Soleair

Or an MZ201 (45hp & 30kg) or MZ202 (60hp & 40kg)

Thanks, HIC. That sounds eminently practical, though as you say, some may see it as environmentally non pc. I've had the strip 'harleyed' today, by a bobcat with a spiked roller, hydraulically powered. It didn't remove as much of the topsoil as I'd expected. The result is that the surface is largely levelled, at least adequately for my purposes, but it has left most of the existing grass (ryegrass?) in place. I'll maybe post a pic or two tomorrow. I'm actually quite pleased about this, as I had been trying to come up with solutions for type of seed, & method of watering, fertilising, etc. And all this on my shoestring budget, with no farming machinery. So I think now I'll just let the dust settle, build my hangar, & hopefully go flying. I don't expect much growth of anything - weeds or grass - until we get some rain (none in the forseeable), or until next spring. At that time, I'll either get some sheep, or just bite the bullet & mow it as required. Thanks to all who have contributed. Bruce

Good to hear from another Max builder/pilot, Markdun. I made both enclosed & open canopies, so I can choose whatever suits the season. My MZ engine puts out a conservative 60hp, while weighing 40kg, so I have good power loading (around 11lb/hp with 40 litres of fuel). My climb rate is around 1000 fpm. I have been careful to reduce drag with fairing whatever I can, & it has given me quite a good speed range. I cruise around 80mph, and stall about 35 mph - maybe a little less with flaps. As well as being a lot of fun to fly, these little planes can get into very short strips. You probably found you can do some very steep sideslips, which give an impressive rate of descent. Very handy for getting over trees bordering a short strip. Here's mine at Mudgee. Bruce

I'm tempted to go no grass, but a couple of points concern me. Firstly, erosion. The strip is on a gentle slope, so no worries re standing water (not that it ever rains here). Would rolling after prepping it be enough to hold it together? Soil is mostly clay. Secondly, I'm guessing I'd have to spray fairly regularly with weedkiller. Given that the area is over 5000 sq.m, the cost of weedkiller - particularly good stuff like Roundup - is likely to add up over the year. Maybe to more than the cost of good grass seed (about $1200, plus the gear to water it). If you have made a grass strip, or operated a bare soil strip, I'd be very grateful for your feedback, slenne. Cheers! Bruce

No worries Steve. I hope you can sort the wing twist. CG for all Max's is between 21 - 30% of the wing chord. With a 54" chord, this equates to 11.34" - 16.2" back from the leading edge of the wing. Anecdotally, these planes are said to fly best with an aft c.g. Mine is pretty much full aft, as I fitted a (much lighter) MZ202 engine in place of the 503 it's designed for. I had to use a 2nd battery in the nose to ballast it to get the c.g. forward enough to reach the 30% condition. I've had no problem on stalls, so seems safe enough full aft. If you go here: Support you can download the flight manual which gives all the c.g. & flight envelope details. Bruce

Sorry, I've only just picked up this thread. The plans for all mid-wing Max's call for zero washout. The ribs are all identical, and the wing is built on a flat table to ensure no twist. The aileron is cut away from the completed wing, so no reflex in that, either. I don't know about the high wing version, but you can download the plans free from TEAM's website, & check what is called for. As has been suggested above, you may be able to achieve the design zero washout by adjusting strut lengths. As to flying characteristics, whilst I have not strayed far from the prescribed envelope, I have never found any tendency to drop a wing at the stall, provided rudder is straight & engine is on tickover. The Max is great fun to fly, & very well behaved. Feel free to pm me, Steve, if you have other Mini Max questions. And I'm assuming you know of the Lonesome Buzzards Max forum - a great resource. Error - ETLB Squawk Forums (edit: I don't know where the 'error' came from, but the link works) Bruce

I believe the principle of conservation of energy means that any object in orbit will continue at its present speed almost indefinitely. It takes energy to slow it down, not maintain its current velocity. The only force slowing any satellite in orbit outside our atmosphere is collision with either space junk; interstellar dust; the odd stray molecule of gas that's lost its way, or solar wind - but they're all relatively small forces. Consider the earth's original satellite, the moon. It has been orbiting at very close to its present height for quite a while now, without the benefit of thrusters. Bruce

Any suggestions on suitable low growing species?

