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In an emergency with the Beaver...could you land on a glacier field, and not flip?


Orbx Flyer

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9 hours ago, Jack Sawyer said:

This is fun, I did it with a 747.

Did you get back up?  I wanted to test (curious mind..for real world events...) if pontoons...not skis meant to skim and land on snow/ice fields.. could...in a serious life-death emergency...not only land...but be able to power-off, the ice field. I did...and what a rush/hoot.  Did your wheels not sink into the snow, as you see my pontoon bodies have done.  My pontoons were not merely resting on a hard snow 'looking' surface...so, do you remember Jack..did your landing gear tire sit ON the snow field..or did they sink into it?  Curious. :)

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46 minutes ago, Orbx Flyer said:

Did you get back up?  

Jack..did your landing gear tire sit ON the snow field..or did they sink into it?  Curious. :)

I didn't try to take off from the ice Mitch.

I can't remember if the wheels sat on the ice, I think they did.

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6 minutes ago, Jack Sawyer said:

I didn't try to take off from the ice Mitch.

I can't remember if the wheels sat on the ice, I think they did.

You can see, that my pontoon 'V' hull sank into the ice field...so it appears that that ice field texture is not a 'baked hard surface'...or would seem so.  I truly didn't know if the Beaver would flip end over end...as it would have done had I landed on earth/terrain.  There...is will at 70 knots.  Here...I just slid, as you would expect those pontoons to do...and then I came to a rest.  I also wonder...if this WOULD have been a real life engine emergency...and this would have been a true landing gear/pontoon amphib...would you NOT want to lower your non TERRAIN landing gear...for fear they would plow and dig into the snow...thereby flipping you over...would you want to land gear up...onto your pontoons...and I wonder if anybody in real life has ever had to make that decision....you know...inquiring minds...and drinking morning coffee....   Cheers!

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1 minute ago, Orbx Flyer said:

You can see, that my pontoon 'V' hull sank into the ice field...so it appears that that ice field texture is not a 'baked hard surface'...or would seem so.  I truly didn't know if the Beaver would flip end over end...as it would have done had I landed on earth/terrain.  There...is will at 70 knots.  Here...I just slid, as you would expect those pontoons to do...and then I came to a rest.  I also wonder...if this WOULD have been a real life engine emergency...and this would have been a true landing gear/pontoon amphib...would you NOT want to lower your non TERRAIN landing gear...for fear they would plow and dig into the snow...thereby flipping you over...would you want to land gear up...onto your pontoons...and I wonder if anybody in real life has ever had to make that decision....you know...inquiring minds...and drinking morning coffee....   Cheers!

Dunno, I imagine there has to be a YouTube on it somewhere.

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If you guys are interested in the history of Kenmore Air, you might like "Success on the Step" by Faure which describes  a number of co-founder Bob Munro's glacier landings. These were typically  to service glacier research teams. Several nice historical pics, including one of N9776Z on a glacier.  This was Munro's favorite DHC2, the one he used on his most heroic flights and the one modeled  for FSX.  That aircraft is still in the Kenmore fleet, and at least as of a couple of years ago looks like it just came out of the restoration shop. 

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10 hours ago, Orbx Flyer said:

You can see, that my pontoon 'V' hull sank into the ice field...so it appears that that ice field texture is not a 'baked hard surface'...or would seem so.  I truly didn't know if the Beaver would flip end over end...as it would have done had I landed on earth/terrain.  There...is will at 70 knots.  Here...I just slid, as you would expect those pontoons to do...and then I came to a rest.  I also wonder...if this WOULD have been a real life engine emergency...and this would have been a true landing gear/pontoon amphib...would you NOT want to lower your non TERRAIN landing gear...for fear they would plow and dig into the snow...thereby flipping you over...would you want to land gear up...onto your pontoons...and I wonder if anybody in real life has ever had to make that decision....you know...inquiring minds...and drinking morning coffee....   Cheers!

Great shots. But I think in real life you still be looking for fire wood up there.:rolleyes::D

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16 hours ago, flyingleaf said:

Great shots. But I think in real life you still be looking for fire wood up there.:rolleyes::D

...but, you'd have the ability to LOOK for that wood...and not be thirty parts spread over Sunday...!!!! ;)

 

Post Edit....if I ever won a few million or even a few hundred thousand dollars...I said to my wife that my number one choice of a plane for the family, without doubt or a second's hesitation...would be the Quest Kodiak Amphibian (from the factory) painted in their offered yellow body panels.   This would be the only plane my wife would feel safe to fly with me in..(and she has stated that looking at me simming over my shoulder).  She said that you could land that anywhere along any destination flight path...always some lake or river...to set her down in.  I agree...to be able to land other than only safely at airports  (roads and highways, are not barrier free!) would have me owning this plane for private G.A.   I only need the lottery win....and the factory would get my order!  Like lightning....zap.

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