Flight Forum

LeRoy Cook did a fine job of covering the mechanics of flying in and out of grass runways in his article "Get Me Some Green" (September 2007 AOPA Flight Training). At the end, though, I felt like something was missing. That something was what was implied in the subtitle "The allure of grass runways." Only in the last paragraph did he give mention to the real joys of grass runways.

Not long ago I was a student pilot. I soloed in a Champ but finished my training in a Cherokee 140. My first airplane was a Luscombe 8A that, after a couple of years, was replaced by a Maule M-5. No, I have nothing against tricycle-geared airplanes. In fact, I like most anything that flies, as do most pilots.

But taildraggers in the early morning sun, with the dew sparkling on a nicely mowed grass strip, are where my heart is. The engine noises are softer because they are not beating against a hard macadam surface. The plane feels more alive as it kicks up a mist accelerating down the runway. When you lift away from the ground you are surrounded by the quietness of the countryside, not the harsh airport boundaries with their taxiways, control towers, and busy activity. Perhaps you circle the field once or twice waiting for a buddy to follow before heading off to another country airport for a platter of eggs over easy, hash browns, and a couple of strips of bacon.

On your return you simply announce yourself, keep an eye out, and enter the pattern. Maybe there is the extra challenge of a final over trees and the satisfaction of timing your second notch of flaps, or a nicely executed sideslip, to clear the obstacle with the most amount of runway left. Wind correction is a breeze because your nose does not have to be exactly down the center of a runway--a runway which, by the way, probably is much wider than a similar length of hard-surface strip.

The flare and settling in seem to be somehow slower. Numbers, painted stripes, and lights are not flashing by. No screech of tires from contact. No jerk to the side if your nose is a tad off dead ahead. There is hardly a need for brakes on rollout. A relaxed pilot is a good pilot. Maybe there is even a compliment from the occasional passenger who may be used to concrete. The best ones come from other pilots, your friends, who are probably standing by white hangars watching, waiting their turn with their bird.

Nobody is giving you instructions to hurry up and exit to the left onto the next taxiway and contact ground. There is time to enjoy the landing. A back taxi is a leisurely event that lets you absorb the feel of accomplishment. Best of all, you want to do it again and again just for the sheer delight of the experience!

These are the things I would want to teach a student pilot about the privilege of landing on grass strips in a taildragger.
Rod Hatcher
Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania

You can't be too accurate

While reading Budd Davisson's article "You Can't Be Too Good" (September 2007 AOPA Flight Training) I noticed that number 10, "Develop a performance checklist," gave an example of a While Flying Checklist. The example included a cruising altitude of 3,500 feet and a heading of 332 degrees.

The Aeronautical Information Manual states in Section 3-1-5 that the cruising altitude from 180 degrees to 359 degrees will be even thousands plus 500 feet (4,500, etc.). That can also be found in any training book. As AOPA Flight Training is an important update for both new and experienced pilots, please correct this before one of us meets another airplane cruising at the wrong altitude.

The missing keyword is agl. As a sea-level pilot, 3,500 feet is assumed to be an easterly cruise altitude only. Unless agl is included in the rule Davisson's example could cause confusion.
Allan Tubbs
Orrington, Maine

Davisson's checklist is an example that, in use, would be modified with specific parameters from your flight planning. It's always a good idea to be aware of terrain elevation. Federal Aviation Regulation 91.159, which establishes VFR cruising altitudes, provides that magnetic course-based headings are applicable only when flying higher than 3,000 feet above ground level (agl). In many parts of the country, it would be perfectly legal to fly westbound at 3,500 feet above mean seal level (msl)--while in other places, it would put you below ground level. Also remember that what's often referred to as the "hemispheric rule" is based on your magnetic course, which can differ from your heading because of winds aloft.--Ed.

Erratum

Paul Lucken was incorrectly described as a certificated flight instructor in "Career Pilot: Success Story" (September 2007 AOPA Flight Training). AOPA Flight Training regrets the error.

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