Definition
A type of aircraft landing gear ski that incorporates a wheel within or alongside the ski structure, allowing the aircraft to operate from both snow-covered and hard surfaces without changing equipment. The wheel can be positioned to protrude below the ski for runway operations or retracted so the ski bears the load for snow operations.
Plain English
A landing gear setup that combines a ski and a wheel together, so the aircraft can land on snow or on a regular runway without swapping gear between flights.
Context Anchor
Seen on ski-equipped airplanes that may need to move between snowy areas and hard-surface ramps or runways.
Derivation
Combination means two things joined to work together. Ski comes from an old northern European word for a split piece of wood used to slide over snow. In aviation, the term points to a ski and wheel arrangement built to handle more than one surface.
Why Pilots Care
Allows flexible landings on mixed or snow-covered surfaces without swapping gear.
Intuition Check
A combination ski is not just a loose ski attached to an airplane wheel. It is a purpose-built aircraft landing gear arrangement that allows both ski use and wheel use.
Example Sentence 1
The Cessna 185 was fitted with combination skis so the pilot could depart from the plowed runway and land on the frozen lake later that afternoon.
Example Sentence 2
Combination skis let the aircraft taxi on bare pavement after a snow-covered takeoff.