magically, it had a heater, but it was a LOT slower.

MTV
 
Is it something about tractor vs pusher thrust? Like pusher is better because no fuselage to mess up the flow off the prop?

Did a search: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1439240-Tractor-versus-pusher-thrust They believe the pusher is better and why. Some size differences in planes but it makes sense.

Gary

Gary,

im guessing the available props that were pitched right for the speeds these things moved at were airboat props, many of which are pushers. Maybe.

There were a lot of these things around western MT and WY.

MTV
 
Mike, yes that makes sense about the prop availability and type. BTW you folks are missing a record winter for moisture and weird temps...well, not missing much but it's different with many records set so far. Got another Airedale (#4) and she likes this winter. One of these big long legged mountain dogs from Idaho with horsepower for jumping stumps.

HNY!
 
Seems like it'd be easier & more convenient to put a safety cage around an aft prop.
Much safer than an uncaged front prop.

Maybe even uncaged, an aft prop is safer.
Why are most single-engine flying boats set up as pushers?
 
About 60 years ago I saw a snow plane a friend of my Grandpa had. He (the friend) lived across the highway at the head of Tieton Reservoir (Rimrock lake) on White Pass. It was the fuselage of a fabric covered airplane on Skis. I remember it had two seats side by side and yokes. I thought they were steering wheels. I was about 10 years old and had never seen any type of airplane up close.

He would drive it on the logging roads and go out on the frozen lake and go like hell.
 
I always figured the pusher prop was so it wouldn't get damaged as often, when you crashed into the trees!:lol:
John
 
I've been looking at the track systems available for ATVs, as I already have a 1 year old Honda Rancher that just gathers dust all winter. https://atvtracksystems.com/atv-track-systems/ For utility use around my 40 acres, and maybe to groom my ski plane runway, something I usually do with the plane, and to get up to the ski area above my place on a powder day without having to wait for the county grader to get to my neck of the woods. I am pretty sure I can call it a farm expense, maybe I'll feed some cattle too. https://youtu.be/m-aoKzGw6kU
 
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Local friend of mine runs tracks on his side by sides and says the difference is amazing.


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