Questions tagged [landing-skid]

Questions about skids or skis used as landing gear, most often by helicopters or by aircraft operating from snow-covered runways.

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20 votes
2 answers
4k views

How do aircraft brake when using skis?

Planes use skis to land on ice/snow runaway. How can the plane brake in such conditions? Friction must be limited to allow takeoff and aerodynamic braking are not the main contributors to the ...
Antzi's user avatar
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19 votes
3 answers
2k views

How is directional control during takeoff and landing maintained in tailwheel airplanes equipped with skis?

Reading this question got me wondering: From what I've heard and read about taildraggers, brakes are needed during takeoff and/or landing rolls to maintain directional control and prevent a ground ...
Ulli T's user avatar
  • 403
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

How does landing performance differ on water vs. ice vs. paved/grass runways?

It's a follow up from How do aircraft brake when using skis? Can someone give me data about difference between landing distance for each environment ? Paved Grass Water Snow/Ice Any aircraft is ...
Antzi's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are airplanes on skis considered to be the land or sea category?

If an airplane is on skis, would that fall under the airplane single/multi engine land categories based on the fact that they operate on land, or would it be considered more closely related to sea ...
Ryan Mortensen's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
4k views

Wheel or skid? Which advantages does each one have when used as the landing gear system compared to the other one?

I would like to discuss this topic in depth, as I have not found a clear answer yet. Which are the advantages of using skids instead of wheels (or viceversa) for the following considerations?: -As ...
JoseDo's user avatar
  • 257
2 votes
1 answer
185 views

Can ski-equipped aircraft land on a conventional runway?

These two aircraft operate in the Antarctic: the image shows their undercarriage adapted for the snow. The nearest plane (a DHC-6 Twin Otter) has had its wheels completely replaced with skis. The ...
Party Ark's user avatar
  • 12.8k