Skis replace or enclose standard wheeled landing gear to distribute the weight of an aircraft over soft, frozen surfaces. They are heavily used in polar operations and bush flying to prevent the aircraft from sinking into deep snow during takeoff and landing. Some designs feature retractable wheels that protrude through the ski for operations on both hard runways and snow.
Heard on the job
We need to swap the mains out for skis before the deployment to McMurdo.
Do not mix it up with
- Skid: A ski is a wide surface for landing on snow, while a skid is a fixed tubular landing gear found on helicopters.