Grass strip help

[farmerbrake]

So my family has a dairy farm, and I have my pilots license. My question is what all requirements are there to put in a grass strip for our own private use?
Who would I need to get permission from?
What length/width suggestions do you recommend? Probably just a 172 or 182 for the plane, unless you have suggestions for a better grass strip plane for around 40,000
There is a class D towered airport about 10 to 13 miles away.
Any other advice/knowledge you care to share?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Henning]

Probably no permission at all is required if you don't live in a municipality. Check with your state aviation department.how long can you go? 2000' is nice for either of those planes unless you're at really high altitude.

 

[Jim Logajan]

The answer is location specific, so it would save much time to indicate the state and county where the strip would be located.

EDIT: I see by a previous post elsewhere you are in Pennsylvania. This appears to be the PA state code related to airports:

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/067/chapter471/chap471toc.html

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

As far as I know, as far as the FAA is concerned, you can land on any piece of land you have permission to land on as long as it is safe to do so. You own the land, so you have permission from yourself. You will need to make sure your city/town doesn't have some BS ordinance on this that would prohibit it. Though I have a feeling they won't. Most towns with dairy farms are not stuck up yuppie enough to care.

 

[DFH65]

It saddens me that one of the first things that comes to mind for Americans when faced with an question is, "Who do I need to ask permission from?."

 

[Henning]

Huh, along with $50 here's the PA requirements:
CRITERIA F
Private Airport—Individual

(a) The minimum Runway length is 1,200 feet.

(1) The minimum required runway length will be increased where required to accommodate the aircraft to be operated from the airport and will be based upon the performance data obtained from the aircraft flight manuals.

(2) Runway length will be that length needed for take-off ground run or landing ground run, whichever is greater, factored for density altitude (temperature - 85°F day; runway elevation above MSL); plus a factor for grass. The grass factor may be that required by the manufacturer. If the manufacturer requires no grass factor, a factor of 10% for conventional gear or 15% for tricycle gear aircraft will be used. An additional safety factor of 20% shall also be applied.

(3) If the aircraft performance data is not available from the aircraft flight manual, due to its vintage or modifications, a statement by the applicant/aircraft owner as to the performance and runway needed may be accepted by the Bureau.

(4) Performance data may be considered, using less than maximum certificated takeoff weight down loaded condition, if requested by the applicant, to meet runway length requirements.

(5) Displacement of runway thresholds may be used to reduce or eliminate approach slope obstructions as long as sufficient effective runway minimum length remains.

(b) The minimum primary surface shall be 100 feet or 50 feet either side of the runway centerline. The landing surface shall be centered within the primary surface. The minimum width of a paved landing surface shall be 50 feet. The minimum width of a turf landing surface shall be 100 feet. The runway primary surface shall extend 200 feet beyond the end of a paved runway and to the end of a turf runway.

(c) A runway end will have an obstruction free approach surface with a slope of 20 feet horizontal to 1 foot vertical. The following are approach surface dimensions for a runway:

(1) The centerline of this surface shall extend outward and upward 1,500 feet along the extended runway centerline.

(2) The surface shall extend laterally 50 feet each side of the centerline at the runway approach threshold and increase uniformly in width to 150 feet on each side of the centerline at a point 1,500 feet from the end of the primary surface.

(3) The approach surface shall begin at the runway end for an unpaved runway and at a point 200 feet beyond the end of a paved runway.

(d) The runway landing thresholds shall be a minimum of 200 feet from airport property line along the runway extended centerline.

(e) A runway shall be marked.

(1) Turf runways. Runway ends shall be marked. Edge markers shall be placed at intervals not exceeding 200 feet along each side of the runway for its entire length.

(2) Paved runways. Runway numbers shall be marked at each end.

(3) Marked threshold displacement. Runway threshold displacements shall be marked.

(f) For planning purposes, principal runway alignment for new airports should be in the direction of the prevailing wind. Runway alignment, other than into the prevailing wind, may restrict use of the airport during conditions where crosswind velocities exceed the crosswind component of the aircraft.

