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Thread: Home Grass Strip

  1. #1
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Home Grass Strip

    Hello everyone, thought I would seek out everyones advice regarding home strips.

    I am planning on putting one in the field behind my house no time real soon but I am thinking about it now so I'd like to hear some thoughts. The field is tiled and quite flat but I am still wondering how much prep I should put into it. So if anyone has done this before let me know what you wish you had done.

    Just for a bit of info, I want my friends in a variety of planes to fly into this strip so it is more than just my kitfox that will be flying in and out. My end goal would be a cool little strip that people go to as they know there is always a crockpot of chili and cool planes flying in. As I said before the field is tiled so moisture shouldn't be an issue except in heavy rain. It is very flat as everything in my area but I still would run a land leveller over it to work out and high spots. The field behind my place is North South and the prevailing winds are from the west. So I am planing on making the strip wider than longer. Maybe something like 100X3000 so in a pinch if the wind is bad you can land diagonally on the strip.

    Varieties: I have been wondering about varieties of grass to use. Part of me wants to use Clover. It resists drought, doesn't grow higher than 6 inches, and stays green. Con is it might not be tough enough.
    How often are you rolling your fields? Did you roll it right after you planted? Do you water it? If you had the luxury would you put a crown on it to get rid of standing water? Who has problems with rutting? Let me know your thoughts.

    Here is a picture of my shop. The red is where there are 20 foot power lines and the blue is where a new building is now. The second picture is of the field zoomed out.



  2. #2

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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    First requirement, get everything locked down with the local authorities. Here is a sad story about someone who did what you want to do, and ran into some trouble.

    Subject: Sugar Valley Airport vs Twelve Oaks Farm

    OK it’s a long story I’ll try to condense. They bought 12 Oaks Farm not far from Gaston. It was big enough to put in a 1500’ runway and they bought a new 180hp Cubcrafter. Here it is at the first PBA fly-in

    https://picasaweb.google.com/1071442...08658557889234

    They built a big hanger next to another building that they were going to build a woodworking, welding, pottery kiln etc., shop. They planned to build small houses around the property and have people come to learn farming skills. The county told them there was no water and they would have to pay for a pipeline. Then one day a zoning lady came with a deputy and said TOF was now commercial and they could not use the airfield unless they built an airport terminal and did a bunch of other stuff. The county put up a sign on the airfield that it could not be used. While losing their appeal they bought Sugar Valley Airport and moved there. As far as I know 12 OF is still for sale.

    Dwight B. Van Zanen
    Maple Valley, WA and
    West Columbia, SC
    PP/ASEL/IA
    Avid Mk 4 Aerobat

  3. #3
    Senior Member jtpitkin06's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Josh,

    Bermuda, Rye or Fescue are all tough and suitable for runways. Green iin summer, dormant in winter.

    Clover is not good. To soft, high water content. Slippery for braking and taxi. Clover turns airplanes and propellers bright green with a sappy juicy mess. Root structure is primarily surface runners with little sod holding capability.

    Crown on the runway is a good idea. I would think it mandatory. At the very least put drain ditches on the sides.

    Watering in Ontario should not be a problem. They have this new stuff called rain.

    My friends with grass strips do minor harrowing to fill in ruts, but they never till the runways as it makes them too soft. The harrows take care of the ruts and the soil gets packed firm.

    How you do yours depends on the soil. We are on sandy loam, here. Great for runways. But just a few miles away they have nothing but black Gumbo. A sticky clay goo that is great for accident reports. Visit a local sod farm and ask how they do it.

    Building a runway is not much different than my building a horse dressage arena. SMSA pre-emergent to kill the weeds, grading for drainage, rolling before planting, light harrowing. sprigging with Bermuda in the spring. Pray for rain.

    Diagonal landing on a wide strip won't help much. You just can't get enough angle to make a difference. Do the math. 100 feet wide in 3000 feet is 2 degrees. I'd go with 50 feet wide and a lot less maintenance or construction cost.

