Living here on the Wet coast where it rarely snows in the lowlands but where snow can be found a short distance away I was wondering if straight skis can be operated on wet grass or if hydraulic skis are the only option?

I suppose the answer might be, it depends on how many horses are under the cowling. Assuming a Cub sized airplane 100hp? 150hp? 180hp?

Craig

Either this was a dumb question or all the skiers are in hibernation for the summer!

Craig

bob reeve used to operate straight skis off the mud flats in valdez........


but i don't think its going to work out as well as you might imagine.
ever taxi across a bare gravel or grass spot while on skis? even "skicky" snow will stop you in your tracks.

what type of cub sized aircraft? for an -18 you are looking for some AWB 2100's for hydraulic skis. or check out aero ski's R2800 model. it is ground retractable. ie. you can lower the skis on the ground with a handle- take off from your glacier- and then release a lever in the cockpit that lets the skis spring up and you can land on pavement with wheels penetrating thru. they are a more affordable option. i know several people running them on everything from citabrias to pacers to maules and they all like them.

i run a fixed wheel penetration ski (schneider 4000) on my maule. they take a lot of power when on the snow, especially at higher altittudes like the glaciers around here. but they DO work. and they allow me to land on glaciers when it is 80 degrees down here at sea level. what could be better on a hot summer day
i have a couple wheel ski pics in my gallery.

Don't go there. Grass is stickier than you could believe. I've landed float planes on wet grass and that works. I'd never try to take off.

As UP said, they used to operate ski planes off the mud flats in Valdez to the glaciers, but that is really slick mud, and he really didn't do it all that long.

You would certainly test the aft limit cables on a landing, but I doubt that a takeoff would be possible, unless you have waaayy more horsepower than good sense.

THere are retractable skis around, and/or penetration skis. They are all heavy, though. What make/model airplane specifically? If you're going the wheel/ski route, it'll have to have some substantial useful load. The Husky is approved on semi retractable Aeros and Retractable Wipline skis, and would be a great choice. Bring money. Cubs are also approved on these same skis.

MTV

I should have prefaced my posting with my qualifications. I'm a complete newbie. I have 0 time in a tailwheel, 0 experience on snow, and less than 150 hours altogether.

I was deliberately vague on the make/model of aircraft. Right now I'm still in the dreaming of ski-flying someday stage, especially when someone posts a nice pic of some plane on a frozen lake and I spend the next 20 minutes cleaning the drool out of my keyboard. But I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic. A quick search didn't yield anything regarding grass and since I have downhill skied over wet grass I thought, "well... maybe..."

Great information! I didn't realize that any wheel penetration was acceptable when landing on snow.

Any recommended resources, either in book form or online, to learn more about ski plane operation?

Craig