I did it! First landing on snow! Yep, those are my tracks. Oo-rah! Thanks to the air traffic controllers at Milwaukee's Timmerman Airport for allowing me to land on closed runways (at my risk, of course).







Couldn’t take any outside shots because I’m flying at a Class D, but hopefully I’ll get more at the EAA Skiplane Fly In this weekend.


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Looks like great fun, and extra cool at a controlled airport. The controllers probably liked it also. Looks like a stop and go?

How was 'braking action'?

It was a lot of fun! We haven't had a lot of snow around here this winter, and with the wind, there's probably only a few inches on the ground. Great starting point.

The controller was regularly telling me that "Runway 33L is closed. Operations are at your own risk". Likely because everything is being recorded, I imagine. And, of course, I announced my position to the controller, and ended each transmission with "my risk".

So, I did two circuits off the hard surface, just so I could get an idea of my stopping distance while rolling. No problem there. Then I did a low approach to survey the area, as suggested by the various articles here. And then it was time to get real!

I probably had 1000 feet of clear space, easily, and I was down and stopped in a few hundred feet, tops. Probably could have done it in 200, but I was carrying a bit of power. I don't have the tail ski on yet, so it was plenty draggy. No braking required. I really had to keep the power up to keep it moving forward. So I back taxied to the start and took off in very little distance. No runway lights on the grass, so not sure how long it took. But just a few hundred feet, I suspect.

I think I had the controller perplexed for a bit, especially when I first asked him if I could land in the snow. "You're saying you *want* to land in the snow?" Then I asked him if I could taxi the length of the paved runway to look for exit points from the turf. Never know how much snow is going to get piled up along the side from the plows and other snow monsters they have out there.

Great first day!

If you pick your tail up to high on skis the rear cable will lift the back of the ski pushing the nose down this will slow you down as you try to take off. There is a sweet spot with the tail just above the snow you should feel it after a few tries.
DENNY

DENNY wrote:If you pick your tail up to high on skis the rear cable will lift the back of the ski pushing the nose down this will slow you down as you try to take off. There is a sweet spot with the tail just above the snow you should feel it after a few tries.
DENNY

I was definitely trying to find that sweet spot. There was a similar sweet spot when I was learning to fly floats this past summer. I imagine it will become second nature in no time

good for you Chris! nothing better than seeing a Maule on Skis!

Good place and way to get started,Chris. Take it a bit at a time and you’ll get a feel for what it takes, but most of all, have fun exploring the process!

MTV

mtv wrote:Good place and way to get started,Chris. Take it a bit at a time and you’ll get a feel for what it takes, but most of all, have fun exploring the process!

MTV

I considered flying out to an airport out in the country to see if I could do the work out there, but I thought I'd ask ATC if I could do it at home. I mean, if I was going to do something dumb and end up upside down or something, it would be nice to have an audience that could call EMS. Imagine the view they had up in the tower.

I'm glad I asked. It was a great experience.

This is cool. Ski flying seems (to me as an observer) sort of like ice climbing or mountaineering - very intimidating to get into, but not a major deal once you've got it figured out. Part of that is the major investments you have to make into gear for those activities, but also the fact that it's hard to ever practice until you're pretty much into it. This thread shows a cool way to break in.

Seems like you made some very smart decisions and had a good controller to help you out with the logistics. Congrats! Would love to put some skis on my 180 although Colorado doesn't have much of the white stuff to use them on this year.

-asa

I was truly lucky to buy a plane that came with skis as part of the package. No extra work on my part except to wait patiently for the snow to arrive!

In case you're looking for some other spots, the EAA Skiplane Fly-in at Pioneer Airport (WS17) is on Saturday (registration required). Sunday is the Log Cabin (WS69) ski fly-in. You probably know about the Marshfield one on Feb 17, but Waupaca also has a ski fly-in the same day. Feb 18 is Poplar Grove (C77). Feb 25 there is a ski fly-in at Warroad International (KRRT), which I believe is the northernmost public-use airport in the lower 48 (EDIT: It is not - I thought it was in the Northwest Angle but it is just below the 49th parallel). March 3 is the "Iceport Fly-in" in Mille Lacs, MN. There are probably some others I've missed.

Other good spots if you're looking for food are Norm's Hideaway on Lake Koshkonong and Lakeside Bar and Grill and Fitz's on the Lake on Lake Wisconsin. I've heard there are some other good restaurants on Beaver Dam and Lake Geneva and Lake Como but haven't made it to any of them yet. It's been a tough year for ski flying - I've still got my wheels on.

Hope to see you at some of them!

Ethan

Thanks Ethan. I’m registered for Oshkosh, and have plans to attend Log Cabin and Marshfield. I appreciate the dates in the others. I’ll try to get to as many as I can!

Back in the day when we had snow

Wow, awesome picture!