    JP

  4. #4
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Wow, that is a rough story. We are lucky in Canada. Aviation is federally regulated and the short story is we can put a private strip anywhere without prior permission. But in the name of good faith it is a god common courtesy to let your neighbours know.

    COPA, our Canadian version of COPA went to bat pretty hard for us GA types with the Freedom to Fly fund and that is why I will continue to always be a member. If you are interested in the short version of the Supreme Court ruling I will add it here:

    Supreme Court of Canada Reaffirms Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction over Aviation



    Two decisions, that will have a profound effect on Canadian aviation for the foreseeable future, were released on 15 October by the Supreme Court of Canada. The issue in both cases, as summarized by the Honourable Chief Justice of Canada, was “which level of government has the final say on where airfields and aerodromes may be located”. In both cases the Court held that final say rested exclusively with the Federal Government. In so doing, the Court held that the provincial laws and municipal by-laws that sought to restrict or prohibit the establishment of aerodromes were inapplicable.

    In the first of the two cases, the owners of an aerodrome were ordered by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec to remove their airstrip and restore their land to its original state. The Commission was of the view that the use of the land as an aerodrome was not one of the uses permitted pursuant to the Québec Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities, R.S.Q. c. P-41.1. The Commission’s order for removal was upheld by the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec as well as the Superior Court of Québec. That decision was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal following which the Attorney General of Québec appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

    In the second case, the municipality of Sacré-Coeur passed a zoning by-law prohibiting the waters of Gobeil Lake from continuing to be used as a water aerodrome. A local company had established a water aerodrome on part of the lake and had obtained a license from Transport Canada to operate therefrom. The municipality obtained an injunction from the Quebec Superior Court of Justice ordering the company to cease its activities claiming the operation was contrary to the zoning by-law. The Superior Court decision was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal. Again, the Attorney General of Quebec appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

    The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (“COPA”) www.copanational.org, on behalf of thousands of aerodrome owners across Canada, intervened in both cases at earlier stages. Indeed in the second case, the aerodrome owner in question passed away and COPA successfully sought to take his place in the court proceedings. COPA asserted that provincial and municipal governments did not have the jurisdiction to restrict or prevent property owners from establishing aerodromes. COPA asserted that jurisdiction rested exclusively with the Federal Government. The Supreme Court of Canada agreed.

    In delivering its decision the Supreme Court of Canada observed that the Federal Aeronautics Act and the Canadian Air Regulations thereunder were permissive and allowed Canadians to construct private aerodromes without applying for prior permission. The federal laws also allowed privately operated aerodromes to be maintained according to federal standards at which point they could become registered and available to anyone who needed to land thereupon. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to distinguish between smaller aerodromes and larger airports for national and international flights. The Court reasserted the rationale of its earlier decisions that the subject matter of aerial navigation was “non-severable” and that the location of airports and aerodromes cannot be separated from the subject of aerial navigation as a whole. The Court then concluded:

    “This view reflects the reality that Canada’s airports and aerodromes constitute a network of landing places that together facilitate air transportation and ensure safety.”

    The Supreme Court further held that the location of aerodromes lies within the core of the federal aeronautics power, that the provincial legislation in question sought to impair that power and as a result, was inapplicable to the aerodromes in question. In so doing, the Supreme Court of Canada expressly stated that earlier decisions by the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Quebec Court of Appeal (in 1987 and 1990 respectively), which allowed certain provincial legislation to have an impact upon the federal power over aerodromes, should be considered overruled.

    “This is a great day for Canadian Aviation”, said COPA President and CEO Kevin Psutka. “This issue has been debated for decades. The attempts by municipal and provincial governments to restrict aviation activities were becoming unrelenting as the years passed. It was necessary to take this debate back to the highest Court for resolution in order to put to rest the confusion created by previous lower court decisions. I am pleased with the results of this effort and thank the many supporters for their contributions to our Freedom to Fly Fund. Without such contributions, these legal challenges in support of the rights of Canadians to freely establish aerodromes would not have been possible.”

