How thick must ice be to land on it?

[Pilot DAR]

Today's ice flying...



By the bouy....



You can see the lake bottom throught the ice, though it is now 9 inches thick....

C 150 Ice takeoff video by PilotDAR - Photobucket

Video clip of takeoff from the ice...

[irish seaplane]

Chapter and verse are available from the book: Seaplane Operations by Dale de Remer chapter 16 section 8. Original formula from RG Weber, later studied by a russian called Moskatov.

I'd would be inclined to build in a fudge factor into it, there seems to be alot more to it than just the theory.

Irish

[India Four Two]

Back in the 70s, I jump-seated in a 748 (CF-CSE) that landed on an ice runway by a drilling rig in the Mackenzie Delta. This was a regular operation throughout the winter. I don't know if they used ice-road techniques to thicken the ice.

[ChrisVJ]

I have flown onto ice in both Beaver and Otter on skis with our local floatplane operator. He says rule of thumb is 6" plus 1" per thousand pounds.

[Pilot DAR]

rule of thumb is 6" plus 1" per thousand pounds.

Good rule, though I'm not sure the math still works for Twentygrand's Starlifter landing!

[Finn47]

We have a fly-in on the ice of Lake Nummijarvi, near Kauhajoki, Finland on March 11 & 12. For the 9th year now, in fact. Dozens of aircraft taking part. The largest is an Antonov 2. Great fun. Lots of pictures from last year here:

Nummijärvi Fly In 2010

[Pilot DAR]

Some video clips of fun on the ice...

(I'm not quite sure how to make Photobucket do this, but there are videos there somewhere...)

[Hank195]

In the US, a seasonal ice runway has been operated for many years (with FAA approval) at Alton Bay in New Hampshire. I understand they look for 12 to 14 inches of ice to open but that's more to support the plow trucks than the aircraft. When I was flying on skis with a 7ECA we use to look for cars/trucks driving on the ice or more than 6". Comments above are correct, local conditions and knowledge matter more that a single minimum number of inches.

AOPA Online: Alton Bay ice runway opens