(g) A wind indicator shall be installed at a location that adequately indicates surface wind direction and velocity.

(h) The runway longitudinal and transverse gradient should not exceed 4%.

(j) Operations are intended for day, visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

(k) Fire extinguishing equipment and first aid kits are recommended.

(l) Standard traffic patterns shall be established. Where a non-standard pattern is necessary, the information shall be made available to those authorized by the owner to use the airport.

(m) A favorable airspace determination from the FAA shall be required prior to license.

(n) Issuance of a license does not preempt other state, federal or local zoning or permitting requirements.

 

[Matthew]

Huh, along with $50 here's the PA requirements:
CRITERIA F
Private Airport—Individual

...

Wow, that's quite a set of requirements.

 

[hyphen81]

what about the turf itself on a grass strip? What do you need to do prep-wise to make it safe to land on? Would it be difficult to do? My in-laws have property in east Tennessee with a beautiful long flat piece of grass that I've thought would be awesome to fly into.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72756

 

[Henning]

Wow, that's quite a set of requirements.

Not particularly, especially not if you read them, most of it is just basic safety that a prudent person would do. Note that waivers are available for everything, these are the baselines. I don't see any onerous requirements at all. Looks like they're just trying to collect some money and make sure you meet basic safety standards.

 

[jesse]

Not particularly, especially not if you read them, most of it is just basic safety that a prudent person would do. Note that waivers are available for everything, these are the baselines. I don't see any onerous requirements at all. Looks like they're just trying to collect some money and make sure you meet basic safety standards.

100ft width is pretty ridiculous. Grass strips all throughtout the Midwest are very often much narrower.

 

[1600vw]

A little bigger then most. 100' wide x 4000' long. Notice how it slants on the edges into a nice drainage ditch. Something to think about is standing water and mud. This strip never gets muddy even after a 4 inch rain. It is tiled and drained. Done correctly you can use a strip like this year around 365 days.

 

[hyphen81]

It saddens me that one of the first things that comes to mind for Americans when faced with an question is, "Who do I need to ask permission from?."

 

[Matthew]

Not particularly, especially not if you read them, most of it is just basic safety that a prudent person would do. Note that waivers are available for everything, these are the baselines. I don't see any onerous requirements at all. Looks like they're just trying to collect some money and make sure you meet basic safety standards.

I understand that they all make sense from a safety perspective and a prudent person would probably do them anyway, but as a requirement for landing on your own property? I dunno - I see a lot of grass strips in farm fields where I am, many more than are shown on a sectional. About the only ones that appear to meet these requirements (markings, for example) are the ones at airparks or at strips where the owner knows someone besides him might use it.

 

[Henning]

what about the turf itself on a grass strip? What do you need to do prep-wise to make it safe to land on? Would it be difficult to do? My in-laws have property in east Tennessee with a beautiful long flat piece of grass that I've thought would be awesome to fly into.

Depends on the plane you want to land. Plenty of planes don't require anything by firm reasonably smooth ground, some don't require that. A lot has to do with what the tire size you run is. There are some big tire kits available for the 182 if you don't mind no wheel pants.

The main thing to a runway is drainage, especially a turf one. If you don't have good natural drainage, then you can do some dirt work and haul in dirt, gravel, sand and sod or soil & seed to build up a nicely dragged and crowned surface. Once the grass grows in, come out with a few spreader loads of sand to spread in the grass. At this point you need a bit of equipment that you can buy, rent or borrow or maybe have the Hwy Dept. Simplest thing to do is take your lightest tractor preferably with turf tires, and hook up a nice heavy roller, biggest diameter you can find. You can also get a highway roller if your brother in law happens to run one for the county. Fertilize it and water it, don't cut it until after it goes to seed. Try to let the grass go to seed, or alternatively add seed to the fertilizer and just keep cutting, use the seasonal grass when you fertilize to get a nice mix of grass that'll take you through the year. After you have a nice thick batch of turf down if you want to do a real nice smoothing, spread some more sand and drive a sweeper machine up and down it all day then cut it. If you have a nearby golf course, make buddies with the greens keeper and have them show you how to finish a fairway.

