Good day ladies and gents,

Soooo, I am looking into putting the 182 on skis, and before everyone tells me that its a bad idea, and to go buy a 185 etc etc, I already know that the nose wheel is directly connected to the firewall and is weak and expensive. I have also read the other posts about it.

So with that out of the way please see below,

I have got a 182J (1966) and have got the airglass fork STC with a 6:00 x 6 on the front and 8:50 x 6 on the mains. I am wondering if with this I could put the 206 skis on this 182? I see quite a lot of them for sale. I understand there heavy and most of the usefull will be eaten up by it, but I really just need to get into the fishing lodge.

I have read everything I can find on all the forums, and posts etc, but have never read anything about 182's with the big wheel kit.

Thank you very much everyone.

You're thinking about fixed penetration skis? You my have to downsize your main wheels to fit through the holes, but that's not a big deal.
Good to hear from you again. Next summer we'll have to meet up. Breton ain't that far away from Eaglesham!

David

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Well I am not 100% sure what kind is the best, I am trying to figure out the best route to take. There is a set of Kehler 4400/4100 Hydraulic Wheel Skis for sale right now, so that's what got me thinking about this whole idea. If I just stayed off these sites and barnstormers etc, I would have a lot more money!!!

Ya I've looked those over a few times myself for my 206. It needs some other things before it gets skis.
Hopefully MTV will chime in and give you some good advice.

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I struggled with the "to ski or not to ski" question as part of an "all season" experience for my 170. In the end I've chosen to add skis to my accessory list and went with fixed penetration for full functionally, with limitations while maintain some usable gross weight. The hydraulic option existed but to heavy and cumbersome for my liking.

A 182 can work on skis fine, with some judgement and common sense applied.

I knew a fellow who ran one on straight skis for a number of writers.

As always, pure straight skis are going to be the best performers. So, if your situation permits the use of straight skis, I’d definitely go there.

Penetration skis add some weight, and drag, due to tires sticking down through the skis, so drag can be substantial. The type and depth of snow you’ll encounter will determine how well such a rig will work.

Retractable skis are great, but as you noted, they’re heavy. I’m not familiar with Kehler skis, so can’t offer much advice. But retractable skis on a tri gear are apt to add up to ~200 pounds to the basic weight. That’s a lot.

At one point, our outfit rigged a 206 with retractable mains and a penetration nose ski. I got volunteered to give it a test flight. That was a VERY bad setup. That nose ski had the wheel attach point a little bit aft of center. In deep snow, ANY rudder deflection would cause that nose ski to go instantly hard over to the limit. I had a hell of a time getting a runway stamped down and figuring out how to keep that nose ski straight for takeoff.

Got back to town and told mechanics that they were welcome to fly the thing any time, but not to call me to rescue them.

A fellow in Fairbanks trapped with a 206 on retractables.....I can’t recall for sure, but I think they were Fly Lite 4000 mains and a Fly Lite 3000 nose ski, though that nose ski was likely designed as a nose ski. That ski had more ski aft of the axle than in front. He went just about everyplace in that thing, and performance was great.

I’m not familiar with any ski approvals for the 182, but the STC for the 206 lowers the gross weight substantially, to the point where useful load was pretty low. If I recall, gross was limited to 3350?? I never learned why that limitation, but assumed it was nose gear related.

I’d check that on any 182 approval before I leaped.

MTV

Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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TradeCraft wrote:Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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Always drooled over the Datums, but always considered them experimental only.

Zzz wrote:

TradeCraft wrote:Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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Always drooled over the Datums, but always considered them experimental only.

Skis only need to be "designed" for aircraft use. Your I/A's opinion may vary.

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TradeCraft wrote:

Zzz wrote:

TradeCraft wrote:Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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Always drooled over the Datums, but always considered them experimental only.

Skis only need to be "designed" for aircraft use. Your I/A's opinion may vary.

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That's interesting... so why does Wipaire have an STC for the 180 but not 185? Skis are on the TC for the 185 so no STC required. But they rent on the 180 TC so you need an STC.
But I'd like to see the documentation that says it only need to be "designed" and not STCd...

