Nice pics, looks cold!
Please be careful when it comes to snow, I know of a guy who recently landed on snow and flipped his plane on it's back. Major heartache for him. Another plane with big bushwheels came to assist him and they almost lost that one too. I'd hate to see something happen to that nice M5 of yours.
Beyond a certain depth and consistency, snow tends to build resistance in front of the wheels and they start to bog down. Coupled with the momentum and the leverage arm at play, it's easy to flip it up on the nose.
I'll stop preaching now!
rob,
you should read the article Rezrider posted and the ensuing thread. I have been following it and learning a lot...really gets you thinking, and I come from the land of snow, lots of the f*&ing stuff!!! I know how much grief crusty snow can be, but I would not have thought of that
always learning, that's what I love about flying and these sites
Roamer
There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing
You can never tell what's under the surface or how deep it is unless you know the location pretty well. I wouldn't have tried to drag a path with a nose wheel airplane but it could just as easily happen with a taildragger if the snow is deep enough. Even bushwheels won't prevent it. Skis are better but you can still flip if the snow is deep enough. Better to land with skis on a known surface that someone else has dragged tracks in.
Someone had landed the day before with ski's and I followed their path. Snow was only about 2-3" and very light powder. I know this airport very well so I knew what the conditions were before landing and also talked to the owner to verify the airport conditions. I would not have attempted this if the snow was deeper or drifting. If you are going to try this watch the video that was posted and I agree with Andy Ski's would be better, I just don't have access to them.
No, I wish I was. Some day I hope? Cabin belongs to Ben B. he has a red citabria parks on the other end from your place. Was impressive to see that C46 with 12,700lbs of lumber land. Not much snow, he rolled right through some small drifts like they were nothing.