Hey all,

I think the front cables on my skis might be a bit too long. They came off another 7AC. If I broke a bungee and landed in a three point attitude I don't think there would be an issue. However if I broke a bungee and landed in a wheel landing attitude, or just plain messed up and came in a bit tail high I think I might have a issue with the tips burying, especially in soft snow. Is there a rule of thumb on what angle the skis shoud be relative to the plane when the cable is fully extended and the plane is in a level attitude? Any advice would be appreciated since I now have a whopping 2 hours ski flying.

Thanks,

Pete

A couple photos from earlier today. The ski area is just a mile or so west of our strip, 2,500' vertical and 100or so trails. You can just make out the summit behind the main part of the mountain in the foreground. The mountains in the background in the second photo are the "High Peaks" of the Adirondacks. The photo quality isn't all that good, but it was one of those spectacular clear winter days.

The real purpose of the forward limit cables is to absolutely, positively, prevent the ski from "going over" in flight. Going over is when the ski tip goes down far enough that the ski itself will rotate forward and over. At that point, it sort of depends on where the ski winds up, but on many planes with strut braced wings, the heel of the ski will come up till it hits the aft strut. That puts the ski almost vertical.

This introduces a couple of issues: First, you are now dealing with HUGE aerodynamic drag. In fact, I'm not sure you'd be able to control the airplane. But, if you get lucky, and can offset all that drag with rudder, now you're faced with landing.....which isn't going to be pretty.

So, it is absolutely essential that those forward limit cables cannot, under ANY circumstances, allow a ski to go over center.

If as you noted, a bungee broke, or they get weak (I've had both happen), the ski MAY nose down, depending on the flight regime. And if that allowed the nose to the ski to lower.......

The other question is where is the upper end of that forward limit cable attached? If it's attached to the top gear bolt, you have to be VERY careful that the forward limit cable is just near perfect in length. If it's just a little long, it could permit a ski to go over.

My preference is to attach the forward limit cable to the lower engine mount to fuselage bolt. With the cable attached there, there can be a little more slack in the cable, without the risk of the ski going over.

MTV

Part 43 explains how to determine the dimensions.

Read this URL very carefully:

F. Atlee Dodge Aircraft Services, LLC
6672 Wes Way * Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: (907) 344-1755 * Fax: (907) 344-6720 [email protected] * http://www.fadodge.com

http://www.fadodge.com/fad_pdfs/ski%20rigging.pdf?phpMyAdmin=EsjPx8hgioQlsa8ztqFncHAgdU4

https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/med ... .13-2b.pdf page 39

Grab the forward check cable and make a fist. Twist your fist until the cable gets tight. About 90 degrees is a good rule of thumb.

Perfect,

Thanks you guys. Execellant advice and material, as usual. After reading through everything I actually think we are pretty close. Time to ge out the protractor. Looks like i will have plenty of time. 1'-2' of rain this weekend which will most likely ruin the perfect conditions we currently have.

Pete