In January 2018 we begin extending the manoevering area outside the hayshed
The earth cut away from the bank will be used to fill low spots on the new runway
The runway is going to built on a 1:10 sloping area. The grass and topsoil are first scraped away
The underlying clay layer needs to be filled and shaped to allow water to run off to the sides (just like a road) but also to form a plane slope front to back
once the underlying structural shape is right, we scrape the topsoil and turf back over it
Finally, it is ready to be reseeded with grass
A Hayshed --> a hangar
As you can see, there is an obvious problem getting an aeroplane into the hayshed.
So a custon truss is built to hold up the front opening of the shed, allowing the intermediate pillars to be removed
The law requires that aeroplanes are secured, so we install gates across the front (Ruby is a highwing, so she'll pass through the central opening between the posts
Grassing the Strip
We fertilised, seeded harrowed and rolled the runway and, a month or so later, grass is beginning to grow
and a couple of weeks later, it is begining to look a bit more like a grass airstrip
Ruby is here ahead of the serious winter rains and the strip is finally in use...
