Flight Training - March 2014 - 32

ANTICIPATE GETTING STUCK AT LEAST ONCE-IT'S WHY YOU
SO CAREFULLY PREPARED YOUR WINTER SURVIVAL KIT.
letting the snow remain on the runway. If taking off
in deeper snow, use the same technique as a soft field
takeoff in which the objective is to keep the tailwheel
from digging into the snow while maintaining maximum angle of attack to become airborne. If you are
flying in flat light, make sure that you have climbed
out well above the ground before making a turn.
START OFF CONSERVATIVELY. Practice your initial
landings at a place where other airplanes have packed
a runway and there is a lot of room to land and come
to a complete stop. Remember, there are no brakes,
and surfaces will vary on how long you will slide
before stopping. Ice may require that you have a longer distance than a landing zone with two feet of fluffy
snow. If the skis are retractable, lower them before
landing. Place a placard on your panel as a reminder.
As you begin taxiing, taking off, and landing on
snow, you'll see that snow comes in many forms:

sticky, soft, mushy, corn snow, cold smoke, dense,
drifting, water saturated, deep, fluffy, crusty, compacted, grabby, et cetera.
When landing on a lake, you must also judge the
quality of the ice. In the early winter, dark ice is more
solid, while white ice is still in the process of freezing.
In spring, the opposite applies. White ice is harder,
while dark ice is saturated with water and is in the
melting process.
Just as floatplane pilots fly low passes over landing
areas to examine the water, so must skiplane pilots.
Snow can hide obstacles and appear quite different
than it is. There can be wind drifts, buried obstacles,
and even overflow on lakes. What may look like an
open bowl of fresh powder can have a tricky crust
layer that may be grabby. An untracked landing zone
can look so good and be so bad. So the technique
is to make a passing touch and go first, without the
intention of landing. This is a power management skill
where you allow the skis to touch down,
but not sink into the snow-make a track
and then add power and become airborne.
The point here is to make a few passes
so that you pack a runway, test the snow
quality, and give yourself some visual reference. Then ask yourself if this a good place
to land. When in doubt, don't! Anticipate
getting stuck at least once-it's why you so
carefully prepared your winter survival kit.

PREPARING FOR AN EXTENDED CAMPING SESSION

32 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

GETTY IMAGES/ BRIAN STEVENSON

The preparation for winter flying takes a greater degree of planning. Survival gear must be chosen
strategically so you have what you really need and don't exceed weight and balance. There are
essential items, which include a 30-below-Fahrenheit sleeping bag for each person; one week's
ration of food for each person; a stove for heating water as well as warming up your engine; and an
engine cover that doubles as a shelter. Don't forget a good metal shovel for making a snow shelter
or for digging out your airplane in the event of a snowstorm. If you do get stuck, the metal shovel
will not break as easily as a plastic one in cold temperatures. You also will need snowshoes for each
occupant on board to be able to maneuver once stepping out of the airplane. Other survival items
include candles, super mittens, bunny boots/extra socks, balaclava, windproof butane lighter, fire
starter (birch bark), a fold-up saw for collecting firewood, utility cord, signaling device, first aid kit,
insulating foam pad, pot to heat water, cups, bouillon cubes, tea, and sunglasses/sunscreen. It is a
plus if your stove burns aviation fuel. And don't forget the hot cocoa.

A DIFFICULTY IN LANDING on snow is the
flat light and poor visibility and depth of
field, which can be difficult to determine.
Why not pack some pine boughs to throw
out the window over your landing area to
provide a reference point?
For every landing, set a predetermined landing abort point. This takes
the guesswork out. You want to avoid the
last-second go/no-go decisions that so
often lead to the did-not-go-as-planned
gosh-darn-it landing. Ask your instructor
whether it is in your peripheral vision or
picking an object on the horizon ahead of
you. Set up a stabilized approach. Hold
the descent rate with power and when you
pass your reference point, hold the nose
attitude on the horizon and wait until you
softly touch down. The reference point is
a visual cue of how close you are to where

http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - March 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - March 2014