Mystery Skis

[New Antique Pilot]

Can anyone help identifying what these skis would have been used on?
Data plate says TTFR Standard
FML 2 LH
03 US 62 3
Nov 56.

Other ski exactly the same except FML 2 RH.

Thanks,

NAP

[lownslow]

For some reason Beech 18 sticks out in my mind for having skis like those.

[freakonature]

Bombardier snow cat? Or Tucker?

[New Antique Pilot]

For some reason Beech 18 sticks out in my mind for having skis like those.

Quite possible. However the date of 1956 on the data plate is throwing me off. I don’t know if many civilian Beech 18’s were being operated on straight skis in Canada in the 1950’s.
What do the letters FML stand for? Abbreviation for the manufacturer?

Thanks,
NAP

[valleyboy]

looks like they are "beefed" up, could they be Orville W modified.

[New Antique Pilot]

looks like they are "beefed" up, could they be Orville W modified.

I think that is the logical conclusion. Poster Beech 18 tells me that they are probably modified Otter skis. Shortened up to provide adequate prop clearance for a Beech 18.

NAP

['97 Tercel]

Hmmm...some sort of Federal Skis product?

[Heliian]

they kind of look like straight beaver skis or possibly a similar sized and vintage aircraft.

[valleyboy]

LOL you should read the whole thread, From an engineer that worked for Orville Wieben - he came as close as you can for identifying the set.

The tell tail is that Orville always re-enforced his shiis. He did the same for his DC3 skis as well.

He modified otter boards for the beech 18 and these are likely a set of those. There was a hit in the gross weight for that but then again that never mattered back then. With 2 main tanks and a nose tank of fuel the pilot in the seat you were likely over gross.

These were interesting times. The carriers, operating bch 18's in NWO actually approached TC to try and get the bch 18 classified as a single engine aircraft to relax the rules for operating a twin. It's hard to get your head around that and figure out what the actual benefit would be. This was prior to PPC's so I guess they had some way in their minds to haul a bigger load. Not many drivers back then even new the gross T/O weight of the aircraft they were flying. No need all loads were standard. One mile or 1000 miles it was the same load.

[NWONT]

I put these skis on Bearskins Otter, CF-APR in the 70's. They are Beech18 skis from the Weiben operation. Unlike your photos they have square tips. If you check out some of the last photos posted by Beech18 on his Superior Airways thread you will see an otter with similar skis to the ones you have posted. BTW, what happened to the old Antique Pilot?

82427604_4043471359012517_4246754986727309312_n.jpg (75.43 KiB) Viewed 3083 times

[New Antique Pilot]

I put these skis on Bearskins Otter, CF-APR in the 70's. They are Beech18 skis from the Weiben operation. Unlike your photos they have square tips. If you check out some of the last photos posted by Beech18 on his Superior Airways thread you will see an otter with similar skis to the ones you have posted. BTW, what happened to the old Antique Pilot?82427604_4043471359012517_4246754986727309312_n.jpg

Well I had to change my handle. One day I tried to sign in and it said I was blacklisted. So I went down the road to the nearest Tim Hortons and I could sign in just fine. So back home and it says I am blacklisted. Once I changed my handle to New Antique Pilot it works fine.

NAP

[NWONT]

Good to hear. At our age I'm always nervous to ask that question. Ray

[valleyboy]

I tried to sign in and it said I was blacklisted

a VPN solves that problem - even an old guy can figure that one out R** -- haha -- as rigger always tried to feed us "it's the main lead"

as for the skis they could actually be bch 18 skis and not a modified otter board. On the certified bch18 you got your full gross weight back if my memory serves me correctly -- AP -- any verification for that one. -- cheers

[NWONT]

Beech landing gear has a yoke. So it would fasten on both sides of the ski. These have a flange on one side. How well I remember..."It's the main lead!!" Also a DC-3 landed with a rough running engine. Rigger grabbed the prop, rocked it back and forth about 2 feet and said..."Well, they're all there!!"

[New Antique Pilot]

I tried to sign in and it said I was blacklisted

a VPN solves that problem - even an old guy can figure that one out R** -- haha -- as rigger always tried to feed us "it's the main lead"

as for the skis they could actually be bch 18 skis and not a modified otter board. On the certified bch18 you got your full gross weight back if my memory serves me correctly -- AP -- any verification for that one. -- cheers

Sorry but this is beyond my limited area of knowledge. Maybe Beech 18 can weigh in with an opinion.

AP/NAP

[beech 18]

May 09, 2021

The photos that New Antique Pilot posted “appear to be Otter skis” that have
had the forward end of the ski shortened for installation on a Beech 18.

I enlarged the photos and the forward end of the ski and the center tunnel appears
to have been cut back. The center tunnel now stops pretty well right at the front of
the ski. This looks like the type of ski that was used on O.J. Wieben’s Beech 18’s
before he designed his own Beech 18 ski that was called The Wieben Ski.

The Wieben designed ski was shorter and wider than the Otter ski and as NWONT
pointed out in his photo of Otter CF-APR the forward and aft ends of the Wieben Ski
was squared off. The old Otter ski was more rounded at the corners when fitted
to the Beech 18.

The photo that NAP posted showing the axel “appears to be a Beech 18 axel.”
The axels in the photo have a dowel pin and holes for a dowel pin that would fit into
the main gear yoke and into the bottom caps that are secured into place with two nuts
on each side of the yoke.

valleyboy posted they could actually be Beech 18 skis and not modified Otter skis.
That is quite possible alright. The tunnel stopping right at the front of the ski appears
to have been cut back, but that is just an observation. Maybe it hasn't been.

This is just a thought on these skis. Because of the axels they do look like they were
on a Beech 18 at one time.