Smothing out a field....

exeter_acres · Sep 29, 2004

Hello all...have a project question..

I have a back field that is in a natural state now... used to be a farm field years back so it is rough and bumpy...

I have a new hobby to throw money at..
Just getting involved in R/C planes.
There is a club nearby that I have joined and will fly there with instructor.

But in the future it would be great to fly in my own field...

Now...what would be the best method or combination of methods to smoth the back field out in order to be used as an R/C grass runway...

the area would be about 1.5 acres that I want to work

It would need to be quite smooth.......

I have access to rentals nearby, but I don't want to break the bank....

Any thoughts on what to do??

Cheers and Thnaks in advance
Exeter

EddieWalker · Sep 29, 2004

Without a photo, I make the following suggestion.

I'd first brush hog it down as short as I could.

Then I'd disk it up in order to break up the top six inches or so.

To smooth it I would get a log, or an I beam or chan link fence or bed frame and drag it behind your tractor. Just pull it around in circles. You will see high spots and low spots and be able to fill them in by eye.

I wouldn't reckomend a box blade for something that big or back draging a FEL. Too many woop de doos and almost impossible to get as good of results as a simple log.

It also helps to go as wide and heavy as you can get. The wider it is, the flatter it will be. The heavier it is, the faster you will be done.

If you want perfectly flat, you will need lazers and a motor grader.

Good luck and post pictures.

Eddie

theboman · Sep 29, 2004

Till it. Drag it. Plant it. Happy landings.

Soundguy · Sep 29, 2004

mow, disc, drag. grass.

Soundguy

ByronBob · Sep 29, 2004

Having the farmer do this to my yard. His method (I had no say in it or he wouldn't do it) Mow, spray with Round-up, disc, harrow, seed.
The grass dying allows the disc to penetrate the yard better and break the soil up to fine powder. This process will take some time.
Best of luck to you and happy flying /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ronjhall · Sep 29, 2004

Exeter
I live near a new Golf Course, Lyon Oaks. In an area near the main road, they have been working on leveling out the land. One area had some type of artificial grass put down. It is about 6' X 50'? The other day I drove by and found out what the area is for. It is a landing strip for model airplanes. If it would help, the next time I go by there I will stop and take some pictures.

The best tool I have seen to level out land for a model airplane landing strip would be a power rake. This should leave a stone free flat area.

exeter_acres · Sep 29, 2004

Thanks for the great info!
(oops...just noticed I misspelled my topic!)

Sounds like the mow, disk, drag method is worth a go!

I can borrow (or maybe rent for a day) a tractor... to disk it

do you think a garden roller would work?
I have easy access to that?

Again cheers!!

I do have a club field very close...but hey...be nice to just walk out back and fly!

Maybe talk Worksmart into getting a plane and having dogfights!!

ronjhall · Sep 29, 2004

I had to make a trip to Home Depot this afternoon. Stopped at the park to look at the runway. It is made with grass carpeting. It has been in less than a year. Grass is growing through the carpeting. Geese have left their droppings all over the place. In areas it looks like take-off and landings have worn the carpeting.
You have a lot of work ahead of you to make a runway smooth enough to land a model airplane. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mark4510 · Sep 29, 2004

I am not sure how smooth it needs to be but based on watching those things fly around it seems like it would be tought to get smooth enough and a lot of work keeping it that way. Would it make sense to pave a small part of it?

Egon · Sep 29, 2004

how about RC helicopters! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon

beenthere · Sep 29, 2004

Disk, rent pulverizer to break up clods, drag flat with timber to smooth, sow grass seed, drag seed in, water.

I would say save the roller until after you get it smoothed out using a squared timber (I think that is what was meant by a 'log', as logs are round and not straight) to drag it flat. After the grass seed comes up as grass (we hope /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ) then use the roller (after a year or two) in the early spring each year to pack the soil flat (being careful that packing doesn't harm the grass growth).

BobReeves · Sep 30, 2004

Hi Exeter,

We have similar interests except I fly Control Line models. This past spring I did exactly what you are about to do except mine is a circle. I have access to a tractor but do not have a tiller or disc. Hired a guy to come in and till the whole area with a tractor and 6 foot rototiller. I didn't mow or kill the existing field grass before the tilling and although it worked out I think it would have been less work if I had at least mowed first.

