HISTORY

photo Miroslav Černý

How I learned

to Ski in a Trenér

As winter sets in, with its temperatures around zero, shorter days and high

penetrating air moisture levels, activity around the aeroclub airfields slowly

winds down. Glider pilots don’t particularly feel like spending hours on the

ground waiting for their colleagues to finish their circuits around the airfield

or looking for the remnants of thermals in their frozen gliders. In that case,

there is not much work for tow aircraft as well. Towing is mostly conducted by the Trenér aircraft on Czech club airfields and “Trenér”, by the way,

translates to “Trainer” in English.

year. And after four years at that! We got the

news that KNX matriculated Trenér would be

so configured, and that anyone who wants to

either renew or gain their unofficial SKI certification, should sign up. Four years prior I hadn’t

yet flown the Trenér so this year I went into it

for the first time.

There’s No Flying like Flying…

The fun begins as described above. With waiting. I am not the only interested party in going up, and I am last in the queue. That doesn’t

bother me, as it gives me a chance to observe

and go over with the instructor the nuances of

skiing in this fashion. Naturally, I’ve read up on

the subject, but there’s nothing quite like talking with someone with firsthand experience.

Essentially, there are several routes to take,

how to fly with the skis installed, and there are

generally different procedures for each field,

because each one has its unique conditions.

For example, it may be possible to fly as in the

summer, up to a height of 300m and final approach at 120 km/h, with classic lining up and setting down in a three-point landing. Level flight

is limited to 160 km/h. But I won’t be doing that

for the sake of the engine. It is well below zero,

and the temperature gages of both the oil and

the cylinder heads hang around between green

and yellow areas. There is no intention, nor

need, to push the engine unnecessarily more

than required, thus avoiding future repair work.

I was reminded, in no uncertain terms, that

any throttle adjustments need to made fluidly,

photo Marek Mincberger

Even though the tow configured Trenér aircraft have less work in the winter months, pilots seldom take them out for pleasure flights.

They are not equipped with a heating system,

and they get colder than a witch’s heart. But,

that’s not always the case. There are reasons

for pilots to cross half the country to come to

fly the Trainer. They stand around for hours in

the cold, waiting for the opportunity to sit behind the controls for a half an hour. This comes

about as a function of the snow on the ground,

and when the detailed weather forecasts accurately predict the unlikelihood of the thirty or

so centimeters of it melting anytime soon.

Under these conditions, it becomes worthwhile

switching the Trainers from wheeled landing

gear to skis. This held true for our airfield this

by Marek Mincbergr

From the first shot, it may seem as though the view from the rear cockpit is excellent, but the angle of the view is from above head level. The actual view is better represented in

the second shot. The pilot in the rear cockpit usually sets his seat height such that he can just see the top row of instruments on the front panel. Otherwise, his head bounces off

the canopy. And now imagine that you still have the instructor sitting in front of you!

8 eduard

INFO Eduard - March 2021