ORIGINAL: OffroadBEAR
Well, I did fly at beech field, but I think its too small and I won't be flying anything large there (working on a CG 1/4 Sukhoi 26 for next season), but I started flying at chapin, until I crashed (for the second time this season) and took a break.
Chapin is nice because its basically a field, not a runway, so its almost like cheating the wind. Beech is a pain if the wind is from any direction other than due north or south. The beech runway being due North-south makes it difficult on days when the wind has variable direction or even constantly from an ordinal direction. The fact that its narrow and its surrounded by a hill and pilot box on the west, a gully on the east, a drop-off on the north, and a hill on the south means that you pretty much have to hit the runway or go around for another try
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That's why I fly most of the time at Chapin and not Beech. Down the middle of the runway at Chapin is a sweet spot, also called the hump which is where I take-off/land on that most of the time. If want a rough area with an east/west runway, I've been working on mowing in the east/west 3-pole course at the north end of the field. It’s far enough away from spectators/pits area to fly 428 pylon with the proper AMA safety margin.
When I feel like playing with a short runway and a flying area about the size of the pattern then I'll head off to Beech. I usually wont fly anything beyond a Sky Raider or Alpha 60 there, but do like the challenge of a good crosswind. Last time I was there I was shooting touch-n-go's in a 14 mph 90 deg. wind out of the west.
Last time I was there I just about hit the trees to the east of the runway – forgot how small it is.
Hogflyer