Airport lawn crew mowing too close to airplane...

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Flieger

Filing Flight Plan
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Dec 9, 2020
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Flieger
My tie down spot is a concrete pad just big enough for a GA plane and the tiedown loops, surrounded by grass. The pad is only 3 feet wider than my tires, so the wings and about 2' of the tail extend out over the grass. The pads are all connected to a center paved "driveway". I happened to be by there on a weekday and saw the mowing crew drive their industrial zero turn mower within a foot of my left wing. I stopped the driver and asked him to keep further away, so he managed to clear the right wing by 2ft.

I called the manager, told them what happened and asked them to keep the machinery 6' from the plane. They agreed to do so, but are now telling me I'm responsible for mowing around my plane, at least every 2 weeks. I don't see why it's no longer the airport staff's responsibility to maintain the grounds without taking due care around airplanes.

I know, if you want a job done right you have to do it yourself, but I'm curious to know if anyone here has dealt with anything similar. Were you able to get your airport to step up and do their job without putting airplanes at risk?
 
My airport mows, but they sure don't get off of the mower. The grass/weeds grow pretty high next to my hangar, so I just douse it in Round-Up. I don't like tall grass and weeds, we've found a few rattlesnakes in and around hangars!
 
Flieger said:
My tie down spot is a concrete pad just big enough for a GA plane and the tiedown loops, surrounded by grass. The pad is only 3 feet wider than my tires, so the wings and about 2' of the tail extend out over the grass. The pads are all connected to a center paved "driveway". I happened to be by there on a weekday and saw the mowing crew drive their industrial zero turn mower within a foot of my left wing. I stopped the driver and asked him to keep further away, so he managed to clear the right wing by 2ft.

I called the manager, told them what happened and asked them to keep the machinery 6' from the plane. They agreed to do so, but are now telling me I'm responsible for mowing around my plane, at least every 2 weeks. I don't see why it's no longer the airport staff's responsibility to maintain the grounds without taking due care around airplanes.

I know, if you want a job done right you have to do it yourself, but I'm curious to know if anyone here has dealt with anything similar. Were you able to get your airport to step up and do their job without putting airplanes at risk?
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So you want the grass near your airplane mowed, without the mower getting near your airplane? What is your solution here? Do you want them to move your airplane? Do you expect them to cut it by hand?
 
Flieger said:
They agreed to do so, but are now telling me I'm responsible for mowing around my plane, at least every 2 weeks.
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Jack has given you the answer to your dilemma.

Lowflynjack said:
...so I just douse it in Round-Up.
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No grass means no need to mow. (BTW - avgas works even better than Round-Up.)
 
Unless the guy is leaving a heavy wake of beer cans behind the mower an inch away from a wing is the same as a mile and he is leaving a foot. I would call the manager and tell them to proceed with their normal mowing program.
 
I would guess if you don’t trust the ground crew,you should do it yourself. Get out the weed eater.
 
Flieger said:
My tie down spot is a concrete pad just big enough for a GA plane and the tiedown loops, surrounded by grass. The pad is only 3 feet wider than my tires, so the wings and about 2' of the tail extend out over the grass. The pads are all connected to a center paved "driveway". I happened to be by there on a weekday and saw the mowing crew drive their industrial zero turn mower within a foot of my left wing. I stopped the driver and asked him to keep further away, so he managed to clear the right wing by 2ft.

I called the manager, told them what happened and asked them to keep the machinery 6' from the plane. They agreed to do so, but are now telling me I'm responsible for mowing around my plane, at least every 2 weeks. I don't see why it's no longer the airport staff's responsibility to maintain the grounds without taking due care around airplanes.

I know, if you want a job done right you have to do it yourself, but I'm curious to know if anyone here has dealt with anything similar. Were you able to get your airport to step up and do their job without putting airplanes at risk?
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How much do you pay for your ramp parking space? How much customer hassle would you be willing to put up with for that much money per month? That's probably why you find yourself in this position where you have to do it yourself now.
The guy mowing your thing probably spends several hours a day sitting on the zero-turn mower and is a pro at what he does. He was taking care not to hit your stuff, evidenced by the fact that he can operate close to it and not hit your stuff.
But this is a classic case of careful what you wish for cuz you just might get it: you wanted ample clearance, you got it. Now you just gotta take care of that grass however you wish.
 
