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Land for soft field question

E

Epsound

Well Known Member
Hello all,

Was looking at land yesterday in Texas and started to wonder just how much acreage would a person would need to set up a suitable soft field. Don't quite know how to figure this since I don't know much about how to measure land using acreage. Has anyone gone down this road and tried to determine the dimensions?

Thanks in advance.

E.
 
acreage

My airstrip is 2000 feet long and 75 feet wide.....real close to 3 acres. It is situated diagonally across a 40 acre field which is 1320 feet square. This setup should be adequate for most RVs if at least one end has an open approach/departure.
 
Acreage?

Length x Width / 43560.18 = acreage

In my case 2300 x 200 = 460000 / 43560.18 = 10.56 acres

Hope this helps!;)
 
Ok...

Yes. That does help quite a bit. Was your strip developed by each of you out of rugged areas? or, did you pick out relatively flat and straight/level areas of the property. I suspect maybe mixture of both.
 
acreage

I developed my own. I had several 40 acre fields that were part of my father's tobacco farm. I chose the one most useless for row cropping and laid out a 75 foot wide strip across it diagonally. I also owned a ten acre plot where my home is located that joined the 40 acre field. 2000 feet ran over on the ten acres slightly.

Go to airnav and search 49FD. There is an aerial photograph that will show you how it was done.
 
Sod strip

I started out by buying some clear-cut timberland (mostly flat), then laid it out to get the greatest length based on prevailing winds (east-west), cleared selected area to allow planting of grass. Works great! Just plan on using a mower of some sort in the growing season.:D
 
I see..

Rv8ter said:
I started out by buying some clear-cut timberland (mostly flat), then laid it out to get the greatest length based on prevailing winds (east-west), cleared selected area to allow planting of grass. Works great! Just plan on using a mower of some sort in the growing season.:D
Click to expand...

What equipment did you use to do the clearing?
 
This is what I was assuming...

DEWATSON said:
I developed my own. I had several 40 acre fields that were part of my father's tobacco farm. I chose the one most useless for row cropping and laid out a 75 foot wide strip across it diagonally. I also owned a ten acre plot where my home is located that joined the 40 acre field. 2000 feet ran over on the ten acres slightly.

Go to airnav and search 49FD. There is an aerial photograph that will show you how it was done.
Click to expand...

I have seen a few tracks that I could probably do this. 2000' seems to be a good length. Did you have to do any grading of the land?
 
So the next question is, how long of a runway does one really need? 2000ft would be great. But I operated banner planes (supercubs/pawnees/stearman/172/182) off 1500ft for several years and was more than comfortable with the amount of space we had available. In fact for the supercubs we had, with wing extensions 180hp and 76" climb props, I would have been ok with 750' if that was all I could get.

I know that RV's also do really well on short fields. But I don't have any 1st hand experience with them. So what say you owners? How much runway would YOU be comfortable with in your RV?
 
My strip, Short Stop (8TA5) is 1500' long. I've been operating my -6 out of it for many years with no problems.
Many of my friends are not comfortable with the length or width (20' wide).
I do have clear approaches.
 
Great question Joe,

Mel said:
My strip, Short Stop (8TA5) is 1500' long. I've been operating my -6 out of it for many years with no problems.
Many of my friends are not comfortable with the length or width (20' wide).
I do have clear approaches.
Click to expand...

So Mel,

Would you say you had to get accustomed to your runway size and length, originally, as compared to longer runways or, was this a comfortable length to begin with. Also are the guys your referring to that aren't comfortable, uncomfortable more with the width or the length?

I'm thinking long term like, fly-ins and stuff......

E.
 
I learned to fly from a 1900' strip back in '67. I've always practiced short field techniques regularly. Never had a problem. I even flew my 125 hp Globe Swift out of 2000' strips.

I think most people are concerned with the length, because when my 1500' strip was grass, it was 50' wide, and these particular people still would not come in.

