L

lr172

Well Known Member
I am thinking of going to Hanley field in Upper Michigan tomorrow. It is a 4000' turf runway. The airport manager tells me the field is very smooth, but their tractor is broken and the grass is 10-12" high. He also mentioned that the taxiways are not that smooth and have moguls. He suggested taxing slow.

I have very little experience with turf runways and thought I would ask if these conditions would concern more turf savvy flyers with an RV-6A.

Thanks for your assistance.

Larry
 
Grass at that height would be a big red flag for me. I have a RV-10.

What's your clearance between you prop and the ground? You don't want to use your RV-6 as a lawn mower.

You view of the ground and any obstacles will be obscured. Not a good thing for those of use with nose wheels.

I'm not sure what the grass will do to your wheel pants.

I'm also not sure what braking would be like with grass that long. I suspect that the brakes won't be very effective.

In my opinion, landing in the current condition would be risky. I wouldn't take my RV-10 there until the grass is mowed.
 
No way

If that grass is healthy and green, you won't be able to take off again. Even short grass has a lot of drag.

-Andy
 
BIG RED flag,you will never leave there with wheel pants. IF you are able to successfully land there. 4 inch grass would be absolute limit for me and would have to have a serious need to land, to consider 4 inch grass.
 
10" grass would be fine... if your engine quit and there was nothing better available. You could get it home on a trailer.

I've landed on 5-6" grass in a 172 with no wheel pants. I would not willingly do that again. The CFI's words were, "Don't stop, whatever you do."
 
I fly an RV9A and I've been to at least three airfields with grass a foot+ tall. You can damage the wheel fairings if you are not careful. A lot of freshly cut grass will be on your left wing. The prop will be all green and sticky as well as all your gear fairings. As Bob pointed out the hidden obstructions would be a great concern. 4K runway length will get you off the ground rather quickly but I wouldn't do it without some soft turf experience.
 
Thanks for the input. My initial thought was avoid, but just don't know enough. We will be using an alternate field. Glad I called in advance.

Larry
 
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