1995-11 · NASA ASRS report 321855
ACFT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WITH BOTH SKIS IN CONTACT WITH THE GND ABOVE 80 KTS AND LIFT OFF. BY RAISING ONE SKI AS IN A GLASSY WATER TKOF THE ACFT NEARLY JUMPED INTO THE AIR.
AN UNUSUAL CONDITION OCCURRED AND I AM LOOKING TO FIND AN ANSWER TO THE FOLLOWING. DEPARTING A FROZEN LAKE ON SKIS THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED. ACCELERATION; SLIGHTLY LESS THAN NORMAL. IAS OF 80 KIAS OBTAINED. AMBIENT TEMP 33 DEGS F; APPROX 1 INCH OF SNOW ON THE ICE. THE ACFT WOULD NOT LIFT OFF THE LAKE. A DISTANCE OF APPROX 2500 FT HAD BEEN PACED OFF PRIOR TO THE TKOF FOR A GROSS WT TKOF. AN EFFORT SUCH AS A GLASSY WATER TKOF WAS USED LIFTING ONE SKI THEN THE OTHER. THE C185 NEARLY JUMPED INTO THE AIR AFTER THE FIRST SKI CAME OFF THE ICE. MY QUESTION IS THIS. WHY? MY WT AND BAL IS ATTACHED. THE SKIS WERE HYD WHEEL SKIS. PLEASE RESPOND SHOULD YOU BE ABLE TO FIND AN ANSWER. I HAVE CONTACTED OUR LCL FSDO-03 IN ANCHORAGE AND THEY HAVE AS OF YET NOT FOUND WHY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED HE WAS TRYING TO TKOF FROM SHELL BACK LAKE. THE CESSNA 185 ON HYD SKIS ACCELERATED TO ABOUT 80 KTS AND THEN SLOWED DOWN. THE ANALYST ASKED IF THERE WAS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE MELTING OF WATER UNDER THE INCH OF SNOW AND HE SAID HE DID NOT BELIEVE SO. HE SAID THE SNOW USUALLY TAKES ON A DIFFERENT COLOR WHEN THERE IS WATER UNDERNEATH. THE PERFORMANCE DECAY REMAINS A MYSTERY. HE HAS NOT CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER OF THE SKIS. HE RUNS AN AVIATION BUSINESS WITH ABOUT 10 AIRPLANES THAT ARE CHARTERED TO TAKE PEOPLE ON TO THE GLACIERS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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