In preparation for the upcoming ski season, I figure there might be some newbies out there sizing up gear and thinking about giving it a try. Here's our 2-part Intro to Ski Flying written by MTV.

Part 1: Intro to Sky Flying (equipment)

Part 2: Intro to Sky Flying (operations)

Zane,
Good subject. One of the best compilations of hard-won wisdom on ski-flying used to be accessible by a link on the Iditarod Air Force website. Unfortunately they seemed to have changed over to members-only access. Maybe someone here can pull some strings. I happen to have a copy I printed out back when it was freely available.
-DP

Zane,
I found the ski flying document I was thinking of in the above post. I may have originally stumbled onto it via the Iditarod Air Force website, but it is actually put out by the Alaska Airmen's Association. I don't know how they would feel about putting it up on BCP, but FWIW, here is the link.
-DP

Ski Flying Hints by Alaska Airmen Association, Inc.

A lot of good info in there... quick question...

" Once on the surface, the pilot exits the airplane, and extends the skis one at a time manually via a prybar lever. After a snow takeoff, the skis can then be retracted by pulling a handle inside the cockpit, which releases a catch on the skis, allowing spring pressure to raise the skis, effectively “lowering” the wheels through the openings for a runway landing.

The advantages of these skis are that they are simple and relatively inexpensive. The primary disadvantage is that they can’t be retracted in flight,"

The first seems to contradict the second..

UngaWunga wrote:A lot of good info in there... quick question...

" Once on the surface, the pilot exits the airplane, and extends the skis one at a time manually via a prybar lever. After a snow takeoff, the skis can then be retracted by pulling a handle inside the cockpit, which releases a catch on the skis, allowing spring pressure to raise the skis, effectively “lowering” the wheels through the openings for a runway landing.

The advantages of these skis are that they are simple and relatively inexpensive. The primary disadvantage is that they can’t be retracted in flight,"

The first seems to contradict the second..

I think it is a one way conversion...that is, you can go from wheels up to wheels down in the air, but not the other way. So the disadvantage is that you cannot take off on wheels and raise them for a ski only landing.

Lake Hood froze over today. won't be long and ski flying begins I always liked ski season in the early days, my PA12 brakes were nearly non existent in summer, no need in winter But it came with a trade off air speed never worked in winter.

Hmmmm when picture changes on web cam it up dates here also.....hope that doesn't mess with site Z

Hey Don, weather webcams usually work by replacing the image file of the same name on the server. If you want to preserve a moment in time, you have to save the image you're seeing then reupload it to an image host and use that URL. The AK Airmen one is going to keep being updated by that camera.

Today's snow analysis: Idaho is looking like the winner right now for the lower 48.

Ground is white here. Snowing and freezing rain right now. More snow in the forecast. Would love to get my skis on, but need to order/install smaller tires, get the ice off the plane, and get the pilot airworthy first.

A1Skinner wrote:Ground is white here. Snowing and freezing rain right now. More snow in the forecast. Would love to get my skis on, but need to order/install smaller tires, get the ice off the plane, and get the pilot airworthy first.

I am hoping for your medical back soon!

One thing I did not see in the vids which can be extremely dangerous is the existence of "snow cones" developed by todays higher HP snowmachines when they do jack rabbit starts. These pyramids can be as high as foot & half, are usually frozen solid, & can exist where ever you see snow go tracks on a lake.

Ski flying is still be flying of the yr IMHO

I learned almost the hard way, that landing a frozen lake where ice fisherman have been, can be hazardous also. It seems they don't bother (damned inconsiderate) to smooth out the mounds of ice chips their augers leave after drilling a hole, and these rock hard mounds can be a ski breaker. Oh man, just thinking about this years ski flying, and some of the new sites that are on my radar, has got my nipples hard Quite a contrast, to before I skied up and just put the plane away for the winter, now late fall and the first white gets exciting instead of somewhat sad

Now I just need to find a set of skis for my Cherokee.

A1Skinner wrote:Ground is white here. Snowing and freezing rain right now. More snow in the forecast. Would love to get my skis on, but need to order/install smaller tires, get the ice off the plane, and get the pilot airworthy first.

Still brown here, but if you've got white over there, it shouldn't be too long before we get it here in Manitoba. Hoping to get a few more amphib flights in this week before ski time. Hardly had any nights below freezing here this fall, so I think we've got a few more weeks before any lakes freeze up.

senior wrote:One thing I did not see in the vids which can be extremely dangerous is the existence of "snow cones" developed by todays higher HP snowmachines when they do jack rabbit starts. These pyramids can be as high as foot & half, are usually frozen solid, & can exist where ever you see snow go tracks on a lake.

Ski flying is still be flying of the yr IMHO

There can be (and are) lots of things hidden under that snow. Even crossing snowmobile tracks after they've set up can feel like you're going to tear the gear off, and bend things.

It's why careful dragging is so essential, and looking at the snow from different angles.

It's also why mid winter ski flying can be a real challenge.....sun angle is very low, and your ability to see obstacles is significantly reduced.

But, as you say, ski flying is some of the most fun you can have.

MTV

senior wrote:One thing I did not see in the vids

What vids (videos?) are you referring to?

Zzz wrote:

senior wrote:One thing I did not see in the vids

What vids (videos?) are you referring to?

My bad, meant article.

Bump for the upcoming season, now that there's some snow arriving.

I like the idea of going on skis, but the reality is that I have a hard time motivating myself to go preheat in the winter. I fly on really nice warm days when they appear, other than that I'm working, trying to save up for another summer of flying!

This story frightened me enough that I'm a bit turned off also.

http://www.yukonflying.com/DaveStorey.html

I had an experience as a kid with open water and overflow on a snowmobile that I'll never forget either.