Another Pavel tip : Fischer Race Plate issue

The Fischer World Cup race plates on SL and GS skis are one of the very best on the market!
If you look carefully at these units they really are a marvel with three types of plastics and many "hinged" units allowing ski flex!

Unlike the Atomic plates that have pre-determined screw holes indicated on plate surface,,he Fischer plates are one smooth surface! Thus you can place bindings anywhere on plate!

WRONG!!!

Let me tell you what I discovered!

I had a new 2009 SL racing model and after every day of skiing I always check binding screws and bindings!

I noticed that the front unit had a tiny space between ski binding and plate top! Normally it is supposed to be flush tight on plate!

I took bindings off! Then took plate off ski! What I discovered gave me a chill!!! I could feel a shiver as I watched what the technicians had done!

Under the plate,,Fischer has designed four very special; slotted screws which hold ski plate! These screws fit into a slot system thus allowing the ski to flex under very fast and extreme conditions! The heads of these screws are larger than normal in order to have great surface area! Once you place plate on top of these screws and move plate,,you never see screws!

By chance the bindings were installed so that one of the binding screws touched the edge of one of those slotted retaining plate screws!!!!! As a result as you tightened the binding screw it would push unto the "other" screw head inside the plate and cause binding to rise!!!!

On the plate there is no indication of a "danger zone"! On the manuals there is no indication of this potential problem!

If you buy any racing World Cup Fischer skis, make sure the bindings are screwed away from these hidden internal screw heads!

How is this done?

Just look at plate from side! You can see where internal slotted screws are placed. Then place white tape on side of ski plate!
This is now the danger zone where no screws should be drilled into! In fact binding screws should be drilled no closer that 5mm. from this zone!

Hope this will avoid some nasty problems!

Oh...as ISE would say, "if you are not qualified ski technician,,do not play around with plates"

but do check the work do by technician! He /she might not be qualified also!!!

You see those skis were installed by "qualified" technician or a robot!