Thanks for the advice. I wonder whether a lot of grass strips might have simply persisted because they worked. e.g. if a farmer who liked flying put a strip somewhere unsuitable, sooner or later he would decide to try another location. Trying to buy a plot of land that one hopes will be suitable from the outset, is a very different proposition.
I’ve just read this thread which is close to my heart. I had a flat field with trees at either end, 400m from hedge to hedge. To operate from this field demanded an aircraft specified to do it. One of the most important part of the spec is big tyres, without which forget the winter operations. That’s why I bought the King Katmai (C182) which gave me 1000Nm range, 4 pax, loads of bags, stall speed 31knots and brilliant IFR tourer 140 knots cruise, greedy on fuel though but you cannot have everything.
It took 5 years of work to end up with the right aircraft and a year round usable field. Then I was lucky, the field next to the strip came up for sale, I paid plenty for it and now I’ve got 600m usable, 750m total.
The extension field has taken Two years already to drain, seed and generally sort out. It’s still not year round usable.
As for maintenance you have to get geared up. Grass strips where the grass is cut and not collected are painful and to me a little dangerous, who knows where those grass cutting are going. Picking up the grass is a must and actually the cuttings piled up compost to nothing eventually.
I have one of these now. I can cut the whole airstrip in two hours.
Also, few owners consider the grass type. Any old cheap old grass seed will drive you mad. You’ll be cutting it forever. A proper airstrip mix exists with red fescue being the main constituent. Slow growing and quick repairing properties are what’s required.
Drainage is usually not requiring huge pipe work. French (surface) drains are inexpensive and work well to remove the surface water which is all you are bothered about.
Finally, cost does become prohibitive unless you can do this work yourself. I did all the work on my strip myself but I was lucky to have a JCB without which much of the work is impossible.
If you are prepared to play the long game and do all the work yourself which means you need to live very near to the strip then in my opinion the time and costs involved would not be worth it.
Non of this includes the permissions to use the field which is another huge problem.
In conclusion then, to buy a field many miles away from where you live and getting others to do the work it not a practical proposition in my opinion. You need to know the area and be known in the area so problems can be solved.
This my experience of owning and operating a grass strip.
kwlf wrote:
Are there any rules of thumb about where to site airfields for light aircraft?
I think there are, but it might be a complex subject. Let me give you an example of an airfield set up from scratch during WW2. I don’t know how they have chosen the site but the surroundings are un – thermal. I mean during calm and unstable weather Cu clouds appear everywhere else but not within ca. 5 km from the airstrip. If Cb form, they tend to be away and thunderstorms more often than not pass within a safe distance. Some time ago I discussed the very same subject with a couple of friends but we same to conclusion that it might be more of an art then science
Jacko wrote:
Wales has some pretty hills and scenery, so there’s no need to create yet another identikit flatland training airport like Welshpool, Netherthorpe, Shobdon and hundreds of others which are friendly places with nice tea rooms, but where licensed pilots may struggle to stay awake.
To be fair Netherthorpe has a short enough runway to focus the attention of many private pilots, and Welshpool is in a valley floor in quite a scenic area
As Peter says, effective drainage is essential. The rest (topography, aerology, obstacles etc., are what can make your new airfield worth visiting for it’s own sake, rather than just because it’s near somewhere else that people want to visit.
Wales has some pretty hills and scenery, so there’s no need to create yet another identikit flatland training airport like Welshpool, Netherthorpe, Shobdon and hundreds of others which are friendly places with nice tea rooms, but where licensed pilots may struggle to stay awake.
kwlf wrote:
Are there any rules of thumb about where to site airfields for light aircraft?
Not that I have seen, except common sense 
I think it’s only when certain factors come into effect that these things become important anyway, like IFR, safety and regularity of airline traffic and so on.
Could one not have a covered-up ditch, or drain the runway into a large diameter buried pipe, which has just the right slope on it? OK; you won’t get that done for 20 quid
And an aircraft can go into the ditch. Happened to a taxiing Jodel at Blair Atholl a few years ago. No injuries, but snapped off part of wing.
It should drain well. If it gets waterlogged half the year (as a large % of grass strips does, rendering them basically useless) then all the other factors are irrelevant. Also a wet strip covers the whole plane in crap, which seems fine for renters (I saw a school C152 the other day covered in mud) but most owners won’t like it.
You can mole-drain a strip (into a ditch alongside) but it isn’t exactly cheap, and you may need electricity to pump the water out of the ditch.
kwlf wrote:
Are there any rules of thumb about where to site airfields for light aircraft?
I am afraid there would be more exceptions than rules. Quite a few aerodromes seem to be located illogically at the first glance, yet have no windshear, no fog and little crosswind, even if it is achieved at the cost of sloping runway, approach path at an angle to the runway, etc.