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A1Skinner wrote:

TradeCraft wrote:

Zzz wrote:

TradeCraft wrote:Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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Always drooled over the Datums, but always considered them experimental only.

Skis only need to be "designed" for aircraft use. Your I/A's opinion may vary.

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That's interesting... so why does Wipaire have an STC for the 180 but not 185? Skis are on the TC for the 185 so no STC required. But they rent on the 180 TC so you need an STC.
But I'd like to see the documentation that says it only need to be "designed" and not STCd...

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Fluidynes are on my TCDS. 1969 180H

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TradeCraft wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:

TradeCraft wrote:

Zzz wrote:[quote="TradeCraft"]Might give Datum wheelskis a look. Lightweight, electric retractable and made in Canada.

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Always drooled over the Datums, but always considered them experimental only.

Skis only need to be "designed" for aircraft use. Your I/A's opinion may vary.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

That's interesting... so why does Wipaire have an STC for the 180 but not 185? Skis are on the TC for the 185 so no STC required. But they rent on the 180 TC so you need an STC.
But I'd like to see the documentation that says it only need to be "designed" and not STCd...

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Fluidynes are on my TCDS. 1969 180H

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk[/quote]Interesting. I've been dealing with Wip the last few days on some old 3200s and they are saying I need a STC.
In either case, I have a hard time believing all few of these ski manufacturers went through the trouble of getting STCs for their skis if none is needed. That's not a cheap process. I do like them Datums though!

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I’ve never heard of a mechanic installing skis on a certificated Aircraft with a logbook entry unless those skis were approved on the TC.

MTV

Thanks guys. Those Datum skis are pretty nice. Not that expensive either.

So what happens if a guy ( asking for a friend ), buys a set of skis and puts them on the 182, without the STC. Loose the C of A? What about the insurance?

Monstermuley wrote:Thanks guys. Those Datum skis are pretty nice. Not that expensive either.

So what happens if a guy ( asking for a friend ), buys a set of skis and puts them on the 182, without the STC. Loose the C of A? What about the insurance?

If nothing happens and you don't get ramp checked then all is well. Technically the C of A is not applicable since the plane is not in conformity with its Type Design. If you have a wreck I can see insurance being an issue. If someone else gets hurt then I imagine TC will probably come after you for something.

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Monstermuley wrote:Thanks guys. Those Datum skis are pretty nice. Not that expensive either.

So what happens if a guy ( asking for a friend ), buys a set of skis and puts them on the 182, without the STC. Loose the C of A? What about the insurance?

You'd be fine...probably...unless you post a photo of it on the Internet, where you'll be promptly skewered by an army of internet inspectors.

It's probably irresponsible to say, but you can get away with a LOT if you never feel compelled to share it. But then you lay awake at night, worrying about your airplane legality. And every passerby who glances sidelong at your plane looks like a fed (did he just squint??)

Zzz wrote:But then you lay awake at night, worrying about your airplane legality.

And insurability. Most people would probably not be happy to have the carrier walk away from a loss due to intentionally flying illegal parts.

rw2 wrote:

Zzz wrote:But then you lay awake at night, worrying about your airplane legality.

And insurability. Most people would probably not be happy to have the carrier walk away from a loss due to intentionally flying illegal parts.

Does this happen? People warn about it but I've never heard an anecdote. Do insurance policies expressly mention anything along these lines?

Zzz wrote:

rw2 wrote:

Zzz wrote:But then you lay awake at night, worrying about your airplane legality.

And insurability. Most people would probably not be happy to have the carrier walk away from a loss due to intentionally flying illegal parts.

Does this happen? People warn about it but I've never heard an anecdote. Do insurance policies expressly mention anything along these lines?

I specifically asked my insurance agent this question when I was flying the Luscombe. The response I got was specific to the policy I had at the time. There was nothing in the policy that required the airplane to be in airworthy condition. They did question why I was asking. They probly would have dropped my had I wanted to do something other than install slightly bigger tires.