Skis

Sam Rutherford · Post by **Sam Rutherford** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:44 am

What is the cheapest option for skis that can be used on both tarmac and snow?!

Keen to do some snow flying, but here in Europe most places are clean all the time - so basically impossible to go from snow to snow...

Hope there's something cheap and sturdy out there?!

Sam.

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:10 pm

TrickAir skis, wheel penetration
AeroSki, mechanical retract
Fernandez Skis european retract

YELLOWMAULE · Post by **YELLOWMAULE** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:02 am

While we're all on the subject, one of us up here (AK) is looking for a set of 3000's (Landes) so if you drop me a line if you find some, he'd appreciate it I'm sure!

MikeW · Post by **MikeW** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:59 am

Speaking of skis. Has anyone run the old Atlee Dodge wood planks? I'm curious if they would do all right. Any thoughts, Ryan or Kurt?

Mike W

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:08 pm

You could also talk to John at Northland in FAI. They had wood plank skis in the '70s if I remember correctly.
The TrickAir advantage is that the plane does not have to be jacked off the ground to fit them, plus you can use 8.50 tyres.
The AeroSki is a retract with no hydraulics or all the weight and complexity of hydraulics. But,.....you cannot fit 8.50s in them.

akloon · Post by **akloon** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:19 pm

I just mounted some Aeros on my M7 today. Great set up, lots of positives from people that have used them. Some detractors with small engine airplanes, but with plenty of motor they should work great

Accordingly, I'm selling my L3000s. Great ski, I think my takeoff roll is less on skis than on wheels at times. I went to a wheel ski to take advantage of the spring skiing that I miss once my lake starts to thaw!

Give me a call if you're interested, the ad is on craigslist and alaskaslist

Dave
350 7718

Sam Rutherford · Post by **Sam Rutherford** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:26 pm

Hi Dave,

Do you want to post the details here as well?

Cheers, Sam.

aero101 · Post by **aero101** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:31 am

I have a set of the old wood plank skis with an M4 Project I picked up. They work just fine, but are somewhat heavy... Personally, I favor the aeroskis over anything that I've tried up here. They turn the best with the somewhat rounded bottoms, and easy to build overcenter dollies pinned in hole above axle, so you can move around inside hangar without having to drag the ski around. Landis work ok, helps to put some skag on them and they're a pain to move on dry ground or the hangar floor, but they do work ok. All the wheel penetration skis that I know of are usually removed and straight skis or hyd skis installed as they're are far more disadvantages then advantages performance wise and if you're alone in the Maule and need to turn the airplane around out in the boonies, GOOD LUCK!!! We're fortunate up here in the respect that most paved airports also have area for skis...

UP-M5 · Post by **UP-M5** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:52 pm

2 options for cheap wheel skis:
aeroski R2800 (already mentioned) - these skis are relatively light and are fairly cheap at around $6000US brand new. they are a cable actuated retractable wheel ski- no hydraulics. downside to these is that 6.00-6 tires are the only ones that fit. so landing at your favorite gravel strip while the skis are on will knock the spit out of the bottoms.

the other option is Schneider wheel penetrations skis- these allow the use of 8.50-6 tires. but they are a fixed penetration ski- so your performance on the snow will suffer. but they do have one advantage- they can be converted to straight skis in about 30 minutes by removing the ski tailwheels and installing plates under the tires and then reinflating the tires with a bike pump. not as convenient as hydraulic or cable actuated skis, but pretty darn cheap if you can do a little labor to change over.

of course if i were in Europe i would just get the rosti-fernandez feild approved- they are great skis.

akloon · Post by **akloon** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:25 pm

Sam,
Here's the details for the L3000s.

http://anchorage.craigslist.org/rvs/1419651533.html

The Aero 2800s do allow a 7.00 x 6 tire. The guy I bought them from had to taxi quite a bit over gravel and the Ptex held up well from what I can see. He flew a bunch, taking out clients to pike fish. You can also increase the radius of the dolly wheel at the back to help with clearance if required.

New ones cost about $7K now, and you've got to do some complex welding to beef up your gear and allow the skis to mount. The skis I bought came with the gear and the wheels/tires, which made things much easier for me.

Dave

MikeW · Post by **MikeW** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:42 pm

Jim,

Could you pm me regarding those wood skis off of the M4? Thanks

Mike W

UP-M5 · Post by **UP-M5** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:29 pm

akloon wrote:
The Aero 2800s do allow a 7.00 x 6 tire. The guy I bought them from had to taxi quite a bit over gravel and the Ptex held up well from what I can see. He flew a bunch, taking out clients to pike fish. You can also increase the radius of the dolly wheel at the back to help with clearance if required.

so you can squeeze a slightly larger tire in there, but do the skis go down far enough to completely pick that tire up out of the snow??? just curious, as there are a couple planes here on the feild running these skis on 6.00's. they also have large extended bottoms for better floatation.

akloon · Post by **akloon** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:05 pm

The tires have decent clearance, I think you could get 8.50s on there, but as the guy I bought them from asked? Why do that? You'll get that much more drag when you're trying to take off on skis! Even if they're wheel up/ski down there is just a bit of tire hanging to prevent real damage (in case you forget to bring the ski up and land).

There is adequate clearance for landing on level runways to save the bottoms, but I wouldn't try to do any uneven strips with them, 8.50s or not, just not worth it. The ski could stick and you'd loop it for sure.

I'd like to see the expanded bottoms you're talking about, I think the next time I do Ptex for these I'll want to do that.

Dave

skymarc · Post by **skymarc** » Tue May 04, 2010 9:58 am

I had a set of Schneiders 4000 skis on an M5-210C previously. great skis but not very performing as it drags a lot in heavy snow, it would do ok on a 235 or 260 models but only spproved on the oleo gears.

Njacko · Post by **Njacko** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 1:44 pm

maules.com wrote:TrickAir skis, wheel penetration
AeroSki, mechanical retract
Fernandez Skis european retract

Jeremy, sorry to dredge up such an old thread, but do you know anyone who has a US FAA field approval for the Rosti-Fernandez skis on a Maule?

If not, do you know anyone who could prepare the necessary paperwork for an N-reg MX-7-180?

As far as I can see the only Maule factory-approved or STCd skis are Trickair or Aeroski, but the RF skis seem to be considered de rigueur for European glacier flying.

All the best for New Year,
Peter.

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