EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Landing:
You know how when you fly into your 7,000 paved runway and you keep your ASI at "checklist speed" regardless of weight and you float a little ways past your intended touchdown point? Yeah, don't do that here.
You've got 2575' in usable length now, but your 5-10 extra knots of airspeed you carry because that's what your checklist says needs to be tossed out the cockpit. You float it down a 1000' feet like you do at your 7,000' home drome out here and you've just eaten up another 40% of your runway here. And you probably weren't touching down right at the cones to begin with. Remember, the lighter you get the lower your stall speed gets, and when you come blazing in at 80knots because that's what the book says, the far end will get to you a lot quicker than you might like. You aren't going to be coming in at gross weight, so don't fly at your gross weight checklist speed. Someone who came in a couple years ago can attest to that!
Also, you don't *have* to fly it in 30% over your stall speed just because the book says so. While I don't consider 2575 feet a short field, I still go with the Vs0 * 1.2 instead of Vs0 * 1.3 when coming in. If it's not gusty you've still got plenty of buffer, just remember you are further on the back side of the power curve so be ready to use that throttle a little more.
So, instead of using your gross weight Vapproach that your checklist "demands" you use, go through the calculations and fly the appropriate speed. My recommendation:
V6Y9 = Vso * sqrt (landing weight/gross weight) * 1.2
If your book numbers say 70kts on the approach your stall speed is going to be about 53kts. And say you're 10% under gross (2400lbs gross) by the time you get there. Using the above formula you'd get.
V6Y9 = 53 * sqrt(2160/2400) * 1.2
V6Y9 = 53 * 0.95 * 1.2
V6Y9 = 60kts
Do you think that carrying an extra 10knots of speed is going to use up more runway? You bet it is. Do those calculations!
Takeoff
Grass runway does not always equal soft field!!! We have excellent drainage, and I have taken the runway the day after a heavy downpour and it was not much different than taking off from a paved strip. I tend to go outside of book procedures because we are are a shorter strip, but we aren't paved. **Remember the short field procedures where you push the nose into the pavement until ready for take off? Don't do that here. It's still sod/turf/grass, and does have more give that pavement, so you are going to increase your takeoff roll by doing that. I use the short field flap settings, and perform a normal takeoff in regards to what you are doing with the nose. No need to have full back pressure like a soft field take off. We're grass, not soft. You'll use up more runway. And no need to push the nose into the ground either. Normal takeoff procedure, with short field flap settings is my recommendation.
Also - those trees at the west end are further away than they look, if your wheels are up by the pilot's room you are going to be ok. Don't get below the power curve on departure. Keep that nose level until your speed is up! This isn't a by-the-book airstrip. It's nothing overly difficult, it just takes a little thinking outside the box for those that are used to a mile or more of pavement underneath them.
** - applicable to tricycle gear aircraft.
You know how when you fly into your 7,000 paved runway and you keep your ASI at "checklist speed" regardless of weight and you float a little ways past your intended touchdown point? Yeah, don't do that here.
You've got 2575' in usable length now, but your 5-10 extra knots of airspeed you carry because that's what your checklist says needs to be tossed out the cockpit. You float it down a 1000' feet like you do at your 7,000' home drome out here and you've just eaten up another 40% of your runway here. And you probably weren't touching down right at the cones to begin with. Remember, the lighter you get the lower your stall speed gets, and when you come blazing in at 80knots because that's what the book says, the far end will get to you a lot quicker than you might like. You aren't going to be coming in at gross weight, so don't fly at your gross weight checklist speed. Someone who came in a couple years ago can attest to that!
Also, you don't *have* to fly it in 30% over your stall speed just because the book says so. While I don't consider 2575 feet a short field, I still go with the Vs0 * 1.2 instead of Vs0 * 1.3 when coming in. If it's not gusty you've still got plenty of buffer, just remember you are further on the back side of the power curve so be ready to use that throttle a little more.
So, instead of using your gross weight Vapproach that your checklist "demands" you use, go through the calculations and fly the appropriate speed. My recommendation:
V6Y9 = Vso * sqrt (landing weight/gross weight) * 1.2
If your book numbers say 70kts on the approach your stall speed is going to be about 53kts. And say you're 10% under gross (2400lbs gross) by the time you get there. Using the above formula you'd get.
V6Y9 = 53 * sqrt(2160/2400) * 1.2
V6Y9 = 53 * 0.95 * 1.2
V6Y9 = 60kts
Do you think that carrying an extra 10knots of speed is going to use up more runway? You bet it is. Do those calculations!
Takeoff
Grass runway does not always equal soft field!!! We have excellent drainage, and I have taken the runway the day after a heavy downpour and it was not much different than taking off from a paved strip. I tend to go outside of book procedures because we are are a shorter strip, but we aren't paved. **Remember the short field procedures where you push the nose into the pavement until ready for take off? Don't do that here. It's still sod/turf/grass, and does have more give that pavement, so you are going to increase your takeoff roll by doing that. I use the short field flap settings, and perform a normal takeoff in regards to what you are doing with the nose. No need to have full back pressure like a soft field take off. We're grass, not soft. You'll use up more runway. And no need to push the nose into the ground either. Normal takeoff procedure, with short field flap settings is my recommendation.
Also - those trees at the west end are further away than they look, if your wheels are up by the pilot's room you are going to be ok. Don't get below the power curve on departure. Keep that nose level until your speed is up! This isn't a by-the-book airstrip. It's nothing overly difficult, it just takes a little thinking outside the box for those that are used to a mile or more of pavement underneath them.
** - applicable to tricycle gear aircraft.
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