Well they certainly look good in that pic, Wozz. 2 x 800m is a lot of grass. How wide are they?

I use Tygon on my 95.10 with MZ202 engine. It hasn't hardened after 18 months use of Mogas (non ethanol variety). Bruce

Thanks Warren You probably saved me a lot of time, effort & money

Thanks guys!

OK Butch, you've sold me on using better grass. I might use 'oval grass' mix in the middle 200m, & el cheapo rye for 100m at each end. I only need <150m for takeoff & landing. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep the birds off my gourmet grass seed? Thanks Bruce

Welcome fellow Max flyer. I built & fly an Eros (with a few modifications). They're great little planes to fly, aren't they? Bruce

I wondered about that. The problems I foresee are erosion, by wind & rain, if no roots to hold it together. And damage to my wooden propellor from small stones.

Oh dear. So many different ideas. Now I don't know what to do. . . Whatever I decide, it must be done soon, before the middle of autumn. It's already cold here today. Many thanks to all who have replied.

I went in to the local Landmark depot today. Had a long chat with the guy there. We looked at various grasses, best one looked to be described as 'oval mix' or something similar. Used on footy fields & at Lethbridge airfield. Mix of various different grasses. Looked ideal, until I worked out that for a 400m x 10m seeded strip, price of seed alone was around $1200! So I'll prolly just go with Vic rye, which browns off in summer but recovers with rain. Cost is less than 200 bucks.

. . . . or sativa, presumably.

Very interesting. Where do you buy the balancemaster, & how much?

I am fortunate to be able to convert part of my land into a grass strip. In the next couple of weeks, I am getting a bobcat fitted with a soil conditioner (rotary harrow drum type thingy) to level the paddock for a 400m strip. I'm promised it leaves the surface level & prepped ready for seeding. The soil is clay, with lots of basalt field stones lying around. Annual rainfall is allegedly approx 600mm in my part of northern Vic (Macedon Ranges/Mitchell shire), though I haven't seen much of this since I've been here :( My question is, what type of grass should I plant for my strip? Should it include any clover? I have a bore, & a dam nearby, but will have to work out some method of watering, so any comments on this would be welcome. I would greatly appreciate input from those who have done this - or know about grass, its care, etc. Please note, this thread is NOT about the legalities of setting up a strip, whether or no planning permission is required, etc. This has all been covered very fully in earlier threads. TIA Bruce

Well done NT5224 - couldn't have hoped for a better result given the circumstances. I've looked at potential outlanding sites in my area, and what look like good grass paddocks on closer inspection actually have loads of 'field stones', i.e. lumps of basalt rock of various sizes, most of which would be sufficient to flip me over. Not fun in a mid-wing. @nicephotog: do you actually fly? have you ever flown as a pilot in light planes? Bruce

Bonjour Nicolas et bienvenu. C'est mieux si tu fais un nouveau fil (si on le dit en francais), c'est a dire une nouvelle poste. Il faut cliquer sur le bouton vert en haut a droit. Je suis desolee mais je ne connais pas arduuno et raspberry. Sans aucun doute il sera des autres qui peut t'aider. Je m'excuse si je l'ecrit mal, et aussi qu'il n'ya pas des accents sur mon clavier d'ordinateur. bon chance Bruce

Beautiful build & a great video. Well done! Bruce

Target fixation works on motorbikes, too. When faced with a narrowing gap, look at the gap, not the rock and the hard place forming it, or sure as eggs is eggs you'll hit one of them. Don't ask me how I know Bruce

You could drink a slab of beer, then go out & write it 'naturally'