hey guys it deff getting to be that time of year. well things with the t-craft are going well. a buddy of mine also has one his being the 85hp version (mines 100) and we both have less than 10 hrs in them. im guessing that they are going to pretty much perform identical since his has a zero time motor he just installed and mines sitting more in the 1100 hr range. i have about 1 more lesson to get my endorsement and my buddy just got his (both of us with heidi and rick over at arctic, thanks dp and mtv they really know those t-carfts!) what a blast such a different ride from the cessnas and its really starting to feel good working that rudder all the time anyways we both have skis,( i have landis 2000 and i cant remember what my friend has but something similar) anyways i think we are going to be flying around quite a bit this winter and i plan on at least getting 20-30 hrs on the wheels before going on skis. ive been told when doing wheel landings to do a tail low wheel landings with the 26's and im guessing i will want the same type of attitude when ski landing using power for the flare not back pressure and make sure not to land in a crosswind i've heard thats bad news with skis. hey kevin bout to be in your shoes i can feel the white knuckles already

aktahoe1 wrote:This is a great Shovel. (The Chugach Pro) Big blade and and good weight, with extension.
http://backcountryaccess.com/index.php? ... ge=Chugach
One of the best and most durable out there. Have done lots of snow tests on shovels and this really is the best one going.

This one is also good but not like the one I posted above here. Comes with a saw that can cut through willows, good for building snow caves, etc. (The Arsenal with saw)
http://backcountryaccess.com/index.php?id=68

During my first unscheduled RON due to skis on an aircraft I found that I had all the essentials except for a pot to boil water. My extended excursion had occurred as a result of spring snow - soft fresh snow on a hard crust that gave way to deep, uncompressed crystals. Crust didn't break on the test passes and gave way when slowed below flying speed. I worked my butt off from 11a-10p getting unstuck, stomping a runway and then proceeding to bury myself and unbury myself three more times before calling it a day. I had been adding snow to a water bottle kept in my jacket during the day, but that wasn't keeping up with the demand for hydration (sidenote -always keep the bottle at least a third full of water to melt the snow quicker). After I tucked the plane away for the night I needed to hydrate. I ended up using one of the BCA shovels to melt water. Would take a scoop of snow and prop it over my stove with one of the holes in the base of the blade held over the water bottle. Actually worked quite well and didn't burn the enamel on the shovel. Has kept me from grabbing the plastic shovels for the emergency kit. Just need to get one of the extendable handle models. Mine is one of their early models with the avalanche probe poles in the handle.
As someone wiser than myself noted: Folks who think takeoffs are the easy part haven't tried ski flying!

Matt, Are you still going south - way south this winter? I need your address. Greg's latest video has you and the family in it. It is the one SC.org is sending with calenders if you are getting one. If not, get with me. John

Seems like it would be pretty easy to have a prop strike into the snow when burying yourself. Does that happen much?
I saw a photo of a plane sunk down into the snow, and from the pic it sure seemed like there was no way he didn't prop strike.

Yes, props get in the snow quite a lot in deep snow operations. But, remember, if the snow is so fluffy that the airplane sinks out of sight, that snow is not likely to do much damage to the prop.

Erosion of blade leading edges is typical of ski operations, just as it is of water operations on floats. Snow isn't as hard on blades as liquid water, but.....

The worst damage I've seen from ski flying on a prop was a Borer prop on a Super Cub, which had been stuck in deep snow. The pilot eventually got out of there, and returned to home base. I was asked to ferry the airplane to maintenance, and I was impressed at how gutless that airplane was. I asked the maintainers to look into it. The chief of maintenance asked me to come look at the prop from the side--edge-on. It was obvious from that perspective that the prop blades were actually bent forward--coned out, from pulling in that snow, while leading edge damage wasn't too bad.

Now, understand that Borer props are very long and VERY thin blades, and I'd be REALLY surprised if you could do this to almost any other prop.

MTV

Help!

All this ski talk has got me wanting a set of hydraulic skies for the Husky - - no a minor undertaking as the ones I want (RF-8001s) won't work with 26" tires I'm running, 8.50s max. Though I guess that's the least of the expenses! So like all good decision making, here's the pro's and con's as I see 'em:

Pros:

1) I want them.
2) They'd be fun, I bet.
3) "aktahoe" has them, so why shouldn't I?
4) I have the money in the bank and Obama doesn't know it's there, maybe - - yet.
5) It would be fun to fly up to Idaho or AK in the winter.

Cons:

1) I guess I really don't need them, but see 1)
2) There's only snow here in the high country for maybe 4 months of the year (near the same neck-of-the-woods as aktahoe)
3) Have to get 8.50's and a set of wheels to make the swap easy.
4) I tend to tell myself no on stuff like this, but at 65 I reckon I ought to spend more and leave the kids less?
5) I'd probably never fly up to Idaho or AK in the winter.