 

[1600vw]

It saddens me that one of the first things that comes to mind for Americans when faced with an question is, "Who do I need to ask permission from?."

Yes but you do. When building this strip it was going to be a north south strip. With homes about 1 mile off the end of the strip. If any home owner complained about this strip going in it would be scrubbed. Because of this the strip was put in east west with no homes at the end of either end.

Tony

 

[Henning]

It saddens me that one of the first things that comes to mind for Americans when faced with an question is, "Who do I need to ask permission from?."

Welcome to a world where you are not alone in it, every day you get less and less alone. If you don't want to ask, just make sure there's nobody you're going to bother and do it, you'll not get in trouble.

 

[txflyer]

The first question you should answer OP is do you have the equipment to maintain a strip?

You'll need a disc and a cultipacker (heavy ass roller), a tractor of coarse, and a mower.

My farm strip is 1500' long @ 300' elevation with obstacles on both ends. It's a little tight for me, but I'm not a pro bush pilot. A pro would probably think it's enough for a 747. I'd recommend at least a 2000' strip for heavy operations in a 182 or similar. Maybe more depending on your altitude and obstacles. Build it as long as you can. You may want a Bo or a twin someday ...

 

[write-stuff]

Yep, absolutely on the maintenance. A lot of continual effort is required to keep a grass strip in shape. I live on a 2300' grass runway and it's a constant job of mowing, filling in low spots, drainage, and chemicals. Plus, we roll it every couple of years. A lot of work.

 

[Henning]

I understand that they all make sense from a safety perspective and a prudent person would probably do them anyway, but as a requirement for landing on your own property? I dunno - I see a lot of grass strips in farm fields where I am, many more than are shown on a sectional. About the only ones that appear to meet these requirements (markings, for example) are the ones at airparks or at strips where the owner knows someone besides him might use it.

Read the whole thing, that is just an Annex. It's pretty clear in the reading that non of this is hard and fast and allowances are made. I also bet there are plenty of small strips in PA where no one asked permission or got authorization. If your neighbors don't complain out in the country, your chance of getting caught becomes infinitesimally small.

 

[flyingron]

As far as I know, as far as the FAA is concerned, you can land on any piece of land you have permission to land on as long as it is safe to do so. You own the land, so you have permission from yourself. You will need to make sure your city/town doesn't have some BS ordinance on this that would prohibit it. Though I have a feeling they won't. Most towns with dairy farms are not stuck up yuppie enough to care.

As far as the FAA is concerned, you must send them the notice to construct 90 days before you use the airport. They will make a determination as to whether they think it's a good idea or not, but the worst they can do is mark you OBJECTIONABLE and refuse to list you. This form is also how you get on the charts and in the airport directory.

As pointed out, you're bigger concerns are with the the local land use guys.

 

[David7700]

So my family has a dairy farm, and I have my pilots license. My question is what all requirements are there to put in a grass strip for our own private use?
Who would I need to get permission from?
What length/width suggestions do you recommend? Probably just a 172 or 182 for the plane, unless you have suggestions for a better grass strip plane for around 40,000
There is a class D towered airport about 10 to 13 miles away.
Any other advice/knowledge you care to share?
Thanks in advance!

I have a client whose father owns a farm where there was once a landing strip. The strip was still there, just not maintained. It had been used by the prior owner.

The father was approached by some pilots who wanted to keep planes there and fly out of the strip. We looked into it.

The FAA had no concerns. There was a form. They came out and did some measurements, etc.

Local zoning permitted it by right (zoned agricultural). We confirmed that with the county.

Finally, we checked with the Virginia Department of Aviation, and they said that there were no issues on their end other than an application (registration only, see below). We subsequently determined that because this strip still existed and had just not been used in a number of years, that no action was necessary.

This is the letter from the Virginia Department of Aviation (this was not within 5 miles of a Public Use Airport):

As a follow-up to your request, the Department of Aviation provides the following information regarding private use airports/heliports.

