I had the privilege a number of years ago to visit with the gent who flew all the original flight test for the Herc on skis. They did the flight test on Lake Bemidji in MN. The conversion was undertaken to fit out two aircraft to haul the building materials out to the Greenland ice cap to build the original D.E.W. Line sites there. This same man made the first ski landing with the Herc on the Greenland ice WITH a full load of "stuff". The second airplane ripped a gear leg off on landing, but it was carrying a small dozer, so they used that to build an airstrip on the ice.

Amazing airplanes that have been there and done that for going on sixty years now....

MTV