Lessons learned from grass operations.
- Thread starter motoadve
- Start date
Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
I always loved getting airplanes muddy.!!
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 6,166
- Location
- Atlanta / Marietta
- Display Name
Display name:
Vintage Snazzy (so my adult children say)
I appreciate him taking the time to make and post it. For me unfortunately, I had a very hard time understanding him and it was of limited usefulness.
Stewartb
Final Approach
Easy on the brakes if the grass strip tilts downhill and it’s wet. 
I think this low time pilot landed fast, down hill, with a tail wind on wet grass because he didn't want the sun in his eyes. Destroyed a nice 180 hp C172N. Think the nose gear was ripped off from landing hard? So no steering?Easy on the brakes if the grass strip tilts downhill and it’s wet.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 6,166
- Location
- Atlanta / Marietta
- Display Name
Display name:
Vintage Snazzy (so my adult children say)
Option 1. Wet grass down hill - and why not throw in a tail windEasy on the brakes if the grass strip tilts downhill and it’s wet.
Option 2. Anything else
I’ll take Option 2
Been getting my 172 dirty all winter till the other day when I finally washed it.
I have been landing at some turf strips that are open this past winter. This was recently at 64I.
A couple weeks ago at 38I, high wet grass and up hill. I had full fuel tanks with my buddy aboard, fun!
Back in Feb I flew over 40I and saw a cub landing, so turned and announced a landing on the radio.(more than the cub did) I thought it would be mostly frozen but it was half melted. It was really sloppy and mud flying everywhere. I got off the runway asap kept it moving and got out of there without stopping. I felt bad about tearing up the runway. I carried that mud with me for 2+ months this past winter.
No water at our hangars, been cold, the FBO water pump is broke. So I rigged up my own water supply and a gentle pressure washer the first warm day we had. Worked to good get the mud off.
50 gal low profile RV water tank, electric pump feeds a old electric pressure washer. Enough water to wash the plane twice. This is the first time I used the pressure washer very discreetly so not to blast water where you don't want it.
I am ready for more mud now!
Last edited:
Knock on wood my wheel pants are holding up well so far. 2020 I landed at one turf airport 44 times and that airport alone. Last year I'd say I landed on grass about 70 times at 4-5 different airports.
This was a rough frozen like a rock runway and beat the whole plane up more than when the ground is not frozen 38I this past winter
This is 64I
Last edited:
Daleandee
Final Approach
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2020
- Messages
- 6,878
- Display Name
Display name:
Dale Andee
Part of the concern with my wheel pants is that my plane has small tires. They do okay on short turf that's not too rough. I'm wanting to upgrade to a larger tire but that's more money and I'd have to resize the wheel pants. Not an impossible job but it can get a bit messy.
My mains were new 6-2018, after approx 2000 landings most on asphalt my tires are ready for replacement early this summer. They are bald on the inside and I felt like at this point I was to flip the tires to use the rest of the tread up I might as well replace them.
So I am going to try these recaps, 11/16 deep tread makes them a little larger. Nothing major but I may take the wheel pants off for a while? When I washed the plane I inspected inside the wheel pants for mud and cracks / solid mounting. All good and very little mudd up there. They kept a ton of mud off the bottom of my wings?
So I am going to try these recaps, 11/16 deep tread makes them a little larger. Nothing major but I may take the wheel pants off for a while? When I washed the plane I inspected inside the wheel pants for mud and cracks / solid mounting. All good and very little mudd up there. They kept a ton of mud off the bottom of my wings?
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 4,903
- Display Name
Display name:
Ari
bfmetcalf
Pre-takeoff checklist
[QUOTE="Gary Ward, post: 3242016, member: 40585"...Back in Feb I flew over 40I and saw a cub landing, so turned and announced a landing on the radio.(more than the cub did)...[/QUOTE]
The cub at Red Stewart didn't give a radio call because the cub and champ out there don't have electrical systems, so no radio. It's a fun airport but you definitely need to have your head on a swivel. They also do a good job looking for you as well. The champ is a blast to fly!
The cub at Red Stewart didn't give a radio call because the cub and champ out there don't have electrical systems, so no radio. It's a fun airport but you definitely need to have your head on a swivel. They also do a good job looking for you as well. The champ is a blast to fly!
texasclouds
En-Route
Oh, is this a grass pic thread now??
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2005
- Messages
- 15,263
- Location
- Southeast Tennessee
- Display Name
Display name:
This page intentionally left blank
I've done Gastons with the Mooney, but won't do anything rougher.
- The lower gear doors can easily get bent in tall grass, and
- Rough runways, rubber biscuit gear, and wet wings don't play well together.
Flyhound
Pre-takeoff checklist
Lumping all grass landing areas in one bucket doesn't make any more sense than suggesting all "paved" strips are alike. I've landed on the 7,000' Bermuda grass runway at Triple Tree Aerodrome (SC00) and it was the most wonderful surface to land on imaginable. It was like a golf green. The grass was extremely short, incredibly smooth and flat as a pancake. It was a dream airport to fly into. If you're ever in South Carolina and that private strip is open, you owe it to yourself and your plane to visit. I've also landed on remote grass runways that get little or no maintenance and they can be rough as a cob. Similarly, I've landed on paved strips with new asphalt and that can be quite enjoyable. I've also landed on 20' wide concrete runways that were badly cracked with lots of bulges and sharp slab edges sticking up. Regardless of the material the runway is made of, it is important to know the condition it is in and to assess whether your skill level, the airplane's configuration and the field condition are appropriate for making a landing there. That said, there is nothing I enjoy more than landing on a well maintained grass runway on a sunny afternoon. Here's my video of flying into Triple Tree a few years ago:
Ed Haywood
En-Route
Johnson Lake, Nebraska. Literally a corn field. Soooo worth it.
jwyatt
Pre-Flight
That looks like a neat spot for a weekend runout with a tent and a good book. Was it easy to get permission to land & tie down for a day or two?
Ed Haywood
En-Route
Yep, I just landed and then texted the point of contact for Johnson Lake Airport (2NE0) listed in the A/FD. He said no problem, and that I could camp on the airfield or go to the State Rec Area about a half mile away along a bike trail. The state rec area is very nice, and the airfield has biting horseflies the size of vampire bats, so that was an easy call. There is also a "resort" with cabins of some sort shown on Google Maps, several nice places to eat, and a store for provisions, all within walking distance. It's a gem, albeit a gem literally in the middle of nowhere.
This my favorite turf strip to stop at and walk around a bit and most times let my dog run. Usually have the place to myself like 2 nights ago when I was there. It is 64I and is peaceful along the Ohio river in the bottoms. We have camped here with our RV and plane the last 2 summers. Not much to do but a nice place to get away. Not too good of cell coverage, perfect!! lol. Anyone can tent camp here any time without permission.
Rich and Ginger take good care of it, the grass has been cut this year already.
Cruiser has over 500 hrs in the back seat.
Rich and Ginger take good care of it, the grass has been cut this year already.
Cruiser has over 500 hrs in the back seat.
These pictures are from a couple years ago. Not all on the same day.
Here is one of my favorite pictures of mine. This was about 9am on what was going to be a 95°f day. I parked in the shade until about noon when the sun rises from the east. Same deal I have the whole place to myself. I walk up and down the runway set back up the white cones that get blown over by military helicopters who train here from a nearby base. There is Cruiser in the far left of the picture.