The FAA and the Virginia Department of Aviation require that private use airports/heliports be licensed or registered based on certain criteria. Licensing is required for any private use airport/heliport that lies within 5 miles of a “Public Use Airport”. All other private airports/heliports only need to be registered. There is no direct fee for licensing/registering a private use airport/heliport. Both the FAA and Virginia DOAV are primarily concerned with “Public Safety” and “Airspace Utilization”.

By completing the licensing/registration process detailed below, your property will be surveyed by aviation officials to determine compliance with appropriate aviation Advisory Circulars. Be advised that this determination is made in the interest of “Public Safety” and “Airspace Utilization” only. The FAA and the Virginia DOAV have no jurisdiction authority over local land use or obstacle obstruction matters. Those matters fall under the jurisdiction of your local zoning authority whom you are advised to inform of your intentions and you are expected to comply with their ordinances as they relate to your proposal.

The steps required to license/register a private airport/heliport are as follows:

1) Notify the FAA by completing FAA Form 7480-1 “Notice of Landing Area Proposal” (a copy of which is enclosed)

2) Provide the FAA with a plot of the proposed location for your private airport/heliport on a Topographic Geological Survey Quadrangle Map. You may obtain an index and prices for these maps by contacting the Reston-ESIC, U.S. Geological Survey , 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192 or via telephone at 703-648-5953. You may also order the charts online at their website, http://store.usgs.gov. You may be able to obtain the charts locally from your regional zoning authority.

3) Complete and return the Virginia DOAV “Application to License or Register a Private Use Airport/Heliport” (a copy of which is enclosed) along with sample airport/heliport sketches and plot.

Send:

• Three copies of the FAA Form 7480-1
• One copy of the topographical map
• One copy of your airport/heliport layout sketch

to: Airports Division, AEA-600
Federal Aviation Administration
1 Aviation Plaza
Jamaica, New York 11434-4809


Send:

• The “Application to License/Register a Private Use Airport/Heliport” along with
• One copy of FAA Form 7480-1
• One photocopy of the topographical map
• One copy of the airport/heliport layout sketch

to: Attn: Virginia Private Airport/Heliport Registration
Virginia Department of Aviation
5702 Gulfstream Road
Richmond, Virginia 23250-2422

More information on this subject can be obtained on our website www.doav.virginia.gov. (see tab “Licensing”).

If you have any questions or require further assistance, please contact one of our private airport/heliport specialists at 804-236-3637 or 3639.

The other issue was insurance. They checked with the Virginia Airstrip Owners Association and got that straight. They have Group Liability Insurance.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

What do you need to do prep-wise to make it safe to land on?

Mow it. Really.

 

[1600vw]

Its not a lot of work. Mow it once a week maybe every other week depends on rain. NEVER have we used a DISC on our runway EVER. We roll it sometimes behind the mower.

If build correctly its not a lot of work. No drainage problems or anything. We received almost 5 inches of rain last night and you could fly off our strip this morning.

You mow it and that is it. Maybe some weed killer if weeds bother you.

Those pics on post #18 are horror pics. I have never seen grass that tall nor a disc on our runway. NEVER

Tony

P.S. The pics of that 4000' runway I posted cost not one penny to have built. But that is another story.

 

[1600vw]

I have a friend about 8 miles from me. He has a 150'x3500 sod strip that is lighted. He never puts a disc on his strip either. Just mows it every week or so. He does have lights so a little more work.

Tony

 

[CTLSi]

So my family has a dairy farm, and I have my pilots license. My question is what all requirements are there to put in a grass strip for our own private use?
Who would I need to get permission from?
What length/width suggestions do you recommend? Probably just a 172 or 182 for the plane, unless you have suggestions for a better grass strip plane for around 40,000
There is a class D towered airport about 10 to 13 miles away.
Any other advice/knowledge you care to share?
Thanks in advance!

You need no permission to make a flat strip of land suitable for landing your craft on.

 

[txflyer]

Its not a lot of work. Mow it once a week maybe every other week depends on rain. NEVER have we used a DISC on our runway EVER. We roll it sometimes behind the mower.

