The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Last Sunday, 2-1-09, we were able to have our 'Fly-in / Cook-out' with some of our local pilot friends. Ice was 8" and all went well. Hot chocolate, chili, hot dogs... Great fun!

Looks like great fun! Wish I'd been there.

Another week-end on ice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Zdcx-C ... annel_page

That looks like a heck of a lot of fun, except for freezing your buns off. As an ole southern guy, I don't know much about all that ice. How do you stop when you land? Looks like you'd go forever. How long is that lake/runway? How deep is the lake and how thick is the ice? I always wondered how thick ice would need to be to land on. Also how do you walk around without busting your butt on that slick ice? Educate this ole boy.

From my old Boy Scout Field Manual, re: how many skaters allowed on a frozen body of water:
One inch - Keep Off!
Two Inches - One May!
Three inches - Small Groups.
Four inches - O-Kay! (the illustration showed a horse-drawn sleigh and lots of skaters,)

170C wrote:That looks like a heck of a lot of fun, except - - - - - - - - - - - Educate this ole boy.

FRANK IMA SHAME O U . YOU WORIEN BOUT FREEZIN BUTSS AND SKINNY ICE - - - - BUT DIDJA SEE THE TALE NUMER "N6165A" RITE IN FRONT UV URE NOZE? ITSA SISTER TO OLE POKEY AINT IT?

LONG AGO WHEN I HAD TO LIVE NORTH OF THE MASON DIXON, FROZEN WATER WAS OUR WINTER PASTIME - THAT IS IF IT WAS ABOVE 0'F........... WE LIVED ON A 1300 ACRE LAKE IN NORTHERN MISSOURI THAT USUALLY FROZE OVER BY THANKSGIVING. WHEN THE ICE GOT OVER 8" THICK WE RACED UP AND DOWN THE LAKE ON OUR MOTORCYCLES, DUNE BUGGIES AND SNOWMOBILES. A COUPLE OF TIMES I LANDED THE 170 ON THE REAL SLICK SURFACE AND IT WAS A REAL FUNNY FEELING TO BE GOING SIDEWAYS IN AN AIRPLANE. A THIN LAYER OF SNOW ON TOP MADE IT EASIER TO TAXI AND TURN BUT THAT SLICK SURFACE WAS A BEARCAT AND WITH LITTLE CONTROL EXCEPT THE RUDDER YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET TOO CLOSE TO THE SHORE IF THE WIND WAS WRONG! KINDA LIKE SEA-PLANING IT!

AND THEY THOUGHT FLY IN FISHING WAS DANGEROUS!!!!!!!!!!!

This stuff looks almost ridiculous!

It's not a good idea to leave the car running when parked on ice.

And the kicker is (from what people who have dropped a vehicle through the ice have told me) is that your insurance will not cover you. Kind of a double whammy.

Paul

My friends and I do a lot of ski flying in winter and I use the lakes frequently. I generally like to see 8 inches of "Good" ice before I venture out onto most lakes. By good ice, I mean clear, solid ice. If the ice is layered with snow, slush or any other things to compromise the strength, I do some investigating (ice augers come in handy for checking thickness and quality) before using it to land on.
The key for landing on ice is to "fly" the airplane until it stops. You will have steering and some rudder control down to a low speed unless you have a wind from the side to blow you off course. Of course when you pick your "runway" for landing on a lake (like seaplane flying) you always land directly into the wind. Generally, you can taxi just like on land. The biggest danger is jumping out of the airplane with warm boots (if your heater is any good) onto ice. You gotta "ease out onto the ice"...no jumping!
Most of the best landings I've ever made are on a sheet of ice. Think about it...As the wheels touch down the gear squats with the weight of the airplane and the tires slide outward on the ice surface, No chirps, No veering, No crosswind, and (unless you really drop it in) No bouncing! The airplane WILL go straight ahead (Newton's idea, not mine)...you just have to keep it pointed straight ahead. The second dangerous point in time is when observers think you are conceited after stepping out of the airplane with that $%#( ^#$*(&^ grin on your face! (DON'T blow it here...see first danger listed above. It will erase that grin really fast!) If you can ease the airplane onto the ice like you do when you get that beloved "chirp" on dry land...you'll be addicted!
The best way to get exposed to the experience is to find a friend who has done it and plan a trip to try it together. It will take a lot of the stress and anxiety away for your first trip on ice.

And don't taxi downwind with a stiff breeze blowing on glare ice! Your brakes won't work and the only way to get turned around is to give it power which will speed you up and you'll end up having to do an intentional 1/2 groundloop, sliding sideways hoping your gear doesn't collapse until the nose comes around into the wind.