floatplane - taking off frozen lake

The Helio Aircraft Co. at Pittsburg, KS operated straight
float equipped Helio H-295 Couriers from the grass strip
behind the factory. They would land on dry grass but did
spray a little water on the grass in the area of the plane
to let it start to slide. The landing was tricky only
because there was not suspension.

The Helio was unusual and could fly at gross (3,400 pounds)
at 28 mph.


"Cub Driver" usenet AT danford DOT net wrote in message
...
| On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 22:50:29 -0800, "Seth Masia"

| wrote:
|
| My buddy Buzz Fiorini used to fly his C180 floatplane
over to Sun Valley and
| land on a snow-packed meadow. Did it regularly, for
years, with no damage.
|
| During WWII in a whiteout, a PBY Catalina was flying over
the
| Greenland ice cap at 10,000-plus feet when the crew
realized that
| though the engines were developing full revs, the plane
wasn't moving
| any longer. They'd landed on the snow. They piled out and
ran around,
| laughing. Then they realized that, no, they weren't going
to take off
| again.
|
|
| -- all the best, Dan Ford
|
| email: usenet AT danford DOT net
|
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