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Landing on grass....

S

steve91t

Well Known Member
Hey guys. I've been flying my dad's 7 and I want to take it into a 4000' long, 100' wide grass strip that I'm very familiar with...as in I know where the bumps are and aren't.

It's a very well taken care of glider airport. No soft spots or anything. I know a lot of you fly out of grass, I just wanted to know what to be careful of with plane with wheel pants.

I tow gliders often flying one of their 3 Pawnees and I'd like to fly the 7 to "work" one of these days.
 
Steve,

My opinion is this should not be an issue (having the pants on) unless you hit some really big holes.

Greg
 
Grass

My home base is grass. I have about 1 1/2" clearance on back of wheel pants. No issues.
 
Wheel Fairings + Grass = No Problem

I fly an RV-6 with very low wheel fairings out of a grass strip in WI and have visited many other grass strips with no problem.
 
We have a higher % of grass strips in the UK than the US. Most, but by no means all, RVs opt for the 380 tyres to increase the spat ground clearance, and also provide a bigger tyre area v soft surface (less "sinking in"). I suspect the hazards are as much surface transitions / steps as using the strip.

If significant bumps / steps / soft the other aspect worth upgrading is the Vans tailfork to a Bell or similar, again for clearance.

At worst, you will hone your fibreglass skills repairing the spats :eek:
 
I fly off a firm turf runway (not anywhere near as long as 4000') and have very low wheel pants. The grass is mowed to 2.5". No problems. The other RV's that have visited ('A' models included) have no issues.

Knowing the quality of the turf is key. If you know the field already, you should have much greater confidence.

Oh, yeah. What Keith says next - bugs, bugs, bugs.
 
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I fly a 6A with wheel pants out of grass with no problems (5.00 X 5). I do pick up lots of bug splatter on the wings, prop and pants. - Just clean it before it hardens.
 
pa38112 said:
I fly a 6A with wheel pants out of grass with no problems (5.00 X 5). I do pick up lots of bug splatter on the wings, prop and pants. - Just clean it before it hardens.
Click to expand...

I have only been flying my plane since June, but have landed on quite a few different grass strips with no problems. The under sides of my wheel pants aren't the prettiest anymore though.
 
Taxi slow

We base on grass and fly 100 hours per year or so. The farings and pants move around a lot as the gear flexes on smooth (but rougher-than-pavement) grass. We occasionally have seen cracks in the glass around screw holes, etc. This is with constant use, over time. Occasional landings shouldn't be any problem.
 
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