REFLECTOR: XLRG on Grass

[Greg Poole]

In my experience there are grass strips (finely manicured, high % coverage
and no stones, sand or sticks) and there are grass strips (grass 4" long,
45% coverage, heaps of small to medium stones to vacuum up) so it is hard to
draw comparisons when you only have a couple to draw on.

My experience with Leon Howe's XL (that Dave Dent now has in California) is
that the damage to the 3rd set of MT prop blades (within TT of 40hrs) that
was on the plane (the first was destroyed in a hard landing, the 2nd set
(you saw in my pictures that Dave Black reposted here) lost 6" off two
blades while we were away on a trip, and the 3rd set had very little time
before Mr Dent  bought the aircraft - is that the majority of stone damage
occurred on takeoff, landing and runups on tar.  The XL would likely take
slightly more revs to get rolling on rough surfaces than a Std fuselage -
perhaps that might be another factor involved?

Unfortunately all sets of prop blades looked beaten after just a half dozen
takeoffs and landings. I think our experience backs John Ward's experience
except we might have alot more stones sitting on our asphalt than the US
has. My memory of Sebastian FL aerodrome is one of a similar surface as we
have where Leon's plane operated out of. I know the factory regularly
refinishes the MT prop blades on its' airplanes but do not recall seeing the
same amount of dings for time in use that we experienced.

I'm looking to put deflectors on my mains and nosegear and to use a more
resilient c/s prop than the MT if I can find one ....methinks MT might be
making to much money from repairing blades to bother with putting any effort
into making a stronger, more resilient blade..

Greg in Sydney.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "johnward" <n120rj at gulftel.com>
To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 3:03 AM
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: XLRG on Grass


> Tim, I'm the John Ward that Ronnie mentioned and I operate my Standard
> Velocity RG Elite from a 2,500 foot turf strip.  The engine is an
IO-360C1e6
> with MT prop.  I wouldn't operate from here if I didn't own the strip
> because it's barely long enough.  Have to be pretty light on fuel if I
have
> a passenger.  The only prop damage, mostly sand abrasion of paint and
stone
> dings were when I flew off the initial hours after certification at
> Sebastian.  The prop has since been repainted and looks like new except
for
> one ding from a stone (I think) that happened at RYY, a paved runway.  I
> have a total of 155 hours on the plane and I would prefer a grass strip
but
> a nice long one like Leeward Air Ranch in central Florida.  The only
> downside I have from the turf strip is the dead bug residue on the prop
that
> is more prevalent than from a paved surface.  I guess you could hit the
> grass on rotation but that hasn't been a problem since it's mowed once a
> week in the growing season.  I don't believe the grass clipping/residue
that
> may hit the prop is going to any more significant than the bugs that run
> into the prop.  I have friends with an XL and long EZ that haven't had a
> problem at my strip.
> Hope this helps,
> John Ward
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <TimRhod at aol.com>
> To: <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 10:08 PM
> Subject: REFLECTOR: XLRG on Grass
>
>
> > Can Anyone share their experience using the XLRG on grass strips. Does
it
> > hurt you MT prop if it hits the grass?  Does it hit the grass on
rotation
> or
> > landing?   Any gear problems on grass. Im considering retiring to  an
> airpark
> > and a lot of the ones I'm considering have grass Strips. If grass is  OK
> what
> > would you consider a minimum runway length?   Thanks Tim  Rhodenbaugh
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