Michigan Winter

[gkremers]

It sure has been cold and snowy here along the lakeshore in western Michigan. I got to fly this past Thursday with my son who was visiting. It was 2 degrees when we took off and pretty cloudy. Yesterday wasn't supposed to be that nice but the sun was out and temps warmed up to 9 degrees. The snow was perfect for the skis. I don't trust the lakes yet but ice is building fast. 4 more months before the floats can go back on so you have to make the best of what the weather brings.

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Gary

[BucF16]

NICE! Hey Gary, What are the brand of Skies? And are your tires 6:8.5s
Thanks!
Bruce

[gkremers]

Bruce,
They are Summit Skis, Mike is a great guy and does beautiful work. My friend has a pair of TrickAir's on his Carbon Cub. They are also very nice but much heavier and over twice the price.

The tires are 8.5 x 6.

Take care
Gary

http://www.summitaircraft.com/products/aircraft-skis

[BucF16]

Thanks Gary, I thought I remembered that form a previous thread. My plan is to fly my Highlander on 26" or 29" tires for a year or two and then build your style floats over a winter, while using skies for that season. Providing we get snow. Ohio is slowly opening up our state reservoirs of SeaPlanes. I think we have 6 now. Of course I can come up to MI for both Skis and Floats, but being a Buckeye, there may be a bounty on me.

Cheers,
Bruce

[av8rps]

Great pictures Gary!

[AV8R Paul]

Great pictures! However, it’s 54 degrees here and I’m miserably cold!

[gkremers]

I’ve lived in the northern states my entire life. Loved the cold weather and change of seasons. It is true most of us start to get a little tiered of it. My son lives just south of Austin so we bought a lot on an Airpark just south of Lockhart. Plan on a hangar with a nice 2 bedroom apartment for the winter months whenI get closer to retirement. I know it still gets chilly but it’s all relative. I did check and floatplanes are allowed on Canyon Lake with some minor restrictions. Several other lakes within a nice 40 min flight.

Bruce,
If you get up to MI let me know, don’t mind flying with a Buckeye....

Gary

[BucF16]

Thanks Gary! I've promised my wife, Susan, that I'd give her a weekend in Holland when the weather warms. We'd love to see your operation.

Cheers,
Bruce

[gkremers]

Yesterday was a great day for flying, especially if you have skis. The lower half of Michigan picked up 4-14" of snow depending were you live. Met up with some friends and put 4 hours on the plane. I only got stuck once on a pretty narrow grass strip, couldn't quite make the turn.

For those not flying yet get back out in the shop and "get her done"

Gary

[av8rps]

Gary,

I'm just curious, how much cruise speed loss did you get with your skis?

Compared to your floats?

Paul

[gkremers]

Paul,
None, actually I don't notice any speed penalty compared to only wheels. When the floats are on I need to push the RPM's up 75-100 to maintain the same speed as wheels only. I normally cruise at 97MPH at 5200 RPM.

Gary

[av8rps]

Those are good numbers and a bit better than I've experienced with my Highlander. Mine runs similar speeds but i need to run higher rpms. But I have wheel skis that are open tube with platic bottoms. The Summits you have look a few mph cleaner. And your Clamar floats compared to my Cz1300 amphibs also look a bit cleaner (my wheels are larger and I have 10,000 rivets in aluminum vs yours being smooth fibreglass).

Interesting to hear about your airpark lot purchase. I bought a lot at Mount Royal Airpark in Crescent City Florida a couple years ago with a similar plan as yours. Being right on the 360 mile long St Johns River which is also attached to a 43,000 acre lake, and surrounded by literally thousands of open-to-seaplanes Florida lakes, it will be an awesome place to fly seaplanes. Ironically, a bunch of my seaplane pals from here in Wisconsin all bought lots near me at the airpark. So once me and my friends retire one day it will likely be a great place to spend winters. Of course, ski flying there will suck But that's ok as we all agreed we will continue to spend summers here in Wisconsin. This part of the world is great when everywhere else is uncomfortably hot.

[BucF16]

Hey Gary, How do you determine when it is safe to land on a lake? Also where do think the line is (North / South) where there is usually a chance at least part of the winter it is safe to land. I know that here is central Ohio we had maybe had 3 or 4 days on the reservoirs that we might have landed.

Thanks
Bruce

[bluemax]

Hey Gary, How do you determine when it is safe to land on a lake? Also where do think the line is (North / South) where there is usually a chance at least part of the winter it is safe to land. I know that here is central Ohio we had maybe had 3 or 4 days on the reservoirs that we might have landed.

Thanks
Bruce

Hey Bruce,
I always figured if you can look down and view snow machine tracks on the lake ice, it would be fine for a light plane. Here is a photo of me and my first ultralight, an Aerolite 103. I was on the middle of Apple Valley Lake. The house in the background belongs to a 777 captain..... who loves ultralights.

[BucF16]

Max, I didn't know you played for the Penguins! where's your stick?

I thought the same, If there were sled tracks, Then it should be good.
Bruce