Landing on the frozen lake

[gsxrpilot]

I'd do it in a minute. But then I landed my 252 on the Playa at NV88 this year. It was as rough a runway as I could imagine, but just use soft field technique and keep it as light on the wheels as possible until slow enough that it won't matter.  I plan to be up in that part of the world with my 252 but not until summer.

Looks like a lot of fun.

[thinwing]

Nv88 rough...dead cow lake flyin....baby smooth...taught my wife on 70 cc mini bike...she ended flatout

[jdrake]

I've landed at Alton Bay several times in my J (see YouTube).  Used aerodynamic braking each time and had no issue exiting well before runway end.  That said, I'd be very careful on an unimproved surface.  Of particular concern (as mentioned above) is drift clearance as well as inner gear door.

[kevinw]

Before making an off airport landing such as a frozen lake I would sure take a close look at your insurance policy. If memory serves, I don't think my policy would cover a loss that occurred landing anywhere but an airport (other than a forced landing). I could be wrong but I seem to remember reading something about this in my policy. Perhaps you just need a rider.

[gsxrpilot]

I checked my policy before flying into NV88 (Burning Man) this year.  It stipulates that the "primary use of the airplane will be from hard surface runways".

[Raptor05121]

^ mine is the same. My underwriter told me unimproved strips are fine, as long as they werent a majority of landings.

I keep grass strips to 49%

[yvesg]

In Canada these are considered aerodromes... here is the definition:

An aerodrome is any area of land, water (including a frozen surface) or other supporting surface used for aircraft landings or take-offs (legal definition). Transport Canada:

• Only certifies and inspects an aerodrome if it meets certification criteria, such as having scheduled air services.
• Considers only certified aerodromes as airports.

[thinwing]

For 3 weeks NV88 is a Faa licensed airport...insurance is in effect

[Dham]

If you don't tell the airplane it's a frozen lake, it won't know.  Then it will land just like it does any where else. Braking and ride quality might be degraded a bit, but that's not a big deal.  It goes without saying that it's best suited to folks that are adept at airspeed control, but that can be said of any field.
 

a 201 at Alton Bay filming form inside the cockpit.  This guy could really benefit from some editing...

COOL!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hoeschen]

I guess I'd rather fall through the ice in a low wing plane than a high wing plane!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shadrach]

9 hours ago, Raptor05121 said:

^ mine is the same. My underwriter told me unimproved strips are fine, as long as they werent a majority of landings.

I keep grass strips to 49%

My underwriter says no restrictions on where I land. They want to know where the plane is based but seem completely uninterested in where I take it.

[Hank]

40 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

My underwriter says no restrictions on where I land. They want to know where the plane is based but seem completely uninterested in where I take it.

Mine, too. When I moved last year from a field with a VOR and two GPS approaches to one with nothing, my rates went down again. Maybe it was just part of the general rate decrease? At least it's closer to home. Don't recall anything in the policy about where I go inside the U.S.

[MCDsiena]

I'll have to recheck my policy. I don't recall reading anything with regards to on-field or off-field but then again I wasn't really thinking about that when I read it through either.