You take WATER with you?? 8-)
Alas, needs must! Once mud starts to deposit itself on top of instead of underneath the wings . . . :-)
A factor to consider in the circumstances mentioned is the damage your aircraft could do to the airfield surface - both taxi and runway. I'm feeling more in sympathy with the CFI.
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
Maoraigh like you I would be sympathetic to the POSSIBLE effect on the runway surface IF they cared as much about visiting aircraft. Security is not expensive these days with IP based camera systems etc and add to that the responses one gets when reporting theft/vandalism it seems to me that that the runway is not a high priority for aircraft owners. I understand the local police have mounted a "watch" at some point by have 2 constables in a panda car at the airfield all night but no one turned up to steal fuel so it was ceased!
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.
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.
A glass strip should have very low rolling resistance...
Could be worse... much worse. I might have put in a grocer's apostrophe.
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.
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.