Flieger said:
I called the manager, told them what happened and asked them to keep the machinery 6' from the plane. They agreed to do so, but are now telling me I'm responsible for mowing around my plane, at least every 2 weeks. I don't see why it's no longer the airport staff's responsibility to maintain the grounds without taking due care around airplanes.
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You asked for more space and he doubled from 1-2 feet and you still complained to his boss by asking them to triple that distance. This man is no doubt a professional at what he does and you have greatly insulted his work. You mentioned that they should be responsible to take "due care around airplanes" but it seems that unless you have found damage to your airplane related to the work this man is doing that indeed they have been taking due care.

It's not their responsibility to do their job according to the standards that you want to set. If you want a higher standard, and you do by your own admission, then you are responsible to provide that yourself. You might go back and kiss the ring and have life go back to normal but you may have set in motion a series of actions from which there is no going back.
 
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I'm one of the people who mow our airport(all volunteer) - I generally do the infield which is about 25 acres. With a 6' brush hog on a 1953 30hp Ferguson. I'd really rather not throw a rock at someone's airplane and luckily I'm generally at least 20' away - we do run the small lawn tractor around an airplane at the tie downs as needed.
That said, if someone complains about my mowing the first thing that's going to happen is we'll swap places. I'll keep the tractor fueled up but it's your butt breathing dust for 16 hours per mow if you want it done differently.
Totally fair game to squawk if I've damaged something (and if so I'd definitely make it right) but if not I'd recommend against it.
 
EdFred said:
I'm guessing this thread didn't go as expected.
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The OP has a whopping 4 posts in the 4.5 years of being a member. The other was a thread he posted about dealing with an insurance company after someone else damaged their airplane. Wonder if a mower was involved?
 
I wouldn’t want to kill the grass around my plane and have dirt everywhere. Also, would the airport be responsible for damage if something happened?
 
midwestpa24 said:
The OP has a whopping 4 posts in the 4.5 years of being a member. The other was a thread he posted about dealing with an insurance company after someone else damaged their airplane. Wonder if a mower was involved?
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It was exactly that. Several months grounded and multiple trips to get it repaired and rigged properly. Good for y'all if you're comfortable with motorized equipment close to your plane in exactly the same situation after that.

midwestpa24 said:
So you want the grass near your airplane mowed, without the mower getting near your airplane? What is your solution here? Do you want them to move your airplane? Do you expect them to cut it by hand?
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I never said I wanted the grass near my plane mowed. Let it grow.

Luigi said:
You should have tipped the mower operator and explained that the plane is your baby, and any help you can t preserving it would be appreciated. Follow that tip up with some beer..
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Nice idea, but he's mowing to the standard set by the airport. I'm not going to be able to make losing his job worth it.

Lowflynjack said:
My airport mows, but they sure don't get off of the mower. The grass/weeds grow pretty high next to my hangar, so I just douse it in Round-Up. I don't like tall grass and weeds, we've found a few rattlesnakes in and around hangars!
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Thanks for the suggestion. Thankfully no rattlesnakes here!

EdFred said:
I'm guessing this thread didn't go as expected.
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It's the internet. What can I expect for free?

Salty said:
I wouldn’t want to kill the grass around my plane and have dirt everywhere. Also, would the airport be responsible for damage if something happened?
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Likewise, what if I start cutting the grass myself and something happens? I'd doing work for the airport, so doesn't that make me their employee, even if I'm a "volunteer"?
 
Luigi said:
You should have tipped the mower operator and explained that the plane is your baby, and any help you can t preserving it would be appreciated. Follow that tip up with some beer..
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I had a new boat a decade ago and put it in dry storage. Every 2-3 times I went to the lake I brought a case of cold beer for the dock hands and lift drivers, and told them to enjoy a cold one after work.

