Existing information on the aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft winter landing gear is very meagre and it was therefore desirable to test as many full size skis as possible in order to collect data concerning the various types of skis in actual use.

It was known that the air resistance of existing types is quite high and the experiments were intended to explore the possibilities of producing an improved type of ski having considerably lower air resistance.

The large pitching moments on present types of skis give rise to serious problems in trimming gear design, especially on high performance aircraft. The experiments aimed at producing a ski on which the pitching moments would be considerably reduced in order that the use of exterior trimming cables might be avoided.