The tiller guy made two passes but even after that I still had quite a few grass clumps. After the tilling I leveled the larger rises and dips it as best I could with a box blade then made up a chain link fence drag and tried to drag it smooth. The left over grass clumps made it almost impossible for the drag to it's job because they would just ball up and the drag would jump up over the top. Out of frustration, went to Attwood's and bought an inexpensive landscape rake. This was just the ticket, the landscape rake pulled the clumps out but left the soil, I had a low spot just off the area I was working so I pulled all the clumps and what soil was sticking to them off into the low area.

After I had it as level and smooth as I could make it with the rake I went back to the drag for final leveling and smoothing. About an hour with a garden rake finished the areas I didn't do so well with on the tractor. Seeded it with Bermuda grass, hit it with the chain link fence drag to cover the grass seed then rolled it with a 4 foot lawn roller behind our garden tractor.

Due to the wetter than normal spring/early summer I didn't even have to water and in about a month I had a grass surface I can take off and land from with 1 3/4 inch wheels. The first few times I mowed it I hooked the roller behind the lawn tractor just for the heck of it. Not sure it did any good but I can tell you I have a very smooth and flat flying field.

Panache · Sep 30, 2004

I saw an article on how to make a backetball court. It used just the dirt already there and 1 bag of portland cement per sq yd tilled in about 6" deep. They said the advantage was after several years the court could be returned to sod by just tilling the whole thing back up. This might work better for the take-off and maintenance areas.

have_blue · Sep 30, 2004

I think it's unanimous that you mow it, disk it to a fine powder, drag it, and plant it. Invest in a fine, slow growing grass. It will pay you back big time. Bermudagrass var. Princess77 is the best, but won't grow in Mich. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. Maybe bentgrass?

My field is round, 300' in diameter and slightly crowned. I'm still filling shallow puddles that appear after a rain, but it's almost table-top smooth. I have over 100' of "rough" around the edges that I just brush hog.

Do consider round. You can land into the wind no matter what direction its blowing, and it mows sooooooo fast!

Please keep us updated, and post PICTURES if you can! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

SPIKER · Sep 30, 2004

I've had my plane for abotu 15 yrs, flying was great fun but after I got out of the military (USAF) i haven't done anymore than taxi it around a few times. there IS a club in the county but 15 miles away and I just never had time to continu my training. I have trainer 20 size with 2 controllers with buddie cord/trainer cord so one controls and other is a DUMMY which would be ME /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif but I did free fly for quite a while and had some good lessons. I would say that 1.5 acres is a bit small for RC flight if you ever want to get into anything bigger. trees and hills can cause an ECHO of the control signal and make things happen! I was at 2 places both with major fly clubs, Wichita KS @ McConnell AFB and @ Edwards AFB ca. while I never had the fly time @ whichita there was major compitision there. @ edwards we had the DRYLAKE bed as a landing field! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif fuel out no problem lol. though you had to watch the echo problem @ one location about 200 yds out to the north. the dish shape of the canyon walls caused sevier control problems there... also there were more than a FEW diviots in the lake bed from failed control error... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

One of the guys I flew with (a dirrect supervisor of mine) had probably 20 or so planes. he had a NEW BUILT one bite it bad on the maden voyage I think we crissened it HMS titanic after that! lol. it had a 7' wing span and was similar to a PIPER CUB. flew nicely to about 75' out & 25' up then did a 90 degree up to about 100 feet rolled and nosed into the ground! not much left... never found the problem as I know of but we didn't get the FAA involved

lol on the FUN FLY weekends, there would be 500+ planes on the leke bed and waiting for fly time. some really impressive stuff too!! stop speed tests and everythign...

anyhow I wish you lots of FUN 7 LUCK I still have mine if you want to make an offer! I have about 1k invested... PM me if interested

Mark M

exeter_acres · Sep 30, 2004

Great stuff....

a few rolls are ok...just no big pot holes or dips....

and the acre and a half, is just my area.... I am surrounded by farms and open space... so the "up in the air" space is MUCH larger....

Well... guess I'll stop over at the tractor shop and see about a tractor with discs for a day....

Worst case if I don't like the results is I had a day driving a tractor around....and that ain't so bad! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

SLOBuds · Oct 1, 2004

Does discing work in the summer when he ground is dry? Or do you simply end up with the discs not penetrating the ground?

Egon · Oct 1, 2004

Disking works if you have weight and the ability to pull.

Egon

have_blue · Oct 2, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Disking works if you have weight and the ability to pull.

Egon )</font>

I'll just add that it takes more passes, but the disk is easy to pull on hard ground. Once the first 3 or 4" are broken through, the soil usually starts powdering up real good.