Gotta love flying in these -2C temps

Piperboy,

I know you have the tundra tires, and that is probably keeping you safe, but use caution landing on freshly frozen soft ground. It is possible to break through the "crust" and drop a wheel in to the muck. Getting stuck is possible, and you might be by yourself with that problem - I have been!

Also, when you start playing around in the loose snow ('cause I know you're going to!), take some 100ml bottles of gasoline deice alcohol with you. not for the gas, but for the brakes. Taxiing around in the loose snow, and using the brakes (which obviously warms up the discs) invites frozen brakes in flight. Landing a taildragger that way can instantly become very exciting. Always touch down after a snow takeoff using the caution as you would for a flat tire. If, on the ground, you taxi around in the loose snow, and it blows onto the brake disc and freezes there when you stop, pour the alcohol on the brake to thaw it, or you're not going anywhere - ask me how I know! The alcohol on the brakes will slightly reduce the chance of a frozen brake resulting from a snowy takeoff, but the hazard will still be there.

If in flight, and in doubt, plan to plant one wheel firmly on a bare paved runway for a second, to snap the frozen brake free. Do it so as to pick it right up again instantly, so if it does not free up, you're flying again anyway. It is wise to practice one wheel touch and goes so this skill is familiar for you, I've had to do it a number of times in the past. Know that with tundra tires on small rims, sliding the tire on the rim is possible, and you may shear a valve stem. For tundra tires, I don't know just the right amount of "snap" for the brake, though I've done it many times in the 150 with regular tires.

Just a few thoughts from someone who has got it a bit wrong before! (never been fined though!).

In Italy aircraft can only land at airports and certified aviosuperfici. If you land elsewhere you can have your licence suspended. Microlights can in any field with the owner's permission.

When you are faced with (or have daringly decided to) land on unbroken snow, you're going to have to determine two things: How deep is it, and is the firmness consistent. My choice for determining how deep, is to bang one mainwheel only into it. Using one mainwheel only means only half the drag load applied to the flying aircraft if it's really deep, and half the deceleration force will be as a yaw force, rather than all of twice as much being a pitch force. You drop the mainwheel into the snow, already planning to pull it right back out, and remain in flight - a deliberate bounce of that wheel only. As it enters the snow, if you feel a yaw, I would not land there. This was your first pass, if you can, bounce a few spots along your intended runway for the same purpose.

If, from this, you have chosen to continue your landing there, make another pass. This time, put the same wheel (usually left, so you can glance at it) down again, and run it on the surface the length of the runway, and in particular to the point on the runway which is the last point you could safely break ground on takeoff (you don't want any unchecked surprises there later!). This should mean that you're running that wheel at least 1500 feet, and leaving a track in the snow.

While you did this, did you feel any change in the yaw? Pulling because you were entering varying depths of snow, or more firm drifted snow which was not obvious? If so, beware! Don't worry about crosscontrolling your plane all the way down the runway, it'll do it. If you can't or it won't, don't land there. The tires will slide okay on the snow (as wet grass)

If all was well, you can come around again and land. Usually, when landing at such places, it is wise to remind oneself that you are about to land and stop at a place which is probably not an airport, and does not have services to help you if something does not go well. If you can't get airborne again for whatever reason, will you be able to secure the aircraft safely on the ground, and get to somewhere safe yourself? Yes? Okay.

Plan to touch down just before, or in the very beginning of your track. If you are certain that you can turn around and back taxi, that's great, but don't depend upon being able to. You might have to takeoff in the remainder of the track you made - that's why it is there. I use the same technique for testing for beach landings too....