Thoughts appreciated

Go for it!

BUMPER! Get them! When you see the places we found today...your going to want them even more!!!

Lowrider is taking my skis away from me...He says I have a serious problem...

My wife says I am obsessed...

Maybe I do have a problem.

I need a buddy, Bumper. Get your skis! Lowrider is get them now as well.

Bumper,

Get the RF 8001 skis on your Husky. That way, when Aktahoe gets stuck on some high mountain lake, you can fly in some nice wine for his overnight experience.....

MTV

bumper wrote:Help!

All this ski talk has got me wanting a set of hydraulic skies for the Husky - - no a minor undertaking as the ones I want (RF-8001s) won't work with 26" tires I'm running, 8.50s max. Though I guess that's the least of the expenses! So like all good decision making, here's the pro's and con's as I see 'em:

Pros:

1) I want them.
2) They'd be fun, I bet.
3) "aktahoe" has them, so why shouldn't I?
4) I have the money in the bank and Obama doesn't know it's there, maybe - - yet.
5) It would be fun to fly up to Idaho or AK in the winter.

Cons:

1) I guess I really don't need them, but see 1)
2) There's only snow here in the high country for maybe 4 months of the year (near the same neck-of-the-woods as aktahoe)
3) Have to get 8.50's and a set of wheels to make the swap easy.
4) I tend to tell myself no on stuff like this, but at 65 I reckon I ought to spend more and leave the kids less?
5) I'd probably never fly up to Idaho or AK in the winter.


Thoughts appreciated

Bumper: I used the excuse of "safety" to buy my skis. On one 100 mile flight across the deep snow covered high desert I realized my options were few, even with the 26" Airstreaks. The same with a breakfast flight to Afton Wyoming, a whole lot of no where to land if I had to.

A few weeks later: breakfast in Afton, and about 30 landings and about the same takeoffs on the way back. And... more safety the whole way with all the now accessible landing areas. This is how I justify it anyway, I used the same thinking when getting the Airstreaks... it's a good arguement that allows me to get a lot of things I want for the plane, with a clear conscience!

bumper wrote:Help!

All this ski talk has got me wanting a set of hydraulic skies for the Husky - - no a minor undertaking as the ones I want (RF-8001s) won't work with 26" tires I'm running, 8.50s max.

Thoughts appreciated

Bumper

I know it is embarrassing to fly around with little tires, and that's one reason why most of us macho guys up here in Alaska fly the 31s. I also used to fly that blimp tire that you are using but just had to upgrade. Having said that, we do allow 8.50s in the state, and as you may well know I even use them with my RF 8001 skis. But then all of the other wheel ski type guys up here are also using 8.50s -- or even smaller -- so they don't snicker at me when I show up in their back yards in the winter time.

The RF 8001 wheel skis are the best that you can buy in that they are light (72 lbs for everything) and they give the best flotation out there. But the good part is, given how much the RFs cost, the additional cost for a new set of 8.50s and wheels will feel insignificant.

One thing you should know, however, is that Thomas is experimenting with changing the ski to accept a 26" bush wheel, so you might want to talk to him about your needs (wants). My guess, however, is that his new design will accept the svelte 26" Bushwheel, not that fat 'ol Goodyear that you try to pass off as such.

And if you do make it up to Alaska, I've got a hangar here in the Warangell Mountains that you can share with my dog to make the changeover for summer gravel bars. 'Course you may then realize the wisdom of a belly pod after such a long trip from Nevada (home of Sen. Reid) and just have to spring for one of them as well.

But the bottom line is, get the RF 8001 wheel skis. You will never regret it and the kids will really enjoy them when you finally head west.

Nizina

More skiing from last weekend to harass Bumper... Hey, now that they made a tax deal you might be able to keep some of the cash away from Obama and use it for the skis... (obamacare just jacked up my medical plan payment this month! Grrrr..

BRD's got some of the best ski flying footage around. Careful Bumper, it'd surely put you over the edge.

Bumper you should check out Hitchcock aviation they were hoping to have the GLH-3000 Composite/Carbon Fiber Hydraulic Wheel Ski certified on the husky this fall. They are a good looking ski and cheeper than the RF 8001s, still only 8.50s though.

oh and check out the Husky's new Powerflow exhaust install. (MUCH LOUDER)

man..great thread! My palms got all sweaty just reading and think my heart rate came up! I LOVE the pics next to that body of water-GORGEOUS.. you guys are having WAY too much fun and I'm jealous-wish I had skis now!

Anybody got a 206 on Skis? Got any pics?

Looks like these two have the same set of skis