grubbat

grubbat

Well Known Member
If you have a private airstrip, what do you currently require from folks who want to land on your property? I am primarily interested in hearing from those of you who have existing private strips.

I got mine approved recently and I know that, being in the Atlanta area, I will get visitors and requests to land. Being that mine is a bit tricky, I want to see what others are doing in this regard.

Thanks
cj
 
My neighbor has a grass strip.

I know him well and land there all the time. His policy is that he will never give anyone specific permission to land, but he doesn't tell people not to, and doesn't call the authorities. He feels this gives him an out if there is an accident, in that the use of the runway occurred without his specific permission.
 
I will allow friends to land who are briefed and have the appropriate skills. Someone landing "out of the blue" is not allowed.
 
Tshort pretty much described my thought process. When I first built mine 10 years ago, I invited everyone. After several interesting events I have become a bit more weary.:)
 
Canada ?

An acquaintance of mine has a private strip here in Atlantic Canada. A plane went into the trees at the end one day totaling the aircraft with minor injuries to the occupants. Before long he found himself being sued by the insurance company who thought he needed to be sued for some reason. I'm not sure how it ended up, but I think his policy for visitors has changed after that.
 
49FD

See post #2.....exactly how I do it. You can never be too careful when liability looms.
 
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What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

You may have to be careful if you're saying no 'with a wink'. If you have enough land for a runway, you probably have enough assets for a lawsuit.

I have an "X" on both ends of the runway. If asked, I say 'life-threatening emergencies only".

On the other hand, an attorney might suggest: set up a corporation for the runway; deed the land to the corporation; get airport insurance for untoward events; set specific standards for runway maintenance and publish those; etc., etc. Then have an annual fly-in and bar-be-que.

Your best buddy would not sue you, but his surviving spouse might.
 
You clear and manicure a nice straight 60 foot wide 2000 foot long area to feed a couple of goats, then put them away as necessary. No markers, identifiers etc... nothing that spells out land here. :D
 
I have had a grass strip since 1974. My policy is that if you are on it, you are trespassing. In this state that is against the law. Years ago I made exceptions, not any more.
 
LifeofReiley said:
You clear and manicure a nice straight 60 foot wide 2000 foot long area to feed a couple of goats, then put them away as necessary. No markers, identifiers etc... nothing that spells out land here. :D
Click to expand...

Does your insurance policy differentiate between a "registered" airfield and an off-airfield event?

I know some have had this differentiation in the past, with much higher deductibles...

If your airfield is registered with a FAA designation, make sure that it has PPR noted in the IQ 5010 Master Record Notes section- this is what the pilots guides and web sites will key off.

http://www.gcr1.com/5010web/#

This might help if you want to get recorded

http://www.gcr1.com/5010web/5010-5.pdf
 
At your own risk...

grubbat said:
If you have a private airstrip, what do you currently require from folks who want to land on your property? I am primarily interested in hearing from those of you who have existing private strips.

I got mine approved recently and I know that, being in the Atlanta area, I will get visitors and requests to land. Being that mine is a bit tricky, I want to see what others are doing in this regard.

Thanks
cj
Click to expand...

CJ,
My private turf strip isn't insured and listed on the charts as Private, prior permission required. Anybody desiring a visit that I don't know I thoroughly interview, email photos of the final approach, talk techniques and discuss contingencies. I also make sure I'm home when they visit, use a handheld VHF for CTAF and act as an LSO for them. Needless to say, with 1500' usable (2200' total), the visitors willing to land here are qualified. Restricted is a whole different animal, probably a better way to go legality and usability wise.

My insurance covers me and my airplane but nobody else. I asked them about signing releases, waivers etc and my company said "when it's posted private and they land, they are on their own".

V/R
Smokey
 
I have a private strip on my ranch here in Wyoming,2WY3. Until last year I would grant people the right to land there and it was limited to a few locals like Harrison Ford... Then this year the Wyoming legislature passed a recreation liability law that is directed at private strips and prevents suits against the land owners. I am in the process of having the FAA list it as private ownership / public use. I have had it on the charts since the beginning in case a fellow pilot needed to use the nearest function on his GPS if they had a problem...
 
I have a private airstrip that is registered with the FAA. it is "Private, prior permission required." it has a big "R" on the sectional. It is "land at your own risk".

There is a nice 4000' paved public use airport and I'm happy to pick pilots up so there is not reason to attempt my field.

For those asking what it is like for me to land at my airstrip, I point them to 53VG.com. This explains the traffic pattern, CTAF frequency, my taxi route, and has a video detailing what I see when I use my field.
 
When I look at a sectional, the closest airport to my destination is almost always a Restricted airport. I would love access to those, so I try to keep access open to mine; but only to qualified pilots/planes. I have been contemplating forming a non-profit association of restricted airport owners for just this reason. We could share information like you are requesting and establish reciprocity agreements. ? I?m much more comfortable letting a fellow grass strip owner land VS a guy wanting his first grass landing in a rented 152. Wouldn?t it be great if 1,000?s of us belonged to a group that has a blanket insurance policy for members and said ?If you meet these qualifications you can land at my facility?

Every state has different liability laws. There are two separate issues. The first is how to protect yourself. The second is how to control use of your airstrip. - I get 4 or 5 unauthorized landings a year (that I know of). It does not matter that your field is Restricted when someone decides that they are exempt; and in New Jersey you are liable for your uninvited guests. For this reason, make sure you carry insurance and enforce whatever usage procedures and restrictions you have. You can't do much about someone landing there without permission unless you want to be a real jerk, but you can get the tail number and send a nicely worded letter explaining your procedures for granting permission and ask the pilot to follow those procedures in the future. This way you can demonstrate enforcement of the Restricted classification, which will be important if you have to defend a suit from an unauthorized pilot.

For granting permission I have a written procedure and a written application that clearly states permission is not granted until signed and returned by me. Anyone landing without it does not have permission. On the application I am asking for things like TO/LD performance of their plane, date of last BFR, medical, Annual inspection, hours in make & model, short field experience, etc. It identifies the dates and weather conditions that the permission is valid for, and includes a waiver statement. It also includes a detailed description of the hazards and procedures. ? There is no opportunity for a go-around at my field, and 60 foot trees are waiting for you at the end, so I want written proof that the person landing knew that before coming and signed a form saying they were properly qualified.

Send me your e-mail and I can send you copies of what I have.
 
Why is lawyer bashing OK?

[text deleted...this is not the place to solve society's problems; S. Buchanan]
 
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[more text deleted for the same reasons as stated above; S. Buchanan]
 
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n801bh said:
Then this year the Wyoming legislature passed a recreation liability law that is directed at private strips and prevents suits against the land owners.
Click to expand...

Minnesota currently has a bill in progress that would accomplish the same things. There is already a recreation liability law for protecting people that have land with public use space on them like bike paths and hiking trails. The legislation that is proposed would add private airstrips to the existing law.

Let's hope it actually passes.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the posts concerning private airstrips. I appreciate the diverse feedback.
Cj
 
Legal

Here in Oklahoma it took 2 years to get legislation passed that gives private airstrip owners protection. Hopefully other states may give it a look also
 
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