Educate me on Ski's

[VanDy]

Looking to get a set of Ski's for the tcraft, haven't looked too hard yet. What should I expect to pay and anything special to look for when buying? Or anyother tips hints/tricks?

Thanks.

Matthew VanDervort

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Tips hints/tricks: Don't use them till there is snow unless you are in a short stop/long takeoff contest. ;-)

Hank

Sorry, thought I would say it first.

[VanDy]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

You think it would help with short landing? There is a friendly competition in a couple weeks here ill just use dollys for the take off!

Tips hints/tricks: Don't use them till there is snow unless you are in a short stop/long takeoff contest. ;-)

Hank

Sorry, thought I would say it first.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Just remember that acceptable three point landings does NOT include two skis and the spinner!
Hank

What would REALLY help is the AoA system I am working on! That is going to be a while. It is being developed to support a full characterization of different Taylorcraft versions so we can see what kind of mods really improve performance and by how much. You can retire the engineer from NASA, but you can't get him to stop experimenting!

[Guest]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Looking to get a set of Ski's for the tcraft, haven't looked too hard yet. What should I expect to pay and anything special to look for when buying? Or anyother tips hints/tricks?

Thanks.

Matthew VanDervort

Matthew,

Look for cracks in the spine around the pedastal attachment.

Look for cracks at the stop cable coneection at the fore and aft of the ski spine.

Look to see if the runners on the bottom have and depth left or are they worn down to the point where the rivets are ready to pop.

Rig them for you airplane do not assume that the cables are correct for your plane regardless what anyone says.

Put a giant 8" hose clamp around your brake shoes when the skis are on.

Check out the bungee cord condition and assume that they are old.

Make sure to find taper axle adapters.

Put on an extra set of bungees of the commercial grade type with hooks on the end for a back up plan.

Raise the tail immediatley on take off to reduce drag.

Stick back on landing to pull tail into snow for brakes.

Use opposite aileron while taxiing to help you turn.

Hmm that's all I can recall, its been a few years since I flew off skis.

Dave

[Guest]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

I bet you pay $550 to $750 look for Federal SC-2 or A1500's

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

All joking aside, I live in an area where we get less than 2 days of ski weather a year! This thread should end up being a "GO TO" for ANYONE who wants to work with skis. Dave's list sounds like a great way to start, now how about someone post some photos of what he is talking about? My ignorance really shows here, I didn't know skis HAD a runner on the bottom! It would be good to have a photo of the runner (worn and still good) as well as something showing the angles for rigging.
I may never fly off of skis, but the information is great!
Hank

And I won't make any more jokes.....unless there is a REALLY GREAT opening. ;-) Both Skis and floats look like a LOT of fun.

[cvavon]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Hank lots of ski info on suppercub.org look there.ALSO!! STC for ski brace on landing gear as the side loads are much harder then with wheels. The tie strut on the gears fold up and the gear will collapse NOT GOOD.

[Dano"T"]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Hank lots of ski info on suppercub.org look there.ALSO!! STC for ski brace on landing gear as the side loads are much harder then with wheels. The tie strut on the gears fold up and the gear will collapse NOT GOOD.

It's a nice to do....I've been flying skis for 28 years....side loads occur when you turn too sharp too fast....be careful when lifting the tail and turning the plane around. Torsional stress due to big lever arm (ski). I'll be glad to help you any time....I have hundreds of hours....we get 3 solid months of ski flying here in the U.P. of Michigan.

[high time cub]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Looking to get a set of Ski's for the tcraft, haven't looked too hard yet. What should I expect to pay and anything special to look for when buying? Or anyother tips hints/tricks?

Thanks.

Matthew VanDervort

Look carefully at the pedestal, there is a left and right ski. When purchasing a pair, be sure the serial numbers are the same on both skis.

HT

[Carrieve]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

I agree with Dano. You have to be careful when manually turning the bird around. You can do some severe damage to the gear legs. I have been flying for 35 years on skis and it is better than sex, from what I can remember of it. Also make sure the skis are not froze. Application of power, tail comes up and you chop the power, can break the tail spring. (Been there)

[Guest]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

What causes the tail spring to break ?

Cold?

Seems like that may be independent of skis but cold steel issue?

Dave

[VanDy]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Thanks for all the great info, I knew I could count on the tribe! Dano, if i find myself heading to th U.P. I'll look you up!

[vetdrem]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

Since you don't have brakes when the skis are on, tie down is really important, and be very aware of the poor footing, bulky clothes, and other conserns while propping. I did a short video showing how I start my plane on skis, I made it to show how my tiedown works, but it shows how I prop and it seems to work pretty good for me.

Here is a link to the video if you are interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV3_VG76Gv0

Louie

[Guest]

Re: Educate me on Ski's

nice video!