Fabric runways
Flying Site Assistance
By Tony Stillman, Flying Site Coordinator
As we began the 2013 flying season, I received an email from a good friend, Todd Blose. Todd’s club, the Texas Model Aircraft Foundation, recently installed a new fabric runway. Because I have received many inquiries lately about this topic, I thought this would be a great time to present this to you.
Fabric runways have been around for some time and several companies manufacture material for this purpose. These runways are a good alternative to hard-surface runways, which require extensive ground preparation and are more expensive. Fabric runways can be relocated easily and are an inexpensive way to add an additional runway or taxiway to your current flying site. Several clubs have used them to create a smooth runway area for small models, especially park flyers that have small wheels and are difficult to operate on grass fields.
Advantages:
- Lower cost and less ground preparation than hard-surface runways
- Relocatable if needed
- Useful for adding runways or taxiways quickly and inexpensively
- Creates a smooth surface for small models and park flyers
Todd has generated some frequently asked questions about fabric runways. To read these, visit www.ModelAviation.com/fabricrunways, or find them in the July tablet issue.
Installation notes and tips:
- One club member created a tool to place the staples, which made installation easier.
- Work with two people: one to load staples and one to drive them in.
- Roll the fabric out, pull it flat by hand, and staple it down.
- A few hours of warm sunshine will tightly stretch the fabric; it is usually usable within a couple of hours.
- Add extra staples at each end after the runway is rolled out.
- After one week in the sun, add more staples along each side to ensure they stay down.
- Don’t get the fabric too tight when installing—pull it tightly by hand and let the sun smooth it out.
We had the entire runway completed in roughly four hours and began flying from it the same day.
If you have any questions, email [email protected].
Material and supplier information:
- Material: US 230 Aeromodeling Geotextile
- Supplier: US Fabrics Inc.
- Product page: www.usfabricsinc.com/products/us-230-aeromodeling-geotextile
- Phone: (800) 518-2290
- Mailing address: US Fabrics Inc., 3904 Virginia Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45227
I am sure there are other companies making similar products, but this one was brought to my attention by several clubs that reported excellent results.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
