Definition
A mechanism on a ski-equipped aircraft that pulls the tip of the ski upward during flight so the ski hangs in a slightly nose-high attitude. This keeps the front of the ski from digging into snow on landing.
Plain English
A device that tilts the front of a landing ski up while the aircraft is in the air, so the ski meets the snow at the right angle when landing.
Context Anchor
Encountered during ski-equipped aircraft preflight, maintenance checks, taxi, takeoff, and landing on snow-covered surfaces.
Derivation
From 'ski' (the snow-landing gear borrowed from Norwegian) and 'tuck' meaning to pull or fold up. Together it describes how the ski's nose is tucked upward in flight.
Why Pilots Care
Uncorrected ski tuck can result in propeller damage, structural stress, or a complete nose-over, especially in soft or crusted snow.
Grounding Statement
Picture the front of a snow ski dropping down into soft snow instead of riding up over it.
Intuition Check
Do not read “ski tuck” as something the pilot does with their body or as a normal streamlined position. Here it means the aircraft ski itself has moved into an unsafe nose-down position.
Example Sentence 1
Before takeoff from the frozen lake, the pilot checked that the ski tuck cables were properly rigged.
Example Sentence 2
After the first ski tuck warning on rollout, the instructor demonstrated a higher nose attitude to keep the ski tips from catching.