My boat was treated with kid gloves and when I showed up, somehow my boat jumped to the front of the line.
 
I used to have a paved spot where the tiedowns were anchored in the surrounding grass. They would keep the mowers well clear of the planes; it was each tenant's responsibility to do the rest of the mowing.

I suppose you could put some fiberglass marker poles where you don't want the ZTR to go and just mow the rest yourself. That, or move to a paved airport.
 
If their mowing equipment has the proper guards in place the odds of a rock or anything else being hucked at a steep enough angle with enough force to damage the plane is pretty minimal.
 
cowman said:
If their mowing equipment has the proper guards in place the odds of a rock or anything else being hucked at a steep enough angle with enough force to damage the plane is pretty minimal.
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I have this on our mower, protection for the surroundings when mowing. We don’t shoot grass out on the street either. I say we is because my wife uses it 90% of the time because I am at the airport! lol.
IMG_5412.jpegIMG_5413.jpeg
 
DreadPirateWill said:
I'm one of the people who mow our airport(all volunteer) - I generally do the infield which is about 25 acres. With a 6' brush hog on a 1953 30hp Ferguson. I'd really rather not throw a rock at someone's airplane and luckily I'm generally at least 20' away - we do run the small lawn tractor around an airplane at the tie downs as needed.
That said, if someone complains about my mowing the first thing that's going to happen is we'll swap places. I'll keep the tractor fueled up but it's your butt breathing dust for 16 hours per mow if you want it done differently.
Totally fair game to squawk if I've damaged something (and if so I'd definitely make it right) but if not I'd recommend against it.
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I am in the exact situation. OP ought to try 15-20 hours a weel volunteering his time. I could cut his grass within an inch of his plane at full speed an not touch it. But there's always one snowflake in the mix
 
Dixiebluesky said:
Unless the guy is leaving a heavy wake of beer cans behind the mower an inch away from a wing is the same as a mile and he is leaving a foot. I would call the manager and tell them to proceed with their normal mowing program.
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You say that, but I had a guy hit my Class A RV with his zero-turn mower and do significant damage. The benefit of that last 6 inches of mown grass doesn’t match to the potential damage.
 
My grounds keeper mows to arm’s reach around the radius of aircraft in the grass. Anything less than is the responsibility of the lessee to maintain.
 
It seems entirely reasonable to me that if an owner doesn’t want the airport to cut the grass within 6’ of his airplane that the owner should be responsible for the grass within 6’ of the airplane, and that said grass shouldn’t be allowed to grow unhindered.
 
They publish a mowing schedule? Move the plane yourself beforehand.
 
I was a bit concerned more about this than a mower. LOL (for drainage lines going in for a new taxiway at my airport)

1751554113064.jpeg
 
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My entire tiedown was grass at VKX. They'd use the riding mower to do as close to the planes as they dared. It was up to the owners to mow under the planes. There were two push mowers in the round hangar for you to use. I'd park my plane behind my tiedown, mow, and then put it away.

Don't have to mow inside the hangar now.
 
flyingron said:
My entire tiedown was grass at VKX. They'd use the riding mower to do as close to the planes as they dared. It was up to the owners to mow under the planes. There were two push mowers in the round hangar for you to use. I'd park my plane behind my tiedown, mow, and then put it away.

Don't have to mow inside the hangar now.
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Exactly the same experience here. My first airplane was in grass athe “old” Harford County Airport (0W3). When the grass needed mowing I did as flyingron described. No questions, no complaints, I just did it.
 
At our small airport, the county did the mowing. I asked them to stay away from the airplanes. (I was the airport manager.) but one day a new guy was on the tractor, which had a mandated roll bar on it, and he drove under the wing of a Cessna 180 and crunched the flap and aileron with that roll bar, which was behind him, out of sight/out of mind. Expensive. After that, the county listened and sent any new guys to see me first.
 
Flieger said:
I'm curious to know if anyone here has dealt with anything similar. Were you able to get your airport to step up and do their job without putting airplanes at risk?
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There was an unfortunate incident with my Tri-pacer and a snowplow...........
 
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