Just to say the aircraft was successfuly recovered during published open hours but as there was apparently no one "in chrge" (no A/G for example) departure was swift and uneventful. Thanks for all the contributions. Sometimes even a little support is helpful and helps with decision making. FF
Just as a matter of interest what rules of thumb or thresholds would you use in deciding if a grass strip is adequate for AC operation i.e. go/nogo. It may seem like a dumb question but I,m interested in seeing how others would assess the situation
For takeoff, if at the halfway point if you don't have two thirds of the speed needed to get airborne then abort. You can pace it out and leave a marker before preflight.
For landing, you will have to rely on the factored distance given in the POH, assuming it exists. If it doesn't, then you should be doing some measuring at your home strip before trying short fields elsewhere.
If the strip is really spongy then the usual factors are probably not an adequate guide. Bear in mind also that you should avoid any braking, and don't stop on the runway.
No worries. I am still interested in a glass strip though, genuinely!
Sorry - I wasn't referring to anybody else here having used the grocer's apostrophe 
I might have put in a grocer's apostrophe.
A reference to lawyer's....? My intention was possessive rather than plural... either with or without makes grammatical sense in that case.
Just as a matter of interest what rules of thumb or thresholds would you use in deciding if a grass strip is adequate for AC operation i.e. go/nogo.
In the context of this thread, if the ground is soft, wheel size, aircraft weight, and nose or tail wheel are important. I've seen a 2-up Pa28 noswheel plough a furrow when trying to taxi, when the Jodel had no problem. Your (Piperboy)tundra tyres would be a big help. Pilot familiarity with the specific aircraft in soft field conditions is very important. I turned down an invitation to visit a Rans owner at his base strip last year; although he had no problem, after discussion I thought it too soft for the Jodel at that time.
Could be worse... much worse. I might have put in a grocer's apostrophe.
A glass strip should have very low rolling resistance...
My view is that one needs to somehow check the place out pretty well first, by speaking to a local pilot who you know knows what he's talking about.
I once went to a "1200m" glass strip which turned out to have ~8" (200mm) grass and was rough as hell. My takeoff run on tarmac is about 300m but in this case it was about 800m.
Also a lot of strips have potholes.
Just as a matter of interest what rules of thumb or thresholds would you use in deciding if a grass strip is adequate for AC operation i.e. go/nogo
The 2 main ones for me are 1: Someone answers the phone in the morning to confirm it's still open and not waterlogged 2: The wind and direction will still allow me to take off and land safely within W&B etc.
However a few weeks ago I was going to visit Nayland airfield in the UK, and the airfield owner kept asking me about my uphill landing techniques. It's known that Nayland has a very steep uphill slope. Curious as to why he kept asking me, I googled it, and someone previously crashed into the hedge at the end of the runway on go-around. Runway 32 has the upslope and is generally the landing runway. 14 is downhill so becomes the takeoff runway. I looked at the weather and with a substantial tailwind likely for the day I was going to fly, and a tailwind being apparently a contributing factor to the crashed plane's go-around problem - I decided against that visit. I'll give it another go when the wind on runway 32 is a headwind. So, you also have to think about whether you feel comfortable about it in your head as well.
