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Thread: Grass Strip Maintenance and Care?

  1. #1
    wallda's Avatar
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    Grass Strip Maintenance and Care?

    Do you own or fly out of a grass strip? I am wondering what steps are necessary/recommended to convert a plain old field into a safe landing strip for an RV style aircraft?

    I am based out of wisconsin and wonder what grass holds up the best? Should it have a crown for drainage? How long should the grass be cut?
    “It's the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without a plane.”

    -Charles Lindbergh

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    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wallda View Post
    Do you own or fly out of a grass strip?
    Yes.
    I am wondering what steps are necessary/recommended to convert a plain old field into a safe landing strip for an RV style aircraft?
    One step is to send the 7460-1 form to the FAA. Flight can't possibly happen unless the paperwork is in order.

    The first step is to make sure the soil is sufficiently firm and well drained to support landing aircraft. In our case, we lucked out because the base is pretty much crumbled rock (saprolite, aka rotten granite). This gives us a firm well-drained base. You then want to establish a pretty good turf. In your case, you'll want a cold climate, high traffic grass like one of the Tall Fescue cultivars like Gazelle II. You're going to cut it as recommended for a lawn, 2 1/2-3"
    We're in a warm climate, so we've got mostly Bermuda grass.

    Google is your friend. Found a real nice document on turf runway constructions written by someone in Texas but I found it on a Montana state page...
    https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/docs...sign-guide.pdf

  3. #3
    wallda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    Yes.

    One step is to send the 7460-1 form to the FAA. Flight can't possibly happen unless the paperwork is in order.

    The first step is to make sure the soil is sufficiently firm and well drained to support landing aircraft. In our case, we lucked out because the base is pretty much crumbled rock (saprolite, aka rotten granite). This gives us a firm well-drained base. You then want to establish a pretty good turf. In your case, you'll want a cold climate, high traffic grass like one of the Tall Fescue cultivars like Gazelle II. You're going to cut it as recommended for a lawn, 2 1/2-3"
    We're in a warm climate, so we've got mostly Bermuda grass.

    Google is your friend. Found a real nice document on turf runway constructions written by someone in Texas but I found it on a Montana state page...
    https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/docs...sign-guide.pdf
    Thank you very much FlyingRon!
    “It's the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without a plane.”

    -Charles Lindbergh

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by wallda View Post
    Do you own or fly out of a grass strip? I am wondering what steps are necessary/recommended to convert a plain old field into a safe landing strip for an RV style aircraft?

    I am based out of wisconsin and wonder what grass holds up the best? Should it have a crown for drainage? How long should the grass be cut?
    All you have to do is make sure local zoning allows for it. You don't have to tell the FAA anything unless you want to and if you want your airport named, charted, inspected, etc. Most states aviation depts have something similar. The hardest part is to keep the rodents that dig and tunnel out, keeping the frost heaving in check and keeping the grass mowed.

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    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by martymayes View Post
    All you have to do is make sure local zoning allows for it.
    This is usually the hardest part.
    You don't have to tell the FAA anything unless you want to and if you want your airport named, charted, inspected, etc'
    This is INCORRECT. You must file the 7480-1 (I got the form number wrong in my initial post, that one was for mods to an existing airport) 90 days prior to establishing the airport except in the cases of certain lightly used temporary facilities (this exception was added because some yahoo at the FAA decided to interpret the reg to require every temporary helicopter landing site to require notificadtion).

    You fill out the form (you can indeed mark whether you want it charted or not). What you don't need is the FAA approval. Your responsibility is ended when you send them the notice. They'll send back a determination as to whether they think the airport is a good idea or not but it's not binding on you. The worst thing they can do is mark it OBJECTIONABLE in the records.

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    I can't speak to the establishment part, as I bought an existing property with a 2700 X 80 turf runway. Mine is charted and designated Private, but we let anyone land here that chooses. MN has specific language for private airstrips in our statutes for recreational use land that protects us from liability for the most part. Not sure if WI has similar language or not but would be something to check on if you plan to let others use the strip.

    As for maintenance, we mow ours about every 7-10 days to 2 1/2" high. It takes about 2.5 hours to mow with a 6' mower (would like a bigger mower, but they cost more than an entry level plane!) It gets rolled every spring with a big roller to smooth out the bumps. We get enough moisture in SE MN to not need to worry about irrigation and it pretty much stays green all season without any help. We don't fertilize (who wants to mow even MORE!). We have had visiting pilots comment that they couldn't tell that the wheels were down, so it's possible to have a really smooth turf without a lot of effort. Our site is on pretty sandy soil, so it drains well. We don't have any crown designed in, but haven't needed it. If you have heavier, or clay soils you might want to think about drainage tile or contour to prevent wet spots from hanging around. We have to fill in badger and fox holes about 2-3 times a season, but otherwise it's just mowing and flying.

    If you ever want to drop in, let me know, we like visitors. The more interesting the plane the better (rides are encouraged but not required).

    Patrick Sween
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  7. #7

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    The first step is to fill out a govt form? .
    WOW


    One step is to send the 7460-1 form to the FAA. Flight can't possibly happen unless the paperwork is in order.

    The first step is to make sure the soil is sufficiently firm and well drained to support landing aircraft. In our case, we lucked out because the base is pretty much crumbled rock (saprolite, aka rotten granite). This gives us a firm well-drained base. You then want to establish a pretty good turf. In your case, you'll want a cold climate, high traffic grass like one of the Tall Fescue cultivars like Gazelle II. You're going to cut it as recommended for a lawn, 2 1/2-3"
    We're in a warm climate, so we've got mostly Bermuda grass.

    Google is your friend. Found a real nice document on turf runway constructions written by someone in Texas but I found it on a Montana state page...
    https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/docs...sign-guide.pdf[/QUOTE]

  8. #8
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by raytoews View Post
    The first step is to fill out a govt form? .
    Did you not note the little smiley face on that comment? Even without it, the second statement is hard to interpret as anything other than sarcasm.

    That doesn't change the fact that the construction notice is legally required. It's a trivial one page form to fill out and mail off.

  9. #9

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    I have to disagree. We have lots of grass strips up here that the FAA and the state has no knowledge of. It can be a zoning issue, but out in the rural areas there is no zoning. A guy just clears, grades out enough clear space, and lands his or her airplane. Not a big deal. Out in WY, I noticed that away from the towns, which is most of the state, some folks just land on the county road and taxi onto their front lawns. The roads are long and straight and you can see coming traffic miles away.

    Don't assume that my neighborhood is the same as yours.

    Best of luck,

    Wes
    N78PS

  10. #10

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    We have 4000'x100'. It takes about 3 hrs to mow with a 6' deck. The grass will depend on location. Our does have a crown. If you do not have clay dirt put down a few layers of gravel. After a few years the grass will grow over it and no one will know its gravel. We have a couple roads here on the 100+ acres that are like this. The runway is mostly clay. Stays green most years all summer.

    There are rules and regulations. They are published by the FAA. Depending on how your airfield is classified will depend on the regs you will follow. This has to do with gradient from the side of the runway so many feet out and things like this. Without looking up the actual numbers it has to do with so many feet out you must go up a foot. Meaning you can not have a tree right next to the side of the runway. There are even regs as to the ends of said runway. We just had an FAA inspector here a few months ago. He hit us on a couple area's that I speak of.

    We also had a man who flew from his road in front of his house for decades. It was one of those long country roads were you could see for miles. He kept his airplane in his barn. He is gone today, but I believe the airplane is still in the barn.

    I also know a man who flies ultralights out of his front yard. He mowed a 700'x40' strip in his front yard and flies from that. No one says a word.

    Tony

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