10 TIPS FOR GRASS AND SHORT FIELD FLYING
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- čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
- Welcome to Short Field a channel all about the lighter side of aviation and today we’ve got 10 tips for flying into short grass and farm strips, so buckle up because here we go.
Flying into grass strips can be challenging but also a lot of fun and there is a real sense of achievement and privilege in visiting somewhere that’s off the beaten track.
Short grass and farm strips can help hone your piloting skills as they are often far more unforgiving and require tight speed and aircraft control skills all without the cues you would normally expect at a regular airport and every one is generally totally unique.
Tip 1. THE FIRST QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF, IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE?
Tip 2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Link to CZcams video shown: • Nayland - Fly the Hill...
Tip 3. ASK YOURSELF, CAN I DO THIS?
Tip 4. ALWAYS GET PERMISSION!
Tip 5. PREPARE THE AIRCRAFT AND YOURSELF.
Tip 6. STUDY THE WEATHER!
Tip 7. APPROACHING THE FIELD.
Tip 8. LANDING.
Tip 9. ONCE ON THE GROUND.
Tip 10. DEPARTURE.
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My name is Terry Kent and I am a General Aviation private pilot operating out of North Weald EGSX in the UK. Short Field is my channel focused on the lighter side of aviation. I use various cameras to record my videos and stills and edit them in Adobe Premiere Pro, I always attempt to post my videos in the highest possible quality, normally 4k.
I fly a 2011 Pipersport two seat single engined aircraft that is also known as the PS28 or SportCruiser. It cruises at 105 knots and has superb short take off and landing capabilities.
My videos may give helpful information to pilots visiting the airfields that I cover but please remember these are just for entertainment, I am not an instructor nor should anything shown in my videos be used for real world aviation, also the airfields may have totally changed or even closed since the making of the video so always consult the latest information for your country.
If you enjoyed the video, give it a ‘thumbs up’ and leave a comment in the box below. Share it with anyone you think would be interested and tick SUBSCRIBE to be informed by CZcams when I upload my next video.
IMPORTANT: The airfields shown in this video will all require a PPR (Prior Permission Required) confirmation from the operator/owner before visiting by aircraft, please use the appropriate publication to obtain the current contact details, these can be found via the SkyDemon app or Pooleys and AFE Flight Guides. If you visit them it will be at your own risk! Flying schools and aircraft hirers may not be covered to visit unlicensed airfields.
Thanks Terry a 10 out of 10 for this one!!!!
Thank you for your very kind comment Mikey.
Hi, nice channel. I’ve been a stripper for over 20 or so years. Only when you invite a non stripper do you appreciate the extra knowledge you have learnt either the easy way or hard. I would add non strippers pilots don’t check the wind direction by far as much as is needed for this.....oh and Sandy was the gold standard for my Eurostar to get into, always focused the mind.
Thank you for the kind comment. I tried 35 at Sandy a few weeks ago in the PiperSport but the wind was really gusty and I bottled it on short final and went to Little Gransden instead. I agree as someone who has been flying for 30 years but only got into strip flying in the last 4. I love it because it's all down to you and give me a farmers field in the middle of nowhere on a sunny day with a packed lunch on my own anyday over a greasy airfield cafe. :-)
Thanks Terry - very useful!!
No thank you Mike for watching.
Great stuff Terry, I love strip flying! Your tips are spot on. One to add from me is to take it really easy whilst taxying and keep stick/column well back as the unexpected lumps and bumps could ruin your day after doing all the hard work landing nicely.
That's a brilliant point Nick, there's no runway inspections to check for holes or debris. I know it's probably a bit late but I like to walk the runway once I've landed to note a go/no go point and look at the condition of the strip. Normally doesn't take that long either because by their very nature, they're short :-)
Very nicely done, very watchable.
Thank you sooo much Russ for the very kind comments.
Excellent..!
Thank you Andy.
This is great! I have subscribed and will keep an eye out for more videos. Really nice shots, especially from the drone and that's a lovely plane you have.
Cheers Rory and really appreciate the sub. Also great to have a comment from a seasoned CZcamsr to a newbie like me. Thank you very much.
Excellent video Terry. A very useful and informative second film for your channel. I know they were not in any particular order and all are very important, but as far as we are concerned at Nayland, number 4 is the most important. Breaching planning restrictions could have major financial and other, longer lasting, implications for the airfield. Great video idea Terry and good points well made! 👍
Thank you Tim, I still need to work out the cards bit I wanted to add one where I show your channel but it wouldn't let me, maybe because my channel is new, I did add a link in the description though. Totally agree with your point, permission should actually be tip number 1 and anyone who doesn't get it prior to take off should be at least banned from the field for life if they turn up uninvited.
