Hello and a few questions.

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PACoalMiner

Filing Flight Plan
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Brian
Hello and good afternoon.

Names Brian from the SW pa area. Coal miner and i just spoke to a flight instructor about getting my light sport license. My step dad had a 46' PA-12 when i lived in Oregon and i fell in love with flying. Wasn't until now i could afford a plane so I've been looking for a Cessna 140 pretty hard.

The questions i have...

I understand the qualifications for getting license as my instructor was pretty in tune and upfront with everything i am going to need. WHAT I DIDNT ASK WAS THE FOLLOWING..

I recently bought 8 acres of land i plan to clear. Is there an FAA regulation on where i can and cant land? I know several of my family friends have large ranches out west and i always wondered what you had to have to be able to land on your own property?

Im hoping so because i plan on dozing alot of it to level and clear it.. Its either gonna be a landing strip or ill make a pond and fill it with bass Hahahaha!!!

Also in looking at cessna 140's what should i look for.. Good and bad?

Im new to all this so any info would be highly appreciated...Thanks for your time and consideration.. Im looking forward to learning as much as i can here.. I know ive got a lot to learn..

thanks again..

-Brian
 
the FAA doesn't care where you land as long as It's safe. Your state and local authorities may have a different opinion on the matter. I suggest you contact your state department of aviation and check local ordinances. You may also want to check your aircraft insurance as well as your property insurance underwriter.
 
PACoalMiner said:
Hello and good afternoon.
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Welcome to PoA.

Names Brian from the SW pa area. Coal miner and i just spoke to a flight instructor about getting my light sport license. My step dad had a 46' PA-12 when i lived in Oregon and i fell in love with flying. Wasn't until now i could afford a plane so I've been looking for a Cessna 140 pretty hard.
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I don't believe any Cessna 140s can ever qualify as LSA. Just a bit too heavy.

I recently bought 8 acres of land i plan to clear. Is there an FAA regulation on where i can and cant land? I know several of my family friends have large ranches out west and i always wondered what you had to have to be able to land on your own property?
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I don't know of any FAA regulations that would affect your private airfield. Though they'd like if you registered your airfield with them. If it is indeed rural, then you'll need to check what county and state laws and regulations, if any, govern private airfields like yours.

What is the geometry of the 8 acres? Height of trees that aren't on your property that are on any planned approaches would dictate what is possible.

Im hoping so because i plan on dozing alot of it to level and clear it.. Its either gonna be a landing strip or ill make a pond and fill it with bass Hahahaha!!!
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The fishing would be the cheaper hobby for sure.
 
This publication by the Texas Department of Aviation, while in some parts is Texas specific, also has a lot of generally useful information on developing a private airstrip. Give it a read, if nothing else just to see what you're getting yourself into.

There's at least one person on this board who has done it.
 
What is the approximate shape (LxW) of the 8 acre patch?
 
Yea i mis-read the gross weight of the 140. I read somewhere awhile ago when i started looking for the 140s..that they were under 900.. I didnt bookmark where i read it.. But i just googled this now and im getting the same deal

Weight: 890.7 lbs (404 kg) <<<--- I assumed this was gross weight.
Wingspan: 33' (10 m)

Length: 21' 6" (6.55 m)

Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)

Fuel capacity: 25.1 gal (95 ℓ)

Range: 450 miles (724 km

Wayne.. One side of the property faces N/S and is 1490 ft x 80ish ft wide on the southern end. long. It has a rolling hill that needs dozed flat.. Hell i thought If i dozed that thing..layed down some #3 with a little mix of crushed run gravel..

Looking into other Lsa's now... man that a bummer..The only reason i wanted to fly a 140 is because i was always sketched out by the fabric of the pipers and it's maintenance. How often do you have to replace the fabric?
 
You could go with the Luscombe 8a. I believe it meets the weight limit.
 
Talk to other owners of small grass strips. Be sure you understand the time and expense involved in maintaining your own strip.

PACoalMiner said:
Yea i mis-read the gross weight of the 140. I read somewhere awhile ago when i started looking for the 140s..that they were under 900.. I didnt bookmark where i read it.. But i just googled this now and im getting the same deal

Weight: 890.7 lbs (404 kg) <<<--- I assumed this was gross weight.
Wingspan: 33' (10 m)

Length: 21' 6" (6.55 m)

Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)

Fuel capacity: 25.1 gal (95 ℓ)

Range: 450 miles (724 km

Wayne.. One side of the property faces N/S and is 1490 ft x 80ish ft wide on the southern end. long. It has a rolling hill that needs dozed flat.. Hell i thought If i dozed that thing..layed down some #3 with a little mix of crushed run gravel..

Looking into other Lsa's now... man that a bummer..The only reason i wanted to fly a 140 is because i was always sketched out by the fabric of the pipers and it's maintenance. How often do you have to replace the fabric?
Click to expand...
 
