Winter mobility

Winter mobility in aircraft requires the use of skis or bigger tires. In this case, our aircraft has bigger off airport tires. However, when the snow gets too deep skis are required.

The skis used on the Piper J3 Cub are Federal 1500 straight skis. The skis are attached to the axel and the tires are removed. Lighter aircraft, like the J3 Cub are optimal for performance on snow with skis due to the aircrafts light weight and decent power (provided you have the right propeller too).

Our Federal 1500 skis are currently being rebuilt using HDPE or High-density Polyethylene resins. HDPE is the same material used with your kitchen cutting board. You can purchase a sheet of HDPE at your local hardware store for about $100.