Nice one Terry, great to see subscribers increasing and good level of views, Cheers Chris Bolt Head Airfield Salcombe Devon.
Thanks so much Chris, be good to do a little video on your beautiful field this summer. Thank you for your very kind comments as well.
A wonderfully useful video Terry, nice to see Winglands there and also the mentioning of other aircraft operators ( paramotors etc). I liked the RT part as someone commented on my recent video saying they add the extra "Traffic" on the end..very confusing and not CAP 413. I liked the little sideslip coming in over the trees on one of the strips, very slick. I can really see your channel growing ( thank Tim Palmer) as it has a high production standard, I'm a simple vlogger. keep the content coming and thank you for a really useful video.
What a wonderful comment to get. As my first proper video I have had the benefit of time to put this together. I still hate the voice-over bit and even though I scripted this I still stumbled over words but I'm so pleased that people seem to like it. I'm not sure I can do a vlog as I never feel I have enough to say so will probably stick to more of this type of format where I have the time to piece together more of a resource. I have my next one on the go at the moment but I still need to fly some more to get the right shots for the narrative. Hopefully I can create a resource for us little guys :-) You are right though, this is all Tim's fault :-)
@@ShortField You should see my outtake file...it's huge, I hate talking, but I'm ok while flying. It takes time and your format is good. Nice 'hook', slick intro and engaging content. what more can you ask for.
@@GolfFoxtrot22 thank you
Great video, Terry. Nice aeroplane too :)
You should try it one day :-) Cheers Nick we need to get that pub booked!
Those were all good tips. I hope one day to be able to put them into practice. One day.
Thank you Robert.
Great video/tutorial - well done Terry 👍🏻 After Maypole closed I moved to Clipgate, featured many times in your video! it certainly focuses my mind every time I fly but good fun and sharpens your flying especially in crosswinds 😱
I don't know how you do it Trev, what made me laugh was Pooleys gave the runway width as 30 meters wide, when I got there (as you can see in the video) the owner had cut it about 5 meters wide, just goes to show you must always be prepared for things to be different when you get there :-) I visited on a benign day I wouldn't fancy it in anything but light winds.
Thanks a lot! Today I did touch and go with an FK9 on a 700m grass strip, one one which I’ve easily touched with the Robin dr400 and Cessna 172. But with the FK9 I just couldn’t slow down! I came of final with 100km/h, the right speed for one notch of flaps (full flaps have to be repaired), completely reduced throttle during all the final, right glide slope, yet the plane wouldn’t touch, it just glided and glided… parallel to the ground, mere inches from it… When it finally touched it was past two thirds of the strip on! I then gave it full gas and thanks to its steep climb angle avoided by large the trees lined on the RWYs edge..
And all this, while mere three days ago I landed this plane on a 250m and 300m strips with no problem. Probably stronger head wind? I can explain it otherwise. Cheers, enjoying your vids!
Super top tips, thanks very much!
No, thank you for watching.
Loved it Terry - fun and informative, what's not to like! Looking forward to more! Fly safe buddy.
Thank you Julian, it was fun to make :-)
I'm pretty glad to see all this aviation content going up in the UK. Seems to be a lot of people producing it at the moment. Education / interest, but also keeping GA going in the UK.
What a great comment. I totally agree there's some excellent UK channels out there atm. Do you fly?
About 9 hours worth. Flight Design CT2K, just upto circuit patterns. Not landed yet. Though was pretty gusty on Friday. Flying 200 feet over the runway will have to do. Seems odd aiming for the ground after avoiding it for the last 8 hours or so! Got about 3 hours in before we were al grounded for 182 days. PPL(M).
@@liquidusblue Where are you flying from?
@@ShortField Sackville (Riseley), long strip but undulates!
@@liquidusblue oh cool I've never been there, I'll have to try and get a PPR. I'll let you know if I'm coming if you're available I could say Hi and you could have a look at the Pipersport?
Great video Terry! I've subscribed and I look forward to seeing more of these videos from you!
Thank you so much for the kind comments and the sub!
Beautiful video!
This is fantastic 👐 I'm gonna love this channel (I already love your pics and videos on FB)
Thank you sooo much I'm a newbie with YT but hopefully I have enough material to entertain and inform. Thank you again the positive feedback is very much appreciated.
Nice one! 👍🏻
I fly into grass strips as standard, if it is a new field I take two Google Earth pictures with me in the cockpit, one just of the fiels and the other of the area around (covering about twice the area of the circuit). With my aircraft I don't normally have a problem with runway length (200m is more than enough, for me, even for stubble field).
