Wonderful shots Chuck...well done...
I deleted the Awesome Foursome DC3s from my program as I could not get the skis to go Up or Down.
The skis we had would retract and the front of the ski was designed to fit snugly against the bottom of the front engine cowlings giving a more streamlined effect.
The skis had five settings I believe:
-Up
-1/4
-1/2
-3/4
-Full ski
Like the DeHavilland Otter and Beaver the DC3 ski was hydraulically operated with electric back-up.
They could also be pumped by hand (lots of work for first officer).
I won't say how large the snow drifts were we landed on when setting up caches on small frozen lakes but a snowmobile would crawl over them...
....gave you one hell of a ride Chuck...
The "Ski Endorsement" like the "Float/Seaplane Endorsement" were separate Ratings and classroom and practical training was/is required...
Good idea...saves on aeroplanes...especially if one goes through the ice...very embarrassing and since there were no cellular phones back then and the radio in the aircraft was underwater it usually made for an uncomfortable overnighter or two depending on weather.
The one thing we had to keep an eye on was the control surfaces like elevators, rudders and ailerons as they were fabric covered, not metal.
