Federal Aircraft Works

The company was founded in 1925 after F.J. Ditter talked to pilots and realized there was a need for skis.^[1] It built a single aircraft, the H-150, in 1928.^[2][3] In 1931, Ditter received a patent for his skis.^[4]

By 1940, it had received contracts from the military for skis to support the development of bases in places such as Alaska and Newfoundland.^[1] During World War II, it also produced portable aircraft service hoists.^[5] By 1946, the company's prominence in the industry led it to be considered an unofficial laboratory for skis for the Army Air Force.^[6]

While working at the company William C. Kaercher, Jr. developed wheel skis for the C-47 that were eventually used in Operation Highjump.^[7][8] The design was then converted for light aircraft, for which it was first sold in 1950.^[9]

The company began producing non-aviation products in 1953 with the introduction of its "sodcutter" device.^[10] Two years later it started building sawhorses.^[11] By 1957, the company had further diversified, with Federal Hardware Products being one of its four business units.^[12] It introduced a new "air glide" brand of skis in 1958.^[13] However, Ditter sold the company in 1964 due to poor health. The new owners renamed it SodMaster and sold the Federal Ski and Engineering division to FluiDyne Engineering Corporation.^[14][15][10] After some years under a third owner, it was sold again to William Kaercher and renamed Turfco in 1978.^[8][10]

Legacy

Following their purchase by FluiDyne, Federal-designed skis were manufactured by Genaire, an aircraft overhaul company, in St. Catharines, Ontario.^[15] By this point, the product line was claimed to make up 90 percent of the worldwide demand for airplane skis.^[16]

The rights to Federal skis were eventually acquired by Wipaire, who sold them to F. Atlee Dodge Aircraft Services in February 2023.^[17][a]