There is chance we can get a new flying field and the land owner is open to having it paved. I am getting quotes for pavement tomorrow, but would like to get some input.

The field will be located on a 540 acre cow hearding area with about 40 acres provided for pitting, runway and parking.

Based on fields that have done this, what is the ideal width and runway for a jet friendly field? I was thinking 75 x 900 ft (but that may be too costly)

Other options were: 50 x 800, 40 x 700

Our current field is grass and is 75x800 works fairly well for landings, but can be an issue for small EDF/Jets on take off.

Also what is the best material to use? Concrete or asphalt? how think? 2 inches?

Thanks

Unless you have some inside contacts, the cost of doing concrete or asphalt for that matter is very expensive. In addition, you are putting it on someone else's property and you can't take it with you if he doesn't want you there sometime in the future. You may want to look into a geotextile like petromat which is cheaper, removeable and repairable. It's not as nice as concrete or asphalt but you can roll it up and put it somewhere else if you lose your field. JMO.

Marty

i would recommend you check with a geotechnical engineer in the area, they may give you a recommendation based on their knowledge of similar conditions in the area. Make sure you explain what you are using it for, and they should be able to 'cheat' the thickness down a bit from a full fledged parking area paving. i would imagine they would recommend asphalt. probably 4" of asphalt or so on top of 8"-12" base. Will the site require any grading?

if the paving company has worked in the area they may have a report to base a 'design' from.

For size the bigger is always better, but i think 50' is about as narrow as i would want to go, and shoot for 700;

Ours is 70x800 of 4" asphalt. Its really a nice size but you still need your A game on landing. When you have 6 months off for winter it looks pretty darn small those first couple flights until you are back in the saddle.

I don't think you would ever want to consider much less then 4" of asphalt even with a good base. If you have just a couple inches and live in a very hot climate a vehicle would leave deep grooves in it.

I did not include that note in my first post, but as Kelly mentioned, if you skinny up the asphalt, no vehicles should be getting on it.

At my field we did crushed rock 6" then 2-3" of asphault. We have 2 runways one is 30'x300 and the one us Jet guys use is 30'x400' granted it is small and tight , but with 20 yrs of practice it works just fine ( like a carrier deck).
If I remember correct the last time we retopped it it was about $1000.00 per 30'x100 linear ft.

When we go to shows, it amazes me how much runway some of the guys use. If I could have it my way I would say 40'-50' wide and 600'-700' length.


Tim

Wont let me post pics so here is the link

http://jaxrc.com/

Can you guys post any numbers, a no. of members say they dont' want anything less than 50 Ft paved with at least 20 ft of smooth grass on both sides.

We agreed to having it at leas 700 ft, with an additional 200 ft of smooth grass.

so 50x700 ft is going to be the minimum, now to ask around, it appears half the cost is just the prep work,

searching online people are estimating $1.80-$2.00/sq foot for asphalt pavement 2" (I think this would be fine for rc planes)

so 50x700 x 2.0 = $70,000.00 [] perhaps over 10 years that's about $7,000.00/year not too bad....

Our runway is going to be repaved next month. Its 550X42ft and the quotes have come in around $20K.
The original runway is about 1inch thick which is too thin. The cold snowy winters have caused huge cracks in it which have been filled and maintained over the years. This has been very costly for the club.
The new black top will almost double the thickness and make it nice and smooth. Be sure to order the thickness at least 2-3in so it will last through heavy winters and so you don't have to pay for it again later on.

Also if you tell the local asphalt guy they can have a sign to advertise at the field you might get a little discount, call them a sponsor. If they need a write off they will get a tax credit if your a nonprofit org.

Cool I didn't think they made stuff specifically for RC, but found this:

http://www.usfabricsinc.com/products...ing-geotextile

doesn't look too sturdy though, any clubs using it?

Google TORKS' Tom Jones Field in OKC.

The runway shown is asphalt that has been there since the 1970's. it measures 32 by 350. We had some patching done a decade ago and found out that the THICKEST point was a whole 1-1/2 inches. most of it was just 3/4 thick. It was laid on hard packed soil and we've had 5 1:1 scale helicopters on it at one time.

One thing to consider in your width decision is how wide of a path does the paving machine do? I doubt very much that they drop half widths. Ours is 32 feet wide because that was one pass by the paving machine

HTH

Good luck with the project

There are clubs using it. It can get nicks from prop strikes which can be easily fixed. I think someone said they used CA and I believe I read that it will burn if a jet such as a Reaction, Bobcat etc...which have angled down turbines sit in one spot for more than a few seconds. You still need to have a good base to lay it over which will still cost you money to get it right but the club itself can lay the runway out and hammer in the large staples or spikes.

Marty

Our club in Northern Cal did a petro mat. We stepped up for the 900.00 per 15' by 300 Ft rolls. We put down 8 rolls. With overlap it is about 55 foot wide and 600 long. The mistake we made was not putting a good base under it. We tilled in a large quantity of ash. The runway is soft and the jets take a lot of distance to get off. If we were to do it again a AB rock and roll it like asphalt would work better. You do not want any thing to fine under it . It will work its way through it and now the runway will be dirty. Asphalt is the way to go but costly when you do not own the property or have a long lease. Good luck Dan

Where is the proposed new field. As you know Louisiana has very soft soil. I may want to join your club if you go with asphalt.

Here is the flying area that we are negotiating, although the owner has a lot of land, the first 230 acres are so is where most of the flying would be.

I have attached a screenshot

Here is a link:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...61948,0.132093

doesnt Mike Haddox have a paving company up in Reston? he is a member here and may be able to provide more details. When we built ours a few years back we paid $1.66/sf for it, and did have grading issues but worked with a contractor doing other work in the area. With as much movement as the gumbo soil is going to get, i'd spend the money on the base to stabilize it as much as possible. maybe run petromat for a few years and fundraise for asphalt. Then make sure you have an annual fund for crack seal to keep it solid.

dos007 my father was born in Norco, nice to know there's a jet guy around there.

Disco,

I sent you a PM. Left my numbers. Mike

Not an expert, but feel obligated to give my 2c. By trade I am a golf course superintendent at a 36 hole facility. We allocate between 20-30K in our budget annualy for cartpath repairs. That being said, we have over 4 miles of asphalt cartpath. All you would need for an RC runway is a solid 4" base of grade 8 limestone ( aka CA-6 ). And at most 3" of asphalt on top. Those are the numbers we go by which hold up to daily golf cart traffic. The only reason we have to spend so much money is due to freeze/thaw cycles we get in Chicagoland. In an earlier post 70K was mentioned, Pardon my reaction, but that is frikkin ludicrus. Do yoursaelf a favor and contact a local golf course superintendent at a higher end club that has money to spend. Chances are they have contacts with an independent 'shaper' who will do all the coring and grading at pennies on the doller compared to larger companies. Then you can get someone to come and lay the asphalt. Again, just my 2c, but a phone call couldn't hurt. BTW, once you solidify your runway measurments, any and all companies will give you a free estimate.

Lots of good info here, please let us know what comes of this.