TrickAir History

TrickAir Skis started in 2003 as the brainchild of Rick Discher, an enthusiastic pilot and owner of a fiberglass manufacturing business in the resort town of Weyauwega, Wisconsin. Rick dreamed of designing a better ski for his Maule M-4, and by 2005 was selling the first TrickAir product.

Rick learned how to ski fly in a friend’s Cessna 140 equipped with straight skis. “After attending several ski fly-ins and noticing different styles, I started looking for a pair for my Maule M-4,” said Rick. “Sandy, my wife, agreed that a wheel-penetration ski would be the type to get. She wasn’t fond of pushing the airplane in and out of the hanger on skis, not to mention the occasional snow bank when flying with just wheels in the winter.”

Rick and his wife wanted a ski that would be easily attached or removed from the plane and would perform well in the snow and on pavement. Their search for the perfect ski came up fruitless.

“Sandy suggested that I build my own,” said Rick, noting that he already had a fiberglass manufacturing facility. He and a friend, another pilot in the area with many years of experience, drew the first design on a cocktail napkin in a bar, and then Rick started building and testing prototypes for his Maule.  A self-taught designer, Rick evolved the ski over the next decade, adding four TrickAir ski models,  a tail ski, and several accessories requested by customers.

Sadly, Rick passed away in early 2015, and Sandy began the search for a passionate aviator to take over the TrickAir business. Steve and Kathy acquired the company in 2015 and moved management and manufacturing to Minnesota, where they live.

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