Sometimes some guys will "complain" jokingly that the grass is too high, but I take it lightly. I tell them they ought to fly bigger planes, haha. And I mow when I like, but definitely not on the busy weekend mornings when guys, myself included, expect to FLY. However on a weekday, if there is only one other guy than myself there, and I need to mow, I ask them to use one end while I mow the other, and then we switch, or I just mow when the guy is on the ground again. I think the guys in my club are pretty easy going and non-confrontational. Jon

At my club we have a volunteer that mows all 27 acres once a week. Other members volunteer for all the trim work. Our club rules put mowing a priority over flying. So if I don't like what is flying I can, by club law, close the field. So far I don't mind any type of aircraft in the air with the exception of extremely large, and pylon planes. But as it is the club members know I mow on Thursday and don't come out. So far it works out real good.

The last club I was in that has mowing duty had everyone on the mowing roster. Individuals were free to swap assigned dates but it was the responsibility of the originally assigned individual to make sure that it was done. You could also hire someone to take your place, usually members' kids, for $10. Two people were always scheduled for safety and to ensure the mowing and trimming were finished by the time flying started for the day. Missing your mowing day or failing to make sure it was covered was a $25 fine, payment required before you could renew your membership. Miss more than one and your membership was suspended until the fines were paid. To make things easier the club owned two riding mowers, which made quick work of mowing our runway and pit areas. As strict as it sounds there was never a problem getting folks out to mow. Those who were unable to mow due to disability or other such issues had no shortage of volunteers to take their place. It was a good system that worked well for that club.

Where I fly now there are no mowing duties. There's also no grass. Sand and rocks, on the other hand...we got plenty of that, as Watto would say.

Our club, 60 members, have 3 people that have volunteered to mow the field and maintain two club owned John Deere mowers. The other 57 just ***** about how it is done and complain about maintenance expenses. Weekly mowing required for a good part of the year here in N. Central Florida. Mowing takes about 2 hours.

Our club had similar problems for years. It created much tension within the club. About 5 years ago we voted to pay the cutters $20 per cut which was applied toward dues. Any excess would be paid in cash. This barely covers cost of gas to travel to and from the field. Since the policy was introduced, not a week has gone by without the grass being cut. More importantly, the bickering about who cuts and who doesn't cut grass has ended.

Quickest way we found to shut up the complainers was to tell them that, since they don't like it then they are more than welcome to take over. Usually gets awful quiet all of a sudden. We had a lot of guys griping about how much we were paying to hire it out, but none would step up to do it. We just take bids and have a yearly contract that is currently being handled by a club member. He is using the income to pay for the really nice tractor he bought.
Oh, and for my money, I would rather pay higher dues and just fly when I can. My time is limited and I'm not gonna lose any to doing that job.

Pebble Creek Flyers of Waukesha WI. own our land, and pay have 75 members @ $135/yr dues.
We have a commercial land scarper cut about 5 acres of our 37 acres ounce a week for $150. 3 years ago it rained so much that we had to cut twice a week for about 8 weeks. that resulted in an extra $1200 grass cutting expense.
The other Club LakeLand R/C Inc in Oconomowoc, WI. is on a Private full scale air port and our land lord cuts our 168' x 600' flight area and the pits when he cuts the
N-S 100'x2100' and E-W 75' x 1200' runways. One of our members need a place to keep one of his Zero Turn mowers so we bought a 8x10 shed and we cut a carrier deck about 50' x 250' in the center of our runway much shorter because of the small electrics being used today. The 3rd club I fly with the Arizona model Aviators of Apache Junction AZ. Cuts weeds Around their 100' x 750' Paved strip a couple of times a year By dragging an I beam behind a tractor in the parking lot and dirt areas around the field. Almost for got the 4th club the RAF Rubicon Area Flyers.1.3 miles West of Rubicon WI.on CT HY N. $20/tr dues 20 members. Their Land lord about 5 years ago was building 2 R/C Car Tracks and just resided it would be nice to have a 150'x 600' Approx. Flying field. And he doesn't even fly. Mike is a really nice guy and he cuts it too.

our clubs dues include mowing fee, and one member gets paid to mow. works out very well

Retired guys!! :)

Our President borrows a huge tractor from a farmer and blades off the tumbleweeds and other weeds.

We have a small club and pay a professional to cut the grass once a week. It works well and I can't ever imagine us cutting it ourselves. As someone mentioned earlier, I'd much rather pay to have someone do it. I'm willing to pay extra for the luxury of having a professional cut it.

We have a volunteer crew to maintain our spread. The club furnishes all of the equipment, except the brush hog, and gas and our excellent crew does great work keeping it looking much like a well manicured golf course.

RJ

I am a member of two clubs. I continue to be a member of, and support my local club although my interests have turned to jets and have required me to join a club 45 minutes away in another state. I have two young boys and because they always come before my toys I can only make it out about once a month to fly. I have not even flown at my local club in about three years. In the case of the club where I do get to fly my jets on occasion I am not looking to shirk the responsibility of maintenance but if forced to I just don't have the free time that some of the retired members who can always be found at the field do. If the issue were pressed I would have to give the hobby up entirely for the time being. Keeping in mind that a club lives on dues that is just more money walking out the door not to mention that you rarely have to compete with me for time on the flight line. I would however welcome a "work bond" to pay for labor that must then be contracted out or to compensate member dues of those who are more able to contribute the time. Now in the case of my local club who's dues I have continued to pay although not using the facility, if work days or even a work bond were pressed I would be left no option but to again withdraw my membership and the associated dues. This being very difficult for a club in a small town and consisting of only twenty members.
Finally my point is that a heavy handed approach will in many cases force money out the door from members that you rarely have to compete with for flight time. And now in addition to field maintenance you have to spend time on membership drives to replace lost revenue.

I'm listening and taking notes. Lots of different ideas here. I think some might just work for us. I will make a list and present them to the officers of the club who can then look them over and do with them what they will.

Thanks for all the replies. This has been really helpful. Any and all ideas are welcome.

We rent a small part of a farm. The farmer gets the rental fee, and that includes him mowing the grass. It works good for us... and obviously for him. He had us for over a decade now...


Gerry

i have volunteered to help but it isnt easy with a full time job and the mowing happens on friday mornings. the few times i have been able to make it out, the "Sarge" complained the entire time i was on the mower. had to do it his way. well you know what sarge, if the grass is cut and no spots have been missed, whats the problem? i finally said the hell with it, mow it yourself.

Alan used to do it and once a year (in the spring) we'd rent an extra mower and have a field clean up day. It don't rain in the summer so no growth then. But gophers are a real pain and nobody seems to know what to do about them.
A couple of years ago we found we could hire a guy to do the clean up for less than the cost of renting a ride on mower. So that's what we do now.