Have you landed on plastic?

[Mooneymite]

Our neighborhood has been installing a plastic overlay on our turf runway to ensure it is useable after heavy rains

This is what it looks like prior to grass growing up through it.

(View from midfield looking west down Rwy 25)

Edited May 9, 2023 by Mooneymite

[Mooneymite]

This is what it looks like after a few weeks

(View from overrun looking down Rwy 07)

Edited May 9, 2023 by Mooneymite

[T. Peterson]

I never heard of such a thing. Very interesting. I wonder how effectively it works. Assuming the idea is to prevent tires from sinking into the mud, this plastic must be very tough stuff!

[EricJ]

Looks kinda like PSP (pierced steel plating) that has been used all over the place since WWII.   The airport where I was a lineboy as a teenager had psp covering the ramp, and this was in southern Germany and it never, ever got muddy.   It did have a good gravel layer underneath it, but the general idea is sound.  It got a little slippery sometimes, but exposed steel is like that, and it looks like what you have may be a bit better.   Should be interesting but it looks like it could be a good thing.

[chriscalandro]

I’d be worried about ruts and tires digging in with the ground underneath being wet. 

[mcarterak]

I think this is the same product I saw for sale at OSH but I can't remember the vendor.

[Mooneymite]

21 hours ago, mcarterak said:

I think this is the same product I saw for sale at OSH but I can't remember the vendor.

We started to do Perfo which is manufactured in GB, but due to complications with importation, we went with Runmat...made in the US.

We've been using the PERFO test section for almost two years and the runmat for about 6 months.  So far, no issues.  We'll know more in 25 years.

Braking action was an unknown, but no one has reported any issues.

21 hours ago, chriscalandro said:

I’d be worried about ruts and tires digging in with the ground underneath being wet. 

So far no issues.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Mooneymite

[A64Pilot]

Why is the grass green on the runway, but not in the yards?

This is due to mud? Clay ground? would adding a lot of sand have worked?

How and why is the runway marked?

[FlyingDude]

Where is this airport?  It's beckoning me ...

[Hank]

2 minutes ago, FlyingDude said:

Where is this airport?  It's beckoning me ...

It's an airpark outside Atlanta. Quite a ride from Michigan to land on the plastic . . . . .

[FlyingDude]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

It's an airpark outside Atlanta. Quite a ride from Michigan to land on the plastic . . . . .

an afternoon trip for a Mooney

[Mooneymite]

10 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Why is the grass green on the runway, but not in the yards?

This is due to mud? Clay ground? would adding a lot of sand have worked?

How and why is the runway marked?

It is Atlanta.  Bermuda and Zoysia turn brown all winter long.  We over-seed the runway with winter rye....so, it's "mo-green".

Our runway is 100% genuine home-grown Georgia clay, but after years of aeration to encourage the grass, it gets soggy after a rain.

The markings are molded into the sheets of Runmat.   While a clearly marked centerline may be an oddity on a grass runway, it is helpful because the Runmat does not cover the entire 150' width of the runway.

[Mooneymite]

5 hours ago, FlyingDude said:

Where is this airport?  It's beckoning me ...

Put this in the search bar on Google maps and go to satelite view:  33.364433, -84.168571

[A64Pilot]

1 hour ago, Mooneymite said:

It is Atlanta.  Bermuda and Zoysia turn brown all winter long.  We over-seed the runway with winter rye....so, it's "mo-green".

Our runway is 100% genuine home-grown Georgia clay, but after years of aeration to encourage the grass, it gets soggy after a rain.

The markings are molded into the sheets of Runmat.   While a clearly marked centerline may be an oddity on a grass runway, it is helpful because the Runmat does not cover the entire 150' width of the runway.

OK, now the markings make sense. I couldn’t figure out how, or why 

I’m from Albany Ga myself, where there is more red clay than most anywhere. The usual solution to make clay drain and make into something more dirt like is to till in a whole bunch of sand, but I can see how enough sand to do a whole runway would break the bank.

‘I didn’t figure the pictures were from last Winter, you of course know the Rye is I’m sure already dead and doesn’t come back, but is easy and cheap

[1964-M20E]

How do you do the stripes and numbers?

[Mooneymite]

9 hours ago, 1964-M20E said:

How do you do the stripes and numbers?

The Runmat comes in interlocking sheets.  The blocks are available in black, or white, so we just interlock white blocks to make up the various runway markings.  Think Lego.

[FlyingDude]

19 hours ago, Mooneymite said:

Put this in the search bar on Google maps and go to satelite view:  33.364433, -84.168571

GA04

[carusoam]

Way to go Gus!

That looks fantastic!

I was using a runway this week that had very green grass along the edges…. Most likely artificial turf, about a yard wide….

Most likely a method of keeping the edge of the runway from breaking up… the soil all around the area is beach sand.  The fake grass mat will do a nice job of keeping the sandy soil in place.

26N Ocean City, NJ…

So…. I landed near plastic! 

Best regards,

-a-

[T. Peterson]

Fascinating thread! The stuff you can learn on MS…