Backyard Circle

Gang --

We are on the go for a backyard grass flying circle. Any tips on the grass or other amenities? Mowing hints? Elevation differences (looks like we may have some 6 or 7 feet difference in elevation around the circle unless we bring in a bulldozer, which maybe we ought to do?).

What I am asking for is for those of you that have built their own grass circles, what would you do differently if you did it again, and what did you do that worked right well?

If there is any way to swing it, bring in the bulldozer, you will be glad you did. You will do ok without it but if you are planning on flying/practicing stunt the 6 foot diference will be a real PTA..

Can't help on the grass, I have just always been happy with whatever grows that is green

Larry- In retirement, I also work part time at a golf course as a marshall and have thought how nice it would be to fly off those short but lush fairways. There are many varities of specialized grasses and they are highly regional. If you are really serious about putting in a perfect circle, visit with some local greenskeepers regarding the fairway(not putting green) grasses used in your area, their abilitys to stand heat, cold, watering requirements, mowing lengths, etc. and see what you can learn.
Usually, greenskeepers are proud of their knowledge which is sort of a science and an art and should be happy to share with you. I should mention that these grasses are very high maintenance and will require a reel type mower for the perfect cut. The up side is you will likely have one of the nicest circles in the country.

Jim P --

Actually, the golf course picture is exactly what I had in mind. Never thought of the obvious thing of asking the greenskeeper! Thanks.

Sir,

I agree with the use of the bulldozer if you can afford it. My circle has three feet of height differnce from one end to the other. Even that even makes flying level interesting.
On the grass issue, whatever grows well in your area should do the trick. The grass will be better to fly off of it is kept short (under 1 1/2" ? )
Please don't get me started on moles and used golf green mowers. Hope this helps. Steve D.

Dave Cook built a very cool rig to automatically mow grass circles with a powered mower and some kind of central tether. ELIMINATES a lot of hard work. I believe it was once pictured in Stunt News.
I think his email address is listed on the PAMPA site.

You should email Nils Norling about his circle. Depending on how much watering you will need to do, you should consider under- ground watering, the new kind that seeps water to the roots instead of sprinkling it on the surface. It will save you a bunch of water bills. It may be different where you are, but here when you use more water, your sewer bill, storm sewer bill and all the taxes increase. It can get ugly! Steve

Hey, Thanks to all. I'll do some additional leveling thanks to your comments, and keep the high maintenance grass in a circle, not the whole yard.

Larry,
I have an area in my back yard 200'x170' no trees. I've only filled in ankle breakers so far. It has 3-4' change from one side of the circle to the other.
I would like to level it out. I have found by being able to go out & fly almost dayly ,my patterns have improved big time. I think that is the benefit of having your own circle.
My friend Bill Harding spent $3500.00 on his circle. He no longer flys model airplanes. He has one nice circle.

Get a bulldozer if you can, trying to level an area that large without some sort of heavy equipment is nearly impossible. Believe me, I tried it when I first started building the circle at the Field of Dreams R/C Club CL field. It was off level about the amount you describe. When you start trying to move the high side to the low side by hand it turns into an incredible amount of dirt & rock. A buddy finally loaned me his backhoe to do ours. It was a lifesaver. I eyeballed ours level & it came out pretty close. It is slightly lower on one side (maybe 6 inches) for drainage, but it's pretty flat. I made it that way by watching the puddles as I watered the dirt while I worked. We installed underground pop-up sprinklers on a timer. It waters one hour every morning on weekdays. That seems to be working pretty well. The completely underground setup Steve mentioned would be even better. The grass we planted was all left-over seed the guys in the club donated. I don't know how many different kinds there actually are, it all looks the same to me as long as it's kept mowed. You might want to loosen the ground up a little after it's level, before planting, it took a long time for our grass to really come in well because the ground was packed so hard. We keep it cut to about 3/4 inch. The guys with wheel pants/pavement gear don't seem to have any trouble at the annual COLD Stunt contest. Make it big enough for 70' lines. Ours is 150' diameter & it would be better if it was 160'. Gophers are easy to kill with poison, ants are a minor nuisance. Weed-n-Feed twice a year is a MUST. A grass circle requires steady maintenance, it's a living thing. In the end it's worth it! Once it's built you can fly whenever you want without wondering if the ball diamond sprinklers are going to come on while you're flying, or you're suddenly overrun by soccer midgets, or worrying that some kid, dog, or oblivious moron is going to join you in the circle when you're using a stooge. The VERY BEST PART IS, you can hold a contest & get your Stunt Hero's to come fly with you!