The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

Fellow mini-wagon drivers,

I have a 120 and with already 3 feet of snow on the ground I’m needed skis.

I’m aware that a set of Federal 1500’s is a go to for the 120/140 but I can’t find any up here in Alaska. Does anyone have any experience running a larger ski, say Landis 2000 or airglas. I’m not too concerned about the extra weight. I mainly flying alone building time/training or with me 8 year old who’s 70 pounds. Just curious what other pilots have ran on their 120/140’s

Thanks

Hi Lampak25,

I can't comment on running bigger skis on the C120/140 as I have only run federal 1500s. I'd expect you'd just see more drag and weight. Expect to lose 10mph in cruise.

The federal 1500 are hard to find, I ended up having to "rejuvenate" a set, including modifying the axel tube and reskinning the bottoms. A note on the bottoms, you can extend the UHMW past the edge of the ski by 2 inches to get better floatation. If I was doing it again, I'd make sure to find flat bottom Federal 1500. It seems like two models were made, one with a curved bottom and one with a flat bottom. I think for powder operations flat will float better and sink less. For packed operations rounded probably provides better directional control.

Either way the best pair of skis for you may be whatever is readily availably and in good condition.

Marshall

I appreciate the finer points of the 1500. I’ll keep looking

Our EAA Chapter here in Fairbanks has a set of Wesco model A20 skis. These are listed as approved on the Cessna 120/140 Type Certificate Data Sheet. As well as probably a number of other aircraft with a gross weight of up to 2000 lbs. These skis look to be in quite good condition. They will of course need cables made up to suit your particular arrangement of fuselage fittings. Instructions for proper rigging are in AC 43.13-2A, Chapter 5.
Anyone interested in buying these skis, please contact me through this site for more information.
Thanks, Bill