Stef wrote:
> What do you think to do the test phase on a grass strip? The
dimensions are 1000x30 meter.
I'll tell you my story, just as a data point. I started out by renting
an outdoor "shed hangar"....a long pole-barn type shed, open all around,
and $55 per month, at a local airport with a newly paved 6000' runway.
I did all my taxi-testing there, and something like the first 50 hours
of flight time from there, as well as maintenance and free advice from
the very interested A&Ps who were based in a shop 100' away. From here,
I did a lot of testing, practicing short field landings, and learning to
put the airplane right on the end of the runway with hundreds of landings.
Then Jim Hill invited me to share his hangar at his airport, which has
a 2600' asphalt strip, but only 40' wide. On my first flight in there,
I practically ground-looped it at the far end of the runway, just a few
feet shy of the beginning of a swamp! It was a very close call. This
was with hundreds of landings, lots of testing, and a lot of practicing
short field landings! I immediately learned how to land even slower
than before, and at this point, I'd say on a very good day, I can land
in a little over half the runway (probably 1500').
To back up a bit, I finished building my plane in Jim Hill's hangar on
the 2600' strip...he handed me the key as he was leaving for Kwajelein
for 5 years, and invited me to make full use of it for free! So I COULD
have flown it straight out of Jim's hangar, but knew it would be a
challenge with that short runway. I'd have torn it up for sure on my
first landing if I'd done that.
A 3000' grass strip would be better than my 2600' asphalt strip IF it
has perfectly clear approaches like my 2600' runway has. Still, that's
precious little reserve compared to how well you will eventually get at
landing on your home runway. My suggestion would be try to share a
hangar with somebody, or suck it up and rent a hangar for a few months
to get in practice for that relatively short runway.
Mark Langford
m...@n56ml.com
http://www.n56ml.com
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