Joe Nunley wrote: >>
Of those who fly their KR2 off of a grass runway; what distance to take off and land, tail wheel or tri gear, engine type and horse power if you please.<< A big factor in grass strips is what kind of grass, and is it mowed close or beat down almost flat by a lot of airplanes? Is it level or is one end significantly higher than the other end? Does it have trees or a fence on either or both ends? This kind of thing can make a big difference. I've flown in and out of my father's 3600'x 80' strip many times, and it's real quick to stop me (once on the ground) because the grass is often tall and cushy, it's uphill in the direction I land in, and it's rounded up on the approach end (which is very clear), so landing is a piece of cake. Taking off I'll burn up at least half the runway, even though it's downhill. I never land in the same direction I take off, because of the downhill business and the 50' trees right on the takeoff end, so it's a one-way runway. But all the factors combined probably make it a one-way runway without the trees. Having said all this, I've landed at Moontown (2180 x 160) a lot in N56ML (120HP heavy KR2S, but with big flaps), and if I don't touchdown at exactly the end of the runway or am just slightly fast, it can be a challenge to get stopped at the end. It has totally clear approaches on both ends (except the road on one end), so I do a lot of touch-n-goes and go-arounds! Make sure your first flights are off of a strip that is plenty long, and do a LOT of landings before you attempt to land on a short strip (regardless of surface). My first landing at what is now my home field almost ended in me going off the far end, so training yourself to "spot land" right on the end and get it stopped as quickly as possible (on a field that's plenty long) is a good idea. It only takes one bad landing in a place with tall trees on the far end to change your life. This kind of stuff is not for small VW engines, or engines that are not running in perfect tune. If you're building a plane for this purpose, give it plenty of power and keep it as light as possible... -- Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com http://www.n56ml.com