That is a great idea, strip flying pilots are always more aware of their aircrafts performance than those that operate out of big runways. It's good to do both but I think short stuff makes you a better pilot.
@@ShortField not sure about better pilots, they say that about flying tail draggers, which means I should be a great pilot but I am only average.
@@flyingkub :-)
Great Video Terry. Great Tips! Looking forward to seeing more from the Channel.
Cheers Gav and thank you for your kind comments.
This is really good content. Thanks for putting together.
Cheers Ben most appreciated, just need you to do the voice over :-)
Nice video Terry! Pleased to see my home field in there too.
Thanks Paul need to come back soon. Hope you are well buddy.
Thanks for Great tips!!!
No, thank you for watching it is so appreciated.
Great video Terry, and loving the drone shots, nice to get some aerial shots to break it up - awesome!
Thanks Matt, I have loads of footage but only started recording in 4k last year and I want to post everything in that res so I will only go back to the 1080 stuff as a last option. Thanks again buddy, I've got to do another one now :-)
Great video, love all the different angles really well put together item, you`ve set the bar very high. Good Job.
Wow thanks Stuart!
Excellent video Terry, thanks for sharing. Lee
Thank you Lee it was fun to make, I even did a bit of acting with a cheese sandwich :-)
@@ShortField I might have to try that out in my videos 🤣
Just found your channel & love it! Nice work 😊👍🏻
Thank you for your kind comment, should have some new stuff up this week. Cheers Buddy!
Excellent video. Many thanks👍
Thank you very much for watching. Awesome!
I am learning to fly a C42 out of Clench Common which is a small grass airstrip. I get the advantage of learning those skills but miss out on some of the RT experience I would get at a bigger airfield. Pluses and minuses to both I suppose.
How far are you into your training David, have you gone solo yet? I may do a video about RT and operating into controlled airspace and larger airports.
@@ShortField I am 25 hours in and went solo last October. However, lockdown and the weather have hampered things a bit since so I am still only on the circuit and solo consolidation phase. Any guidance on RT would always be useful.
@@davidsmeaton3082 you will get there, I can assure you that learning at a small strip is far better than at a large airfield with a long runway. It teaches you discipline from the start, the RT is the easy bit and the more you interact with controllers the easier it gets.
@@davidsmeaton3082 David the best way to get your RT up to a high standard is to fly as passenger in charge of radio. Then go into some of the busier fields. You’ll be surprised how quickly it will all come together. It’s also nicer to share your flying with a friend!
Great video Terry 👍
Thank you, I enjoyed making it :-)
Great video Terry, I’ll be hoping to do some of my own this year!
Looking forward to having you at Sleap EGCV some time 👍
Definitely looking forward to visiting Sleap, cheers Rhys.
Just catching up. Great stuff.
Cheers.
I live on a grass trip it makes great practice
Strip flyers make the best pilots.
Cracking video. Cliff Lovell's old strip in the 1980s was challenging. Near Kingsclere iirc. Can you cover some of the short field take off and landing techniques next time please?
Thank you sooo much for your kind comments. I could do something regarding general short and soft field techniques but each aircraft has there own differences and I could only do something that was generic. Thank you again you are awesome.
@@ShortField You're most welcome! Sounds like the perfect compromise - generic approach and comments would do great. Eg short field take off, rough field take off, short field landing, rough field landing etc etc.
@@musoseven8218 I'll have a go. Thank you.
Great video
Cheers bro x
Good work, short strips can intimidate some pilots and as a result they miss out on some real treasures. Hopefully your tips will help some of those guys safely make a visit.
Thank you, I used to be put off but with the right aircraft and some experience they offer some great fun and can be super rewarding. Where do you fly from?
Otherton Staffs. Actually a great airfield as a starter for short runway practice as most of the approaches are clear of obstacles, 16 being the exception....final turn is a tight right to avoid overflying the motorway.
@@flyinglight that sounds like a cool strip, I will have to try and visit in the summer and say Hi.
Excellent video: Would you mind if I link it to the briefing pack I give out to PPR visitors to the strip our group runs?(suitably acknowledged of course)
I would be honoured, where is your strip Pete?
@@cusco9 that looks really nice, any chance of allowing a visit Pete?
@@ShortField Absolutely: look us up on SD and follow contact details -We have strict noise avoidance and PPR/Briefing mandatory
Great video and thanks for taking the time to make it - This is something I am always talking about !! - People who learn on small grass strips dont worry so much, but do worry about visiting large airports and vica versa, in that pilots who learn at larger places are worried about going to grass strips
Totally agree, I learnt at a large airport and for years I was intimidated by flying slow and landing on anything that was soft, coupled with a couple of bad experiences on grass. Now I love it and with the right aircraft it can be safe and very rewarding. Thank you for your kind comments Chris, where are you based?
