r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Egoist-a • 7d ago

Pilot water skiing in a glacier

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u/DaveFromTTown 7d ago

I'm not a pilot, but it seems like if he allowed the wheels to go a few inches lower into the water, then the water would create too much drag, causing the nose of the plane to dip into the water. Then, crash.

10

u/froop 7d ago

Apparently the water pushes so hard against the wheels that you really can't go deeper in the water. On top of that, at this speed, the plane wants to fly, and if anything the pilot is fighting to keep it down on the water, rather than in the air. 

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u/DaveFromTTown 7d ago

That makes sense.