Farmer Ted

My Feedback: (5)

Has anyone out there ever flown in the winter with snow skis on their plane instead of wheels?

I am currently flying a Great Planes Super Sportster EP and recently bought a set of the DuBro Park Flyer skis for it.

I have them mounted and have done some taxi tests in packed snow and it seems to handle predictably on the ground. I'm wondering what to expect in the air (whether I'll need to re-trim) and what landings will be like.

We currently have about 8-12" of snow on the ground but I'm not planning on trying to take off on deep snow. I usually fly out of a stadium parking lot and will probably pack a runway with my car to fly off of.

Thanks for any insight.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

The ski's might require a smidge of trim adjustment on the plane but other than that fly it as if it had wheels on it. Good Luck, Dave

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

We fly all year, and winter has it’s own special feel.

We use skis. We have a few ‘hot dawgers’ who fly pattern & IMAc with skis. It really isn’t any different.

With skis:
Recheck your balance, just to make sure.
It’ll fly a little differently; as the skis add a bit more drag (you’ll hardly notice)
Tail draggers are best, as nose gear tends to bet bogged down.
You can land anywhere, and take off directly into the wind( your flying field & runways are now super huge!)
The skis don’t always track straight, especially with an icy crust.
Try to walk around your main runway. Foot holes stop planes fast!

Scott McCrory

The DuBro Park Flyer Skis will be to small if you ever plan on flying from soft or deep snow. You would be better off with somthing designed for a .40 size plane. Here's a link to one of our club members website with a great ski design. If you ever get to Summit County, we fly off Lake Dillon in the winter. We get out there most weekends and fly untill the wind picks up, then the kite boarders take over.

[link]http://www.stenulson.net/rcflight/skikits.htm[/link]

Scott

RVman

I need to ask, why in the world is the pivot on the ski so far forward. The pivot HAS to be behind the centre of the ski for it to work well in any soft snow conditions. Look at any full size airplane on skis to see that.
The skis I make are just aircraft aluminum and the pivot is 5/8 of the way back on the ski. These work great in a half foot or more of powder snow (taildragger) and they won't dig in at all. thanks

Scott McCrory

With the pivot point 40-45% from the front of the ski, the tip of the ski will not drop if the set screw comes loose. Landings get real interesting if the tip of your ski is hanging down This design works great in any snow conditions- packed or powder.

Scott

Farmer Ted

My Feedback: (5)

I actually flew with the park flyer skis but didn't like it. There's way too much drag for the underpowered plane I'm flying. If I had more watts to spare it would be different....my next planes will not have this problem. The other issue I had was after the inital takeoff , the skis folded up (tips high) and acted like a wall . I landed the plane and made a tether on the back of each ski that tied to the fuse to keep the tips slightly up in flight (there is a spring on the skis but it only works in one direction, it doesn't "center" the ski in flight. still had a lot of drag and I had to keep a lot of up elevator on the plane to keep it from sinking. takeoffs and landings were fine but I ended up packing a runway with my car and flying off of that with wheels instead. the DuBro .40 sized skis would probably be a better choice (size wise) for this plane but they're way too heavy. Thanks for the advice...I am waiting for a Goldberg P-12 Pitts to arrive...will be brushless powered and perhaps I'll try the skis on that.

DucatiRC

I just bought a set of dubro skis, but the instruction does nothing for me. Can someone how me how to install the skis or post a photo of there ski, please.

s. wallace

My Feedback: (24)

Here's a recent thread with a good photo of the installation:
[link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6746294/tm.htm[/link]

I just put a set on one of my planes, I'm ready for some winter flying

Leemata

My Feedback: (1)

Flying with skis is awesome.....particularly because a nice snow base gives you nearly unlimited runway space. However, I find that the older I get, the tougher it is to keep my hands warm. Another note regarding skis: It's been my experience that the skis do cause a "bit" of added lift.......almost like 1/3 flaps. Easily trimmed out and it sure can be fun!

Terry