Louise has flown into my strip. She can tell you that it's no big deal. It's just that different people have different comfort levels.
 
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I have a buddy in NW BC who has a dogleg 1500-foot "dirt" strip in the trees. Approach ends have the trees cut but are not grassy-field clear. I have no issues with getting the 9 in and out of there. I have a 360 engine but a cruise prop (87" pitch), so am not ideally set up for short fields and still feel comfortable getting in and out. Width of the strip varies, but the cleared area is about 100 feet wide and the useable area is probably 25-35 feet at narrowest. I would not have wanted to learn out of this strip, but once one is comfortable with the RV, it's really not an issue.

My two cents

greg
 
What about developing...

the land. Do most pick a track of land that is virtually ready to go? I am sure that makes the most sense but, I am also sure there is some needed development to produce an acceptable strip. Have any of you got any experience with this part of the process?

E.
 
Mine is 2500 x 80 or so. Field elevation is just over 7200. If you are near COS, I suppose property could be anywhere from 4500 to 8000 elevation depending on where you are. Back east near sea level I would operate gut-shot cherokees out of 1200 feet of sand with trees and be okay. Not so up here. An 80 degree day and the 10 is off mid-field (no flaps). A 182 takes more like 1800-2000 feet to get gone. Conversely, a 182 gets in here and stopped at about halfway. Because of higher approach speeds and ground speed, the 10 eats about 2/3 of the strip getting stopped. Trying it slower or steeper makes me run out of flare & clunk. The power shot at flare that guys talk about can dampen the sink rate but makes me eat up more runway. So if you're looking around southwest Colorado, I would couple available length closely with field elevation.
 
strip

If I were you, I would find a piece of land that requires very little clearing that is pretty flat. I would establish the layout of the strip and then hire a road scraper to come in and level it from end to end and then crown it in the middle to help get rid of water after a strong thunderstorm. You don't want any standing puddles. I would also choose an area that had a clear approach on at least one end. 2,000 feet would be the minimum length if you want others to fly in and be comfortable doing it. 2,000 feet long and 75 feet wide makes a nice grass strip.
 
I'm in COS. I work on Ft. Carson

aerhed said:
Mine is 2500 x 80 or so. Field elevation is just over 7200. If you are near COS, I suppose property could be anywhere from 4500 to 8000 elevation depending on where you are. Back east near sea level I would operate gut-shot cherokees out of 1200 feet of sand with trees and be okay. Not so up here. An 80 degree day and the 10 is off mid-field (no flaps). A 182 takes more like 1800-2000 feet to get gone. Conversely, a 182 gets in here and stopped at about halfway. Because of higher approach speeds and ground speed, the 10 eats about 2/3 of the strip getting stopped. Trying it slower or steeper makes me run out of flare & clunk. The power shot at flare that guys talk about can dampen the sink rate but makes me eat up more runway. So if you're looking around southwest Colorado, I would couple available length closely with field elevation.
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement with you on the length and elevation ratio Aerhed. We also looked at some property out in Elbert Co.at Kelly Airpark. We are at 6100 elevation here. Property here is priced so so. I haven't ruled out Co. for this idea. We'll have to see. Where are you located.
 
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Thanks Dewatson...

DEWATSON said:
If I were you, I would find a piece of land that requires very little clearing that is pretty flat. I would establish the layout of the strip and then hire a road scraper to come in and level it from end to end and then crown it in the middle to help get rid of water after a strong thunderstorm. You don't want any standing puddles. I would also choose an area that had a clear approach on at least one end. 2,000 feet would be the minimum length if you want others to fly in and be comfortable doing it. 2,000 feet long and 75 feet wide makes a nice grass strip.
Click to expand...

Yes I do want others to be comfortable. I like the idea of crowning. The Texas Agg. directions suggest a mild grade/slope from one side to the next to ensure the best runoff. I suppose a crown would be better when the land is already relatively flat.

E.
 
strip

Good luck.........do it right the first time and then all you'll have to do is mow it every now and then.
 
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