Friends, I found that most of the time; we have cracks/damages/ minor crashes on our model because of a sudden stop by stones/send/grass/TREES/ and similar objects objecting the inertia of our plane.

Safe landing is our priority, so I want to start this thread for ideas/ suggestions on a possibility of a handy runway.  .

It may sound little weired but i am serious on it, my first thought was a cricket MATT which is generally used on sandy grounds to play cricket.

Can we have cheap, easily available material to be used as runway which can be folded and kept back in the car after flying??

Ideas/ Suggestions welcome

tough one

1. vinyl sheet for floors - good but not cheap, and is slippery...
2. rubber mats used in medicine - very durable, not expensive, foldable but are available in small sizes... loads of them required even if its a 50m x 4 m runway...
3. coro sheets - hard to fold and stack and transport, light though, little slippery for planes to land and not skid
4. locking rubber mats, those used in playpens for kids...very durable but expensive...

still searching for a decent solution

How about a long strip of plastic tarp? Coat it on one side with Fine sand and glue and Ta-Da i think it will become an inexpensive runway which is portable.

Kool Girish good ideas!! Neil can u explain in detail? adding sand and glue??? how much and how ?

tarp is a good idea too, its felxi and light though...

How about First  layer as sand and the second layer should be cement then a Wood Carpet

Or you could use the rubber belt of a conveyor belt, but i dont know if this is available for cheap. But certainly durable.

For tarp:
First we will have to take a plastic tarp of desired length and width. Then sir roughen up one side and pour a thin layer of Araldite or any other resin to this side of the tarp and let it set till 35-40% of its curing time, then pour a thin layer of fine sand over the half set araldite and press down this side of the tarp which has the coat so the sand sets in the araldite. Once set, remove any excess sand, and put another thin layer of araldite over the top of this side so the sand gets lightly covered in resin and particles of sand dont come out. Once dry you have one side of tarp which has roughened up so planes dont slip on this surface.

@neil once araldite is applied then it will lose its flexibility most probably and will no longer be portable.

My suggestion will be to use a thick canvas material, that can be coated in a layer of tar. Will remain flexible and will be tough enough for heavy use.

Or you can use thick jute mats (very readily available as outdoor carpeting) which is available at very good rates and 6-7ft widths and lengths of your choice. Will be good for planes with large wheels. Small wheels will tend to get stuck in the ridges..

Hope this helps

Regards

yashodhan sir i was thinking of a glue which would be flexible even after it dries, and the only one which came to my head was Fevicol SH. I am not an expert at glues so i said araldite as i know it will hold and if you put a thin layer of araldite just enough to cover the sand, like 0.2 or 0.3mm it should be flexible.

i recently found a easy way to land my aircraft without them gettting stuck in tree's,shrubs, people etc... i stretch an arrestor cord across the field...

Nice one

Many people do that.. when landing in a small field people even stretch out badminton nets and cut throttle and land into it.. highly effective system

Getting crazier and crazier 

Somebody think of weight and transportation. Apart from the badminton net everything is 500Kg+

Badminton net + balsa model = 

Sanjay ji it works 100% but the landing has to be dead slow or else it will also become a plane destroyer

I think the Batminton Net might work good,
My brother lands a Foamie on bush around 7feet high right behind him.
That is how he learnt it and its safer than landing on Grass since the Bush gives nice shock absorbing ability and its more like catching the Plane and keeping with it.
Ashok.P

Shortest landing arrangement.

risky landing

Take up flying helicopters

Hi.
@asinghatiya:
When I saw your initial mail on this topic, the first thing that came to my mind is the tagline of sanjayrai55 - 'Don't wake a Tiger until you've factored the teeth', here the teeth being the expenses involved. Look at the suggestion by RCNeil 21.

And Mr Iyer ji, does this work for larger and faster models, I wonder !!

Thin, rubberised coir/poly mat lengths may be suitable...Or long inflatable plastic sheaths  (like those which are used in swimming pools) with one side rubberised or made gritty/rough. They can act as shock absorbers also. One can use rubber solutions like those used in waterproofing the under surface of the cars, painted thinly by a brush on the surface. Just my two bits..Lol. Not so heavy and flexible enough.

And for those wayward birds which run out of our control while flying , a parachute mechanism with an additional servo that can be triggered when things go wrong up there may be useful. It may add some weight but assures relatively safe return to mother earth..

What says you all expert folks?

Quote from: essaargee on December 26, 2013, 12:14:45 PM

What says you all expert folks?

I say KISS

Well, the whole idea was to have a safe touchdown point! if we have a minimum 15 feetX 6feet long stretch where we can safely touch down; it will help a lot to control the model.

I accept in windy days its uselss but normally this small strip will definately help you to take better control on ur model. And same hold true for a take off!!

Arvind - this weekend we will mark a 15' X 6' strip for you, and measure your consistency in touching down in it 

  Agreed sir!!! Just hold winds!!

 

Wind is wind Arvind, need Pawan Putra