If I remember rightly it's a lever to put them in the down position when you're out in the snow. Oversize UHMW wouldn't get in the way of anything, the mechanism is all on the top of the ski. Both in the up and down position. Just have to have room for the 8:00x6 tires in the down position.

I'd look at these alot harder than the manual ones. looks like they plan on having the 3000s ready this fall:
http://hitchcockaviation.com/Aircraft-Skis.php

why doesn't my link work?

ccurrie wrote:why doesn't my link work?

You had "Disable BBcode" checked below the post.

Thanks Zane.

I'm running my C170B on airglas 3000 straight skis. Great in deep snow but turning is a problem and that's an understatement. Basically the only way to turn is full forward elevator, left rudder and a shot of power. I'm not even trying to turn to the right.

Right now I have a AKBW bush tailwheel but I'm seriously debating installing the federal 2500 penetration tailski that I bought with the straight skis. Any comments on using the Federal 2500 penetration tailski on a C170B ?

Udo

Flying Dutchman wrote:I'm running my C170B on airglas 3000 straight skis. Great in deep snow but turning is a problem and that's an understatement. Basically the only way to turn is full forward elevator, left rudder and a shot of power. I'm not even trying to turn to the right.

Right now I have a AKBW bush tailwheel but I'm seriously debating installing the federal 2500 penetration tailski that I bought with the straight skis. Any comments on using the Federal 2500 penetration tailski on a C170B ?

Udo

So we can be more helpful- what other ski flying experience do you have that you are comparing this performance to?

This is my second winter season with the C170B on skis and accumulated about 30 hours of ski flying. My other ski experience is with a beaver on wheelskis. I'm not really comparing the C170B turning performance to the beaver but more to other planes that maneuver on the same strip I'm using. For instance a C185 on wheelskis with a penetration tail ski seems to turn more effectively to the right/left in the same snow conditions. There was about 16" of fresh snow on the strip. Appreciate the response and hope to learn something from it.

I always had a tough time turning my 170 on skis.I had AWB 2500's but no tail ski.
It's my opinion the problem is the C170's small rounded rudder (I think the administrator refers to this as "classic") does not provide enough deflection to turn the plane in the snow.
In the summer the relatively light tail is easy to maneuver and the rudder is plenty good. However, in the winter, especially in deeper snow it took me over 150' to make a 180. Problem was the grass strip I flew out of was only 150' wide. Taxiing in the ditch with the yellow cones on the wrong side of the plane is a little nerve-wracking. Pushing the yoke forward seemed to help some. As I recall my technique was I would get to the extreme side of the runway and slow down then push the yoke full forward, stomp on the rudder, hit the throttle, and pray. If the snow was not deep I would pump up the skis a bit to espose the wheels then use the brakes to help make the turn. If you have a friend who doesn't mind a snow bath he can hold the strut to help make the turn. Of course you could just move to Arizona for the winter...

ANY ski plane can be a beast to turn around. That's why God made lakes to land on.. More room.

The C170 has really crappy tailwheel steering when in stock condition. Whether it's wheels or skis. ReWorking the steering system helps some, then using a tail ski will improve ski turning. But the bottom line is that the airplane really doesn't turn very tight on skis.

As noted, any airplane on skis will benefit from full down elevator, full rudder, and a lot of power. Short Blasts of power work better than a long blast does, to prevent too much acceleration.

You can attach a piece of line to the tailwheel and have someone pull on it to assist turning around.

A dear old friend of mine was a pilot in our outfit for many years. He started out as a game warden, and didn't fly. After his first winter in Alaska, he learned to fly, and had a very successful career as a pilot/warden thereafter. I once asked him why he learned to fly after that first winter in northern Alaska. His reply was that he worked with one of the old time pilots out of Fairbanks that first winter, in a Stinson V-77/SR-9 (had parts from both models) on straight skis. The first time the pilot got somewhere he couldn't turn around, he told my friend to get out and push on the tail to help turn around. The pilot, of course used all the power available from that big radial engine to get turned around. Covered with snow, my friend got back in the plane, totally frozen. The pilot looked at him, and said "Son, in this country there are two kinds of game wardens--Blasters and Pushers. Right now, you're a Pusher, but I can tell you that being a Blaster is a better deal." He learned to fly that spring.

MTV

I remember the C170 on skis as being hard or impossible to turn out of a stiff wind. A couple of times I couldn't get turned around after landing on a windy day.

A follow up on the challenged turning abilities of my C170B on skis. I installed a Federal 2500 penetration tailwheel with small tire last weekend and ground steering has improved 100% compared to the bush tailwheel. Still acting like a ski plane but at least I can turn half decent to the right now.

On step better. Installed the airglas GLH3000 wheelskis on my C170B. Only gained 60lbs over the straight 3000 skis mainly due to the added weight of the tires and the pump. Similar take off performance between the straight and the wheel skis, great ! The ability to turn on a dime (with one ski up and one ski down), Priceless!
I placed two pictures in the photo gallery.

How do you select one ski up and one down?
Is thier a selector in the hydrolic valve to do this?
46tcft.

There is no selective left/right control on the skis.To go from wheel-mode to ski-mode a hydraulic cylinder pushes a plate underneath the tire. When you apply the brake on the side you do not want to move, the fluid takes the route of least resistance and moves the plate on the opposite side. So for a left turn when in ski-mode, I apply the right brake and activate the pump. The left plate moves retracting the ski. When fully retracted I stop the pump. Now I have the wheel down on the left and full ski on the right. It now just takes a little bit of power to have the plane swivel around the ski. No more gunning around and hoping for the best.

Heck I got up and learned somthing today. That is why
this is such a great site. That trick should work as well
on the fli-lite hydrolic skis. I will give it a try this week end.
Thanks!
46tcrft

flyingdutchman what engine does your 170 have?

I've got a Lycoming O320 160HP with cs prop, performs really well.

46TCRFT wrote:Heck I got up and learned somthing today. That is why
this is such a great site. That trick should work as well
on the fli-lite hydrolic skis. I will give it a try this week end.
Thanks!
46tcrft

Hmmm, that has me thinking about re-wiring my electric wheel skis, right now I have one switch that does both, it would be a very simple job to put a ganged switch that could be right or left, or both.

Flying Dutchman wrote:A follow up on the challenged turning abilities of my C170B on skis. I installed a Federal 2500 penetration tailwheel with small tire last weekend and ground steering has improved 100% compared to the bush tailwheel. Still acting like a ski plane but at least I can turn half decent to the right now.

I'm getting my best turn radius's with the stick back all the way, I guess because I too have a tailski.... I've never flown skis without the tail ski so can't compare as to without one.