Definition
An airplane fitted with skis in place of, or in addition to, wheels, allowing takeoffs and landings on snow or ice.
Plain English
An airplane that has skis instead of wheels, so it can land on snow or ice instead of a runway.
Context Anchor
You may encounter this term in cold-weather flying, backcountry operations, aircraft equipment descriptions, or discussions of winter landing areas.
Derivation
From the Norwegian ski, meaning a long runner used to glide over snow. The term carries directly into aviation: the aircraft glides on its skis the same way a skier glides on snow.
Why Pilots Care
Enables safe operations in snowy regions without needing cleared runways.
Intuition Check
A ski plane is not a special category of aircraft by itself. It is an airplane equipped for snow or ice operations by using skis as part of its landing gear.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot switched the aircraft over to a ski plane configuration before the first heavy snowfall of the season.
Example Sentence 2
Before takeoff, the pilot checked the ski plane's landing gear for ice buildup.