If build correctly its not a lot of work. No drainage problems or anything. We received almost 5 inches of rain last night and you could fly off our strip this morning.

You mow it and that is it. Maybe some weed killer if weeds bother you.

Those pics on post #18 are horror pics. I have never seen grass that tall nor a disc on our runway. NEVER

Tony

P.S. The pics of that 4000' runway I posted cost not one penny to have built. But that is another story.

Sure, a nice bermudagrass strip that's fenced off and has no use other than a landing strip will keep forever. Does your strip double as a cow/horse pasture and have wild hogs running around? I seriously doubt it if you've never had to disc and cultipack.

The mower picture was after about six inches of rain, and I had not mowed in a month.

I flew up one day and there was no way I was going to land. The hogs had had a field day, and the cows had **** all over the place. So it depends on what your fighting to maintain a strip. And we have bahia grass. Try dealing with that clumpy bunch grass without a disc and roller. We disc just lightly enough to level, and after the roller passes over, you can't even tell. With Bahia grass, you have to catch it after a rain and soil conditions just right, then I'll make a pass with just the roller and smash the clump grass down flat.

 

[1600vw]

Sure, a nice bermudagrass strip that's fenced off and has no use other than a landing strip will keep forever. Does your strip double as a cow/horse pasture and have wild hogs running around? I seriously doubt it if you've never had to disc and cultipack.

The mower picture was after about six inches of rain, and I had not mowed in a month.

I flew up one day and there was no way I was going to land. The hogs had had a field day, and the cows had **** all over the place. So it depends on what your fighting to maintain a strip. And we have bahia grass. Try dealing with that clumpy bunch grass without a disc and roller. We disc just lightly enough to level, and after the roller passes over, you can't even tell. With Bahia grass, you have to catch it after a rain and soil conditions just right, then I'll make a pass with just the roller and smash the clump grass down flat.

No and neither does anyone else I know. This is not the norm.

Someone never doing anything like this might believe they need to disc thier runway and that the grass will be knee deep in a few days. Its just not like that.

Most summers are so dry the grass turns brown and stops growing. This year has been a green year.

Tony

 

[timwinters]

I managed our local municipal grass strip for about three years.

It's 2600' x 100' with a long taxiway (about 1200' x 90') and "ramp area" around the hangars and looks like this:

It's graded to drain...has a nice crown so the only maintenance required was:

1. Mow when needed. My personal ZTR mows a 5' swath at 14 mph. I could mow the entire grounds in less than 4 hours and "inside the cones" in a little over two. As someone already said, it needed to be mowed every week or two depending on the season and amount of rain. I would mow the entire grounds every second or third mowing.

2. I rolled it about 3 to 4 times a year with a 10' x 3' dia. roller filled with water. That took an hour on the outside.

The runway and grounds are covered with a mix of fescue and **** and that was just okay. Burmuda would be far better because it would both lessen the amount of mowing and heal itself better. We're about as far north as is practical to grow Burmuda though. If the OP is in PA then that may not be an option. Consult with a local gras specialist (on the kind you grow...not smoke) as to what would be best for you.

Bottom line, if built properly with proper drainage, grass strips are a piece of cake to maintain.

Here's a good document on constructing grass strips. It's written by the TX DOT so some of the info may not be applicable but much is:

http://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/docs/sample-texas-design-guide.pdf

 

[3393RP]

Those pics on post #18 are horror pics. I have never seen grass that tall nor a disc on our runway. NEVER

What works in Illinois may not work in Texas.

 

[somorris]

Most towns with dairy farms are not stuck up yuppie enough to care.

I agree. I think Farmerbrake is fortunate to live on a dairy farm instead of in a municipality where there are a lot of rules and regulations.

 

[timwinters]

What works in Illinois may not work in Texas.

Very true, but to be fair, most people don't let their strip double as a cow/horse pasture and have wild hogs running around like TxFlyer apparently does.