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Yet another reason to appreciate that my wife is still a Canadian. If things keep going as they are here, we may want to move north.
    Last edited by DBVZ; 12-22-2011 at 04:05 PM.
    Dwight B. Van Zanen
    Maple Valley, WA and
    West Columbia, SC
    PP/ASEL/IA
    Avid Mk 4 Aerobat

  6. #6
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Thanks for the info John. I'm surprised that you roll before seeding, i thought it might make the ground too hard for the seed. Good to know that Clover will make a mess of everything.

  7. #7
    Senior Member dholly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    I looked into the feasibility of building and maintaining a private use grass airstrip on personal property. I quickly concluded the FAA regulations were much less of an issue than the state and local environmental, noise and special use requirements. Unfortunately, the regulatory hurdles proved too high in my town. Depending on your county and the community around you, your hassle meter could be pegged rather quickly. The problem of course is ultimately whether or not the local powers that be will sign off on them. And then, naturally, there's always the concerned N.I.M.B.Y. (not in my backyard) neighbors.

    That proved to be my un-doing... and my buddy's. There was a individual who lived near a strip on my buddy's property who made a big stink. Mind you, the parcel sizes are 20+ acres in that area but he said his horses were "terrified for days" once by my friend's plane YEARS earlier. Heck, my buddy hardly ever used the strip (kept his 2 planes at a separate hanger, and only one could even get in and out of his strip), you only need one hand to count the times each year. And he ALWAYS flew a considerate pattern for the neighbors, ie. never over and quickly away from others property. He's just that kind of guy.

    Well, this one neighbor had never, ever approached or complained to him personally, or to any authority in the past. I felt real bad because I stirred up the old hornet's nest with my town board meeting and the jerk actually got the town board to impose NEW restrictions that not only precluded me, but effectively shut down my buddy and a couple others (who also had no prior complaints). Seems some folks are just plain un-neighborly or unreasonable jerks (sorry, but the whole thing does not sit well to this day).

    Good luck, maybe you'll fare better under your Canadian law. Unfortunately, it has become an uphill battle for us in the U.S. If you do get the go ahead, I certainly wouldn't plant anything that might be confused as a food plot. Deer and airstrips don't mix.
    Last edited by dholly; 12-22-2011 at 12:41 PM.
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  8. #8
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Josh,

    I can offer some advice on the vegetation. John is right about the clover - pretty much makes green snot on your plane if you have a lot of it. Sorry John - Bermuda grass is out - works well in the US south but not not adapted to Ontario. For Ontario by the lake I suspect most reasonably priced commercial grass seed mixes will include Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, probably some Annual Ryegrass, Creeping Red fescue and/or Tall Fescue. Kentucky Bluegrass is a fine leaved grass adapted but tends to be somewhat shallow rooted and goes dormant in the heat of the summer. Tall Fescue and Perennial ryegrass are tough and deeper rooted while Creeping red fescue makes a great fine leaved turf. Dave F is correct that the most economical path is to go to good old TSC and get your grass seed there. What will happen with a grass mixture is the grass types which will work best will endure and the others will sort of get Darwinized.

    Sincerely,

    Dave S

  9. #9
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Home Grass Strip

    Thanks for the replies everyone. Dave F where exactly are you? I would love to drop in some time. I am in the market for a new mower for my 2 acre plot. I found a used mower that cuts 7' which I think would be ok. Really I would like a tractor with some implements but that will go on the wish list. I have an a late 80's Komat'su track loader that I am trying to sell, maybe some one will want to trade it for a tractor in decent shape.

    Dave S thanks for the info. I'm sure if I go find a nursery in town they will fix me up quite well.

    Does anybody have problems with rutting?

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