Patrol on skis

[AKpatrol]

I finally got around to mounting skis (Atli Dodge 2500's) on my Patrol this weekend. I only had enough time to do a couple of takeoff/landings so there isn't much to say about performance yet. Taxiing is ,of course, less precise without brakes. The gear seems to absorb landing forces and moderate speed taxiing across snow machine tracks smoothly and without rebound or bottoming out. I wasn't sure how chaning oil viscosity in the oil dampened spring would effect rebound at -20 but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Now, let's see if I can post a photo...

[bearhawk2015]

Nice plane, did you just paint the fabric and leave the aluminum bare?

I was just looking/measuring some wheel skis today trying to figure out how to build my own for my plane.

[AKpatrol]

I chose to go with bare aluminum and lightly painted fabric because it fit my build philosophy: Keep things simple, light weight and functional. I also like the look of polished aluminum. Corrosion-x helps protect unpainted parts.

I picked up the skis cheap on craigslist but, like you, was considering the homebrew option. I was going to mimic the design of some "penguin" skis I found doing a goole search.

I know a guy in Anchorage who built some experimental wheel skis. PM me and I'll get you his contact info.

[X'N]

Awesome! Keep the pictures coming!

[Zzz]

That's awesome!