 

[3393RP]

Very true, but to be fair, most people don't let their strip double as a cow/horse pasture and have wild hogs running around like TxFlyer apparently does.

The bahiagrass TxFlyer described is pretty unruly. Other native grasses down here are buffalograss, curly mesquite, grama and needlegrasses. They tend to grow in clumps and don't fill in like bermuda does.

I have a few acres in grass around Farmersville, which is about ten miles from KTKI. It's not a smooth surface by any means, and livestock aside I can see that disking and rolling would be required if it were to be utilized as a runway.

 

[txflyer]

Yeah I'm not knocking anybody, but the OP said a dairy farm and I figure he's going to be like me where cows and what not are going to be using the same land. If he has no feral hogs or cows or ditches and gullies, he may can get away with no disc.

Once a grass turf strip is established, and if that is all it's used for, then you are just a grass farmer. You shouldn't need to disc or weed spray if the turf is grown in enough, it chokes out the weeds. I'd fertilize it and spray it until the weeds are gone forever if I were building one up. Then ...

Like H.A.S. said, a roller once in a while maybe, and a mower and you're good to go.

 

[farmerbrake]

Unfortunately none of our pastures are longer than 800 to 1000 feet sections... now if the barn weren't in the way it would be a different story.
anyways. The pic attached is where we keep our dry cows and heifers the yellow line runs parallel to a lane that we use to get from the road (500 feet to the right of the yellow line with power lines) to our two barns. The only other obstruction are power lines at the end of the field where the line ends on the Left, a spot I thought would be good for a hangar...
It would take some work to get things leveled off (darn... time I would have to spend in a tractor.... ) but I was thinking about 50 feet wide?
So it seems like most of you are using lawn mowers or brush hogs on your strips. How bout a John Deere 4995 mower with a 15ft head? Obviously I would need to be careful how soft the ground is.

 

[Mason]

One thing I don't believe anyone has said is to inform your neighbors.

I wouldn't ask their permission, (that would imply they had a veto), but I would certainly let them know what your plans are, why it will not affect them negatively, emphasize how you are addressing your safety concerns and offer them rides! Take some aerial photos of their own property gratis. Having the neighbors on your side in advance is a good thing.

 

[cowman]

I'm actually in the process of looking for some acreage to build a homesite on and I've thought about this.. it's not a primary consideration but definitely something I'd like to do if possible. The trick is with the size of property I'm looking for there aren't a lot of options for a runway... mostly looking at 40-80 acre plots which are usually square and there just never seems to be 2500' of relatively clear land and I'd prefer to have 3000 for plenty of margin.

 

[cowman]

I should also throw in for discussion's sake... although we no longer own the property my father once owned a cessna 180 and landed it in the cow pasture. I am fairly sure he didn't have any groomed strips, I think he just set it down right in the pasture. He used to talk about having to find someone on the radio to call my grandfather to run the cows off the field so he could land.

 

[farmerbrake]

I had been told to inform the neighbors before when I asked a few other people. The good news is the closest house is 800 feet away, and I'm good friends with the family that owns the farm off the left side of the screen that you can't see.
The purpose of this thread was to just get an idea of what would be need/required. I don't have a plane yet but was thinking of renting a hangar at the airport for a year while we establish (if dad thinks we could really make it work, he's interested) a runway

 

[timwinters]

It would take some work to get things leveled off (darn... time I would have to spend in a tractor.... ) but I was thinking about 50 feet wide?

50' wide doesn't leave much buffer if you have a wingspan approaching 40'. I think my 182 is a bit over 36'. 50' wide with a 10' buffer "outside the cones" would probably be okay.

So it seems like most of you are using lawn mowers or brush hogs on your strips. How bout a John Deere 4995 mower with a 15ft head? Obviously I would need to be careful how soft the ground is.

Ag tread is really hard on turf strips (at least around here) especially if the ground is damp when you're mowing. Remember, you'll be landing around 50 mph on tires that are not much over a foot in diameter. Ag treads make great runway rumble strips for small tires. You really need turf tires on anything you mow with (if your dirt is similar to ours in Missouri).