I am finally going to make the jump and give ski trying a shot.

I am borrowing a set of Fluidyne 2500s for my 170A and I have a question that I couldn't find the answer to though I am sure it is on here somewhere.

When I took them in to get plastic put on the bottoms, the gentleman at CAC Plastics here in Wasilla says they really don't do many aluminum skis any more and if they mount them, they are going to have to drill holes around the perimeter to mount the plastic by. I have to imagine that the number 1 benefit of putting plastic on these is for better glide, but is it worth the cost of doing this or should I just be running them as is?

Yes plastic or UHMW is the only way to go. In fact i dont think i have ever seen a pair without these days. The frost and snow will glue to the aluminum and your almost stuck jacking the plane up to scrape before you can even go.
Drilling around the perimeter of the ski to install the plastic is SOP. If CAC cant do it, Atlee Dodge does them allot as well as most every mechanic shop around...
Another great thing to do is install uhmw skegs rather then aluminum.

I didn't even think about changing out the skegs and he didn't say anything. I suppose I can run with it on there right now to save a buck and then change those out later.

Hopefully this skiing thing is all its cracked up to be. I bought a place on Seymour Lake out here in Wasilla, and it sure would be nice to have my plane in front of my house!

I have Aero 3000 straight skis on my 170B, with UHMW bases. Admittedly a different setup, but FWIW, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If there's a drawback at all, I suppose it might be extra expense and weight. On the plus side, my bases are generously oversized, so they enhance the flotation of the 3000s. I believe you would have the option to oversize the plastic on the 2500 wheel skis, except for where the tire travel comes into play. The bolt holes haven't caused any damage in hundreds of hours/ landings. In fact, the bolt ends and lock nuts actually provide a bit of traction when standing on a ski, which can be an added benefit in spring when they otherwise can be really slippery on a slushy day. Because I'm on straight skis, the plastic also takes the wear and tear when I inevitably encounter some gravel or tarmac in the shoulder seasons, as well as any hangar rash from storage in the off-season. They're also easier to break the frost loose compared to metal. You can have metal or plastic skegs installed on the bottoms of the UHMW bases (recommended) (I have a combination of metal and plastic skegs on mine. I think the plastic would also acclimate to ambient temperature faster, for instance if you come out of a heated hangar onto powder snow, or if you taxi in fast and stop on snow while the bases are still warm from friction- seems to me that bare metal would have a greater propensity to melt and re-freeze the snow than plastic.
Pretty sure mine were done by Atlee Dodge- my mechanic handled that for me at the time. Anyway you can count on top-quality work from them.
Finally, if you don't already have a tail ski, do yourself a favor and get a Burl's Magnum.
Best of luck. Looking forward to a little ski flying soon myself.
Happy New Year, and congrats on the cabin.
-DP

I should clarify, they are the 2500 straight ski, not the 2500 wheel ski. Thanks for the info, DenaliPilot! I respect your opinion a lot.

907Pilot wrote:I should clarify, they are the 2500 straight ski, not the 2500 wheel ski. Thanks for the info, DenaliPilot! I respect your opinion a lot.

OK- given that info, I would definitely plastic them, and definitely oversize them to increase the floatation. The only complication you can get into is if the plastic is so wide that it interferes with either your gear-jacking setup, or the wheel-dollies that go in the lower pedestal hole. But you should be fine with a good 1.5 to 2 inches all around. My plastic does taper to 0 at the tip of the ski- presumably for some good reason that somebody before us hit on a long time ago.
Cheers,
-DP

Plastic on the bottom is a great ideal!! Get rid of the metal skeg and just cut one of of plastic. I have done a few and there are a few tricks that will help. Do run the plastic 2in oversize. One way to get a nice smooth edge and even edge is make the plastic 21/4 or 21/2 oversize than once it is bolted to ski use a router to trim it back to 2 inches all the way around. Don't do the taper at the front and back stay big all the way around. use SS screws with nylock nuts, ANTI SEIZE them before you put them on or they will cold weld with first use. Countersink the screw heads into the plastic. You don't need to put screws ever inch!! Tip and tail may need a few extra but on the sides 4-5 inch spacing should be fine. When I did my 2500 wheel skis I ended up just buying a 4x8 sheet and cut them out of that, Made skegs out of old plastic I took off, just ripped them with table saw.
DENNY

What Denny said. I ran straight skis with metal "wear strips". (Therefore consumable and not a major alteration) then switched to 1/4 inch UHMW in place of those steel parts.....WORLD of difference in getting stuck and much easier to get moving after being parked for a while......I quit jacking the skis up when parked after those were on.

Before you park, though, as Denalipilot suggests, come to a stop short of where you want to park, wait for a short while, letting the ski bottoms cool, pull ahead a bit, stop, let em cool, pull ahead a few feet and park. Will make a big difference in skis sticking or not.

Lots more information here: https://www.backcountrypilot.org/knowle ... ski-flying

MTV