RV Drifting on Lake Ice!

[kyleb]

Being of the North I understand that lake ice can get pretty thick. What I don’t understand is how a pilot knows how thick the ice is before he lands on it. And thick ice can have thin spots. Says me, brave pilot.

I'd bet he wasn't the first person out on that ice. Just maybe, he had a little information beforehand.

 

[BrianNC]

Being of the North I understand that lake ice can get pretty thick. What I don’t understand is how a pilot knows how thick the ice is before he lands on it. And thick ice can have thin spots. Says me, brave pilot.

And if he knows how thick, how does he know how uniform that thickness is? He was playing around all over the ice, not confining himself to a landing area.

 

[PaulS]

Being of the North I understand that lake ice can get pretty thick. What I don’t understand is how a pilot knows how thick the ice is before he lands on it. And thick ice can have thin spots. Says me, brave pilot.

I have a place on Lake Winnipesaukee in NH, I go on the ice on a snowmobile. I know the ice is safe, IN THE AREA I GO ON, when I see people with large pick ups driving around out there. Some times, early in the season, I will drill holes, 5 inches thickness is my personal minimum for venturing out further on foot. Pickups on the ice are my minimum for the snow machine.

 

[Skip Miller]

Being of the North I understand that lake ice can get pretty thick. What I don’t understand is how a pilot knows how thick the ice is before he lands on it. And thick ice can have thin spots. Says me, brave pilot.

A year or so ago I read a blog about winter flying - lake hopping, really, - in the Canadian Maritimes. This pilot was landing on lakes with nobody around to provide a ground-based report on ice thickness, and his technique was to open the door and drop a bowling ball over the lake. It went into some detail as to what kind of bounce or breakthrough meant what in terms of ice thickness. Evidently second hand bowling balls are pretty cheap. Who knew?

I've spent far too long googling this, and evidently my google-fu has gone south for the winter. If anyone can find it, please post a link!

I have landed at the Alton Bay Iceport and it was fun! I did not use the bowling ball technique which could get exciting with all the aircraft and pilots on the ice. The last thing they would want is a bowling ball bouncing through the crowds!

-Skip