@@ShortField I'm at Belle Vue mate
@@altomar718 don't know that field but I will look it up for a visit when I go to Devon in the summer. Cheers buddy.
Great video Terry, interesting how you hit 1.1k views in two days, I think the thumbnail and title really were an eye-catcher . Chris.
Why, do you think the title suggests I was going to take my clothes off? If I had they would have been very disappointed :-)
Hi Terry, great work on the video, really nicely put together and very interesting. An idea for another video, I'm not sure if you own/share/rent your plane but I'm interested in the numbers behind flying. What's the cost of aircraft ownership, insurance, fueling etc. Any tips on how to get the most from your plane/share and the most, safe, hours for your £. Looking forward to more content!
Thanks Mark that's a great idea, I will do an honest video on actual costs for the SportCruiser, and thank you so much for your very kind comments.
@@ShortField Brilliant, thanks, Terry! I'm working towards my QXC at the moment so hopefully, once I've finished my PPL, I'll be able to look at the best way of getting myself into a plane. Cheers, Mark
Great video, any chance you could list the airfields shown in the video? There looks some really nice strips to visit?
I will definitely sort that James. Thank you for your kind comment. Terry
Subscribed :)
Oh that just popped up on my notifications. Top man, hopefully you will like my next effort :-)
@@ShortField Looking forward to next ones!
You didn’t mention standard short field takeoff procedure - on takeoff, if you have flaps, always remember to have flaps full before takeoff; pull back on yoke immediately, which will raise the nose gear sooner than the plane can fly, then upon liftoff, push nose down and fly parallel, building up sufficient speed to then climb out. And when landing on a short field, or grass field with high or wet grass, execute a cross-control approach higher above the threshold than usual, which will allow you to descend more rapidly, decreasing the landing rollout compared to making a usual and longer final approach. I don’t understand why a tailwind takeoff or landing is ever appropriate, especially on a short field. If the reason is to avoid a noise-restricted area, then go somewhere else. Especially when there is a heat ground effect, tailwind takeoffs are always too dangerous.
Great advice Jim, this was one of my first YT vids it needs updating.
Looks like you’ve been into my home strip of Benington
Yes I've been there a few times it's a lovely place. I saw Marcello there fixing his Europa on my last visit, do you have an aircraft there and which one is it?
@@ShortField he said you had visited. I’ve a europa also. It in the hangar with the movements book attached to it
@@acengineer737 I love that place probably because it is the pure essence of a proper farm strip.
Hi Terry - great video, but only just found it! :-) Please can you tell me which strip you are approaching over the trees, at 7:25 into the video?
Thank you it was Clipgate in Kent tricky little strip 👍
Non GA here! Can any GA aircraft land on strips or just specialised aircraft? So say I have a cessna 172 could that land on a strip? What is the ideal AC for this type of piloting?
A 172 is great for strip flying. Ironically with it's small wheels the Sportcruiser is not really designed for these types of runways however with it's high power to weight ratio and low stall speed it works perfectly if it's not too muddy.
Helpful video thanks! But totally crass and completely unnecessary (and distracting music). Feels like while I'm trying to concentrate on the really useful stuff you're imparting somebody next door is blasting music through thin walls into my ears. Honestly, you don't need it to get people's attention - especially the sort of people who are likely to find what you show interesting. Have more confidence in your material - it's good!
Stephen, this is genuinely my favourite comment. It's so hard to know how to pitch these kind of info videos I don't want to leave areas of silence plus I wanted to make it quite light and easy to watch rather than serious and dictatorial. I totally agree with your comments about the music and in my defence this was one of the first videos I posted on this channel, so was, (and still am learning). If you take a look at the latest one (about the 10 strips in 10 minutes) I still included the same music but toned it right down. Constructive criticism is the only way I'm going to find out what people really think and this is super helpful. Thank you again for the kind comments and the watch.
@@ShortField No problem, if it helps that's great. As a long time documentary director in real life plus a fairly long time (1,300 hrs) private pilot it's fascinating to see how the two skills come together these youtube videos - and it's really important (and to be encouraged) to experiment. So well done you. The problem with music is this: it comes, as you suggest, from a fear of the silent bits, or the bits with just voice-over. But it's not always needed if the material is strong enough in the first place. If used, I believe it should have a purpose far beyond that fear of those 'empty' spaces. It should actually ADD something useful, interesting, sometimes emotive. Just lowering the level is not really enough, in my opinion. Either have the confidence to go for it because it's right and truly works, or lose it altogether. Sorry, you got my director hat on there!
@@stephenwalker3072 thanks again