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Can I safely land a Cruzer on my strip?
My mission.
Safely land at my home strip.
$100 hamburger/Cross Country flights.
I prefer speed over STOL however with my strip I know I’m going to have to give up speed. This is why I’m considering the Cruzer, seems like a happy balance.
The plane.
Cruzer with UL 350IS engine and Dynon avionics.
The Runway.
I have 1000ft grass runway with a fence on the West end and Power lines on the East end. lets say it’s only 900ft. I have an additional 330ft before I hit a tree line on the West end.
I’m at sea level, the highest DA I’ve had is 3000ft.
one way out, one way in.
Here are a few Pic’s
blue lines are the property line.
Thanks for any help.
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EastWest1.JPG, 2.1 MB
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EastWest2.JPG, 1.9 MB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bob Simmons on
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Should be fine, as long as were' talking about typical power lines and not the really tall high tension lines. It's well within Cruzer capability. That cell tower's a bit scary though. I'd also get some instruction from a pilot experienced in short takeoffs/landings in a Zenith before attempting it, if you haven't done it before, but that's just me. Might also be a good idea to always plan departures away from the cell tower, if winds allow. If you have a problem on takeoff, you don't want to limit your ability to maneuver.
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Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on
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As you weigh the info available to help inform your decision, take the performance data published by Zenith as extremely optimistic and then factor in your turf runway. A turf runway, especially one that’s not perfectly smooth nor level, will increase takeoff distance and you will not achieve Zenith’s advertised takeoff roll, although the additional hp of the UL engine will help, be skeptical of the Zenith numbers as your starting point. Even on a paved runway on a cool day, I cannot achieve Zenith’s advertised takeoff roll in my 80hp Rotax-powered 701- even when single pilot with half load of fuel. https://www.mountainflying.com/pages/mountain-flying/rule_of_thumb.... is a good source to review as you weigh your options. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Bryan Jarvis on
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Good info.
I hope to make it to the zenith homecoming to get a better feeling of my options. but I’m thinking the 750 STOL is going to be the safest option.
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There is no perfect aircraft for all circumstances. They're all a compromise. 900 feet is almost three times the published specs for the Cruzer. Even on a turf runway, you shouldn't have a problem. But if you're concerned about it, yes, the STOL would be a safer choice. Which one is right for you depends on all your flying goals, not just the runway requirements. You're doing the right thing by talking to the folks at Zenith. They'll be able to address all your concerns.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Pope on
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One thing to consider is the height of the obstacles and the approach angle you'd need to fly if you want to stop before the end of the runway. I don't see any published obstacle clearance numbers for the 750 models, but let's say you want to give yourself at least 500' of room for ground roll on landing, so you have to touch down at or before the center of the runway. If the trees are 330' from the end of the runway, that gives you 830' to clear the trees, round out, flare, and touch down. Let's say the roundout and flare takes 200' to 300', so your aiming point on the approach is 300' before the center of the field, or 530' beyond the trees. If the trees are 50' tall and you want to clear them by 10', you'd need to fly an approach angle of 60/530, or 6.5 degrees. Is that reasonable in a Cruzer with full flaps and a slip? I don't know, but it's more than twice the 3 degree glide slope that most airport visual aids use, so it'd be a steep approach.
Approaching over the power lines, let's say they're 40' high and you want to clear them by 10' - if you give yourself the same margins as above, that gives an approach slope of 50/200, or 14 degrees, which is extremely steep and probably not doable in a Cruzer.
There are several assumptions in these calculations, but you could plug in more accurate numbers if you measure the actual height of the obstacles and ask the Cruzer guys how far they float down the runway past their aiming point, and how long their landing rolls are on wet and dry grass.
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Thanks Matt.
seeing the numbers really helps but it in prospective.
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No problem!
As a point of comparison, my flying club's Cessna 150 POH indicates that landing with a 50' obstacle at sea level takes at least 1075' including a 470' ground roll (maximum braking on a hard surface), so that's about 600' between the 50' obstacle and touch down. On dry grass it says to increase the landing distance by 20% of the total (not just the ground roll), so 1290' to clear a 50' obstacle and stop on grass. The Cruzer is lighter than the C-150, so it might stop easier once you're on the ground, but the 150 has 40 degree flaps that make it sink like a rock at about 1000 fpm at 55 knots and power near idle. Doing some math, that's a maximum stabilized approach angle of 10 degrees in the C-150 - pretty steep. I suspect the Cruzer might glide flatter than that with full flaps and idle power, but I'm not sure - maybe one of the Cruzer pilots could tell you.
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Yup the trees at both ends of my 1,000 ft. turf runway essentially eliminate the first third of the runway as usable during approach in either direction, no matter how steep. My stabilized approach touchdown zone is the middle of the middle third. If I float just a tad before touchdown that leaves the last third to get stopped.
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And just to be clear, that's in your 701 with the round struts - correct?
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Correct, slats installed, 45mph passing over the treetops.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Fay on
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Zenith Brakes suck from the Factory. You need intensifiers and double caliber upgrades to have the stopping confidence. I would also suggest Vortex Generators on the Wing and Tail for better slow-speed control. A more confident approach with less energy means less chance of over-run. On my cuzer I got to the situation where my landings would write checks my takeoffs could not cache. I got a Viking VIP prop and that solved everything. Skill is always the most important factor. I probably would find no issue operating regularly out of 900' at my 1690lbs registered gross, but I do that all the time now, but worked into it over hundreds of hours. You also have less room for error so make check lists and practice them. Check your DA all the time and make sure you know the turf conditions well. A bit of dew can turn grass into a ice-rink!.
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