Section II: Flying Techniques
Part I, Introduction: Skis
"Think Snow" says the bumper sticker, and soon the flakes are falling and covering our bush strips and it becomes necessary to lighten our loads to compensate for the drag on takeoff. Eventually, the snow gets too deep to operate on wheels, and the time has come to switch to skis.
While I've said little in this book about float operations, with the exception of a short discussion in Section I, both forms of landing gear share many attributes. Some of these are:
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They both use natural (unprepared) surfaces for landing and takeoff.
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They both require an understanding of rapidly changing surface conditions.
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They both lack brakes, and therefore require careful advance planning for surface operations in confined areas.
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Neither is as critical of landing attitude as a conventional gear wheelplane, therefore both have a slight tendency to encourage a relaxation of discipline during the landing phase in the hands of a non-pro.
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Both are machines whose subtlety of design, and potential for sophistication of flying technique, manage to escape the uninformed.
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Both engender strong feelings of preference in pilots, and there are many who, if they had their "druthers," would only fly skis and floats.