PACoalMiner said:
Yea i mis-read the gross weight of the 140. I read somewhere awhile ago when i started looking for the 140s..that they were under 900.. I didnt bookmark where i read it.. But i just googled this now and im getting the same deal

Weight: 890.7 lbs (404 kg) <<<--- I assumed this was gross weight.
Wingspan: 33' (10 m)

Length: 21' 6" (6.55 m)

Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)

Fuel capacity: 25.1 gal (95 ℓ)

Range: 450 miles (724 km

Wayne.. One side of the property faces N/S and is 1490 ft x 80ish ft wide on the southern end. long. It has a rolling hill that needs dozed flat.. Hell i thought If i dozed that thing..layed down some #3 with a little mix of crushed run gravel..

Looking into other Lsa's now... man that a bummer..The only reason i wanted to fly a 140 is because i was always sketched out by the fabric of the pipers and it's maintenance. How often do you have to replace the fabric?
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That property will likely be long enough, but will require reasonable skill. The other issue is that a N/S runway there will typically be a crosswind runway, still not a killer, but be ready to divert to a local airport if the wind picks up a bit too strong while you're out.

Modern fabrics and coatings are good for decades, they have come a long way from the cotton and dope of 1946. If you have your own place put up a little pole barn for a hangar and it'll be fine indefinitely. The best of the 140s had fabric wings as well. Is there a specific medical reason you are going for Sport Pilot rather than Private Pilot? PP opens up a lot more options in planes and isn't particularly more difficult or expensive to get especially if you are buying a plane; at that point the cost difference is irrelevant as you'll be flying those hours anyway, you'll just take a test sooner (maybe) is all.

As for your runway, drainage is the key, and if you gravel it, might as well put sand and soil on top of that and grow grass, then spread sand and sweep. That's what I did and basically came out with a golf course fairway smooth runway. You can even put a green at each end and have your own 2 hole golf course.:D Landing on smooth grass is the best runway there is.
 
thanks for the info!

I called a family friend out west in OR. He's got a small strip with gravel as well.. Says He drags it with an old piece of metal fence..posts and all.. Tows it with an atv so it's nothing major.. After bad weather he walks it just to check for sink holes. ( ground hogs aka grey diggers ) are thick in his area.. so he walks it a few times a month and keeps the 22-250 loaded lol..

He said the same thing about the cross winds. Said that can be anywhere. I have lots of tree's on the property.. I will have to clear some just to get the last 100+ yards or so for the strip.. Also there's small saplings and other old dead tree's i will have to clear.. The clearing is the easy part.. LSL and getting a plane with buying will be the hardest part.

Nice thing i saw about the 140s is the price. I found many under or around 20k. Thanks for your time and help folks. It is appreciated. So much to learn.. I grew up in The Dalles OR as my step dad flew out of a very similar kind of strip.. Guy he was friends with had a nice cessna 310 and 180.

thanks again..
 
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thanks.. i was just looking at those.

Question..Would you buy that over a PA-12?
 
PACoalMiner said:
thanks.. i was just looking at those.

Question..Would you buy that over a PA-12?
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The asking prices for PA-12s is much higher than the asking prices for Aeronca Chiefs because they are used for different missions.
 
Has anyone heard of

Justaircraft's highlander?


I love the look and the fact its a taildragger.
 
thanks i love the look and their short take off/landing ability.

Funny i see people putting viking engines into them. LOL that's a Honda engine..
Good news for the ex honda Mechanic.

anyone heard bad things about those engines?
 
PACoalMiner said:
thanks i love the look and their short take off/landing ability.

Funny i see people putting viking engines into them. LOL that's a Honda engine..
Good news for the ex honda Mechanic.

anyone heard bad things about those engines?
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There's a guy on the board in Seattle with a turbo charged three cylinder Suzuki in his Highlander.
 
PACoalMiner said:
lol whaaaat?

gtfo... that would be the cats meow.
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Yeah, it's on floats as well. I did some work on the build a few years ago. I'm on a boat headed south through Alaska right now bound for Seattle, I'll likely hook up with him when I get down there.
 
Henning said:
Yeah, it's on floats as well. I did some work on the build a few years ago. I'm on a boat headed south through Alaska right now bound for Seattle, I'll likely hook up with him when I get down there.
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seriously?

I was born in Anchorage..
Though i feel like my leg is getting longer here lol... What boat?
 
PACoalMiner said:
seriously?

I was born in Anchorage..
Though i feel like my leg is getting longer here lol... What boat?
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Audra Anne, private yacht out of Whittier, owner used to have Unique Machine in Anchorage, we have the OCC Unique Machine/ Alaska 50th anniversary chopper on the top deck.

View attachment 31094

Why can I only attach one image through the iPad?
 
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PACoalMiner said:
Funny i see people putting viking engines into them. LOL that's a Honda engine..
Good news for the ex honda Mechanic.

anyone heard bad things about those engines?
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The Viking is built around the Honda Fit engine block. I know there are a fair number of aircraft (airplanes and rotorcraft) that are flying with that engine. None that I know of have run into engine problems yet. It looks to be a very nice capable engine. Practically a work of art.

The owner of Viking Aircraft Engines, Jan Eggenfellner, has acquired a number of critics (unsatisfied customers) back when he sold Subaru conversions. There appears to be a lot of long-lasting bad blood on both sides.
 
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