580 feet enough for a runway?

[rogerh12]

Howdy all;
We are looking at a house in the country, and I noticed it has a front to back lot distance of 580 feet, with no trees at either end... humm. How comfortable would you be flying in and out of a field that size, with a model-4 and 75 hp?
Roger

[Av8r3400]

With 1000' of unobstructed, not even a fence, clearance it is a usable distance. It will be a white knuckeler every time, though.

A 580' hole in the woods is suicide.

[WWhunter]

I think a lot of it depends on your experience. A low time guy in a relatively new to him aircraft, yes, as av8r3400 said, suicide!!! For a well experienced pilot that knows his plane it is maybe do-able.
I had a 1,000 foot strip in the thick woods with tall trees on both ends and I was landing/take-off a Champ in and out of it. Granted when heavy with a passenger it could get quite exciting if the winds weren't good.
Another thing you have to think about is the neighbors, will they have a pi$$ing maych with you when you are on approach or taking off over their property? I am very lucky in this aspect since my land is entirely surrounded with state forest. But guess what? I still had someone complaining that I was flying low. Had a deputy drive up and I had to explain that I need to fly low in order to land.

[n85ae]

If I had 580 feet of mowed grass, and there was not a fence or trees at the
ends and the overrun was just a field I would do it. I use less than 500 feet
for takeoff and landing all the time, but never with something to hit beyond
that 500 ft ....

Mine is a Series 5 with IO-240B so it's a bit different airplane, my biggest
problem would be landing if I had too much speed, as it could eat that short
a field pretty quickly.

Jeff

[avidflyer]

Sorry if I'm dragging the topic to the side a bit, but Keith, what engine did you have in the Champ, and what was your approach speeds? Thanks, Jim Chuk

[Dave S]

Roger,

I don't have a IV, however I have flown out of a 1000' grass strip with my 7 and I know full well there would be conditions ( wind etc) that can occur where I would not use the same strip.

A 7 is not a IV, however, I do agree with Av8r3400 100%.

I didn't even try the 1000' strip until I had a lot of practice on long strips and was certain I could operate within that distance without memorializing the situation in ways a person wants to avoid.

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive

[alanr]

You guys are giving me some concern about my decision to buy a 7SS kit.
In the UK a lot of flying is done out of small 1000' grass strips. Currently I fly out of a 1000' grass strip which has 50' trees at both ends with a CZAW Sportcruiser with relative ease in all wind conditions, crossed and otherwise.
I have heard comments about the Kitfox 7 being a bit of a 'Floater' in the flare, I wonder if the same is true of the current 7SS?..Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Alan

[n85ae]

Alan -

All of them from Series 5 newer can be floaters, but it's really an issue
of pilot experience. I think (and this is simply my speculation) that a lot of guys
have a hard time getting comfortable with flying a really slow final approach. My
plane has a VERY flat glide in a wide range from 60-85 mph. So if you get faster
than 50-55 on short final it's sailplane time and it will go a long ways in ground
effect. My stall is around 38-40 mph on my indicator, so flying final at 50 is
a fairly safe number, but wind gusts can easily exceed that margin so it's
tempting to fly a bit faster. 60 feels really comfortable, BUT I could float 500
feet in ground effect if I do. So you really need a fairly calm day and a very
slow approach and you can plop down and stop in a very short space. Takeoff
is never an issue solo as I'm off the ground in 150-200 feet unless the passenger
is heavy.


Regards,
Jeff Hays

[av8rbc]

I have flown in and out of a 1000 x 40 ft grass strip the last 8 years. (King George CSK8). The last 4 in a Titan Tornado ll, which I approached at 60 kts and landed at 50 kts. With brakes, I was stopped in 300 ft. Without brakes, the roll out was never more than 500 ft. We have 2 Model IVs at the field, and neither have had any problems getting out or back in, ever! Landings on runway 23 is over an elevated highway, power lines, and between trees on one side and a building on the other, and lastly over a dyke. And with a passenger. Piece of cake! Looking forward to doing it with a newly purchased KF 5 Safari.

[alanr]

Apologies Roger for hijacking the the thread but I hope my question was also relevant to yours.
Thanks for the info Jeff...Do you think a tri-gear would be better suited to a short strip?...easier to manage the float maybe?