Runway Roller for Grass Airstrips

am a member of a small (27 members)
AMA chartered club: the Electronic
Flyers of Virginia. We operate and
maintain a Radio Control flying site
on undeveloped Sherando Park
property of the Frederick County
Parks and Recreation Department in
Frederick County, Virginia. The site consists
of a grass runway, a pit area, a small shelter,
and a parking area.
The winter weather here is such that the
runway freezes and is subject to becoming
uneven. The club has used various means to
have it rolled in the spring to make it more
smooth and suitable for its purpose. For a few
years we paid a local contractor to roll it with
a powered roller, but the cost became more
than we wanted to pay. We have also rented a
pull-behind roller on occasion.
Some of the other clubs in our area have
rollers filled with, or made from, concrete, and
they leave them on-site. Since our location is
remote and subject to periodic vandalism,
there would be a risk if we decided to do this.
In addition, we have added a second site at a
closed landfill in Warren County, Virginia,
and because of the weight involved it would
be hard to move such a roller from site to site.
With those conditions in mind, it seemed
that a large roller that could be filled (or
partially filled) with water when it would be
used and emptied when it wouldn’t be in use
or when it would be moved around would be
ideal for our needs. The initial investment
would be significant, but the cost would not be
excessive spread out over a period of years.
I set about to have a roller made that the club
could use as needed. With club members
volunteering to do the hauling from site to site
and the rolling using their lawn tractors to do
the pulling, they could keep the runways in
good condition with little, if any, additional
expense to the club.
The roller is made from a section of 36-
inch-diameter steel pipe, which is 3 feet, 10
inches long, with 1⁄4-inch-thick steel-plate
ends. Pieces of 3-inch steel channel iron were
used for the frame and tongue, and 11⁄4-inchdiameter
steel was used for the shaft. Flanged
pillow blocks were used for bearings, and
other miscellaneous steel and hardware was
used as required.
Pipe collars were used for the filling and
vent openings, with plastic plugs. An
additional fill plug was drilled with a vent hole
(plugged with wire mesh) and is installed
when the roller is not in use to prevent
pressure buildup and the entrance of insects
and the like. (See the materials list and sketch
for additional details.)
On our first attempt, we filled the roller
approximately half full of water and rolled the
runway at one of our sites. The ground was
rather dry and hard, but we saw some
improvement in spite of the less-than-ideal
rolling conditions.
In the spring of 2001 we used the roller at
both of our flying sites. At the first field it was
filled roughly half
full of water, and at
the second site it
was filled
approximately
three-quarters full.
The roller’s estimated weight when empty is
700 pounds. The water to fill it half full adds
roughly 725 pounds, and to fill it completely
adds approximately 1,450 pounds.
When used as indicated in the preceding,
the lawn tractors pulled the roller nicely. Even
though it weighed nearly 2,150 pounds when
full, the tractors did not have any trouble
pulling it because of the large diameter of the
roller and the lubricated bearings.
If your club is in a similar situation, perhaps
you could make good use of a roller such as
this one. If so, feel free to use any of the
information included in this article. MA
Lonnie Goad
126 Ruth Ct.
Strasburg VA 22657
66 MODEL AVIATION
Runway Roller
for Grass Airstrips
■ Lonnie D. Goad
I
• 36-inch-outside-diameter (OD) steel
pipe, 7⁄16 inch in thickness
• 1⁄4-inch-thick sheet of steel (for ends)
• 11⁄4-inch steel shaft
• Flanged pillow blocks (for bearings):
four-bolt square flange, 11⁄4-inch shaft
size, 35⁄8-inch hole centers, 1⁄2-inch bolt
size—McMaster-Carr, number 5967K56
(single-row, self-aligning, deep-groove
ball bearings, double sealed)
• 3-inch channel iron (for frame)
• 1⁄2-inch-thick x 2-inch-wide steel bar
(for hitch)
• 1⁄2 x 1⁄2-inch steel bar (for bracing)
• 11⁄2-inch steel collar
• 11⁄2-inch plastic plug
• 2-inch steel collar
• Two 2-inch plastic plugs
Runway Roller Materials List