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When Winter approaches the days get shorter and we find fewer opportunities to fly our models.  When this time arrives many of us store our models for the off season and proceed to clutter up our workshops with building and repair projects.  A few of us get ready for winter flying by preparing a model with floats or skies.  Poor winter weather often reduces the opportunity for flying however, when the conditions are right, flying off the snow can be fun.

Some flyers use skies for snow flying but many of us have found that floats work better.  The snow conditions need to be just right for skies to work properly but with floats you can take off and land in almost any snow condition.  Another advantage of using a float plane for snow flying is that it can be the same model you use for water flying in the summer.

Preparing a float plane for flying off of the snow is easier than getting it ready for water flying.  Snow flying doesn't require the use of a water rudder and you won't need to worry about getting water in your radio gear.  The floats should be mounted securely to the model and they should be level with each other.  The floats should have some "Toe In" at the front and the step should be near or just aft of the center of gravity.  The floats should be mounted so the wing will have about 3 degrees of positive incidence when the floats are level in a normal planing attitude.

If you've flown a float plane off of the water you will find out that snow flying is very similar.  If you've never flown a float plane before you'll need to develop some new methods of controlling a model.

Taxiing a model with floats is different than it is with wheels.  The first thing you'll notice is that the model always wants to turn into the wind.  If the snow is hard and the wind is strong, you may as well forget about trying to turn the model down wind.  If you have very little wind blowing you'll find that taxiing can be a lot of fun.  You'll find out that you need extra room for turns on the snow, however, by using the throttle and a little down elevator you can tighten up the turns.  Use the down elevator control cautiously especially when the model is moving down wind or when the snow is bumpy.  Most of the time you'll be able to taxi with a little up elevator.

When it's time to take off, taxi into position by pointing the plane into the wind.  Hold in some up elevator control and open the throttle.  As the plane begins to pick up speed, let up on the elevator control slowly and this will allow the plane to accelerate.  When the plane appears to have sufficient speed pull back a little on the elevator to get the plane to break free of the snow and fly.  Try to always keep the plane pointed into the wind on the take off run because cross winds will want to tip the plane and the floats will tend to be trapped in the snow and track straight.

When the model becomes airborne climb it to a safe altitude and get it trimmed out.  You'll notice that the position of the CG (center of gravity) is lower on the model because of the extra weight of the floats.  Also, the floats add some drag and you'll notice that the plane seems to be more sluggish than it was with regular landing gear.  Most planes with floats will fly more like a basic trainer and this makes them easier to fly.

When it's time to land, throttle back and learn what the new glide characteristics are like.  With floats you usually need a little steeper glide angle to maintain flying speed so try to let the plane descend a little quicker.  Line up the plane into the wind and make your approach like usual .  Before touch down flare the model like usual  but be ready to release some of the back pressure on the elevator.  As the floats contact the snow quickly release most of the back pressure.  On touch down, if you don't release enough back pressure on the elevator, the plane will bounce right back into the air.  Be careful not to release all the up elevator instantly though or the plane might flip over on its back.  You'll find that it's difficult to make smooth landings without bounces and this makes it challenging.

Bouncing landings appear to be caused by the descending momentum of the model.  When the floats touch down the downward momentum seems to be translated into forward momentum and this increases the speed of the plane.  If you are still holding a lot of up elevator the extra speed will cause the plane to become airborne again.  You will need to learn to guide the momentum on landing in a horizontal angle by letting up on the elevator back pressure at the right time and in the right amount.

When your plane first touches down there won't be much drag from the snow and your plane will slide along with plenty of speed.  Try to keep the plane sliding along in a stable manner and let the friction slow the speed down.  After about half of the landing speed has been reduced apply some up elevator control to increase the snow drag on the floats and bring the plane to a stop.

Making smooth landings on the snow with a float plane is challenging and many of us find ourselves practicing landing more than flying in the winter.  A fresh blanket of snow can provide an enormous landing area to practice and this makes it easier.

Try float flying off the snow this Winter it'll get you out of the shop and having some flying fun.