(Roy Smith) wrote in :

My club recently had an airplane damaged in an overrun on a 2200 foot
runway. This is the third such incident in the last 5 or so years
(two of which resulted in serious aircraft damage, but fortunately no
injuries). We're considering tightening up our rules about short
runways. One possibility would be to outlaw landings on anything
under 2500 feet unless you've got a commercial certificate.

We're based at HPN, where the short runway is 4500 feet. This doesn't
help keep one's short-field landing skills sharp.

I'd be interested to know what sorts of rules other clubs (or FBO's
you rent from) have about this sort of stuff.

I've found no rhyme or reason to many of the rules regarding where one
can land. About 5 years ago, I looked at all the clubs at xxx (omitted so
as not to subject them to embarassment). Every club at that time had a
rule restricting landings to paved runways 3,000' or longer. You should
have seen the strange look I got when I asked where I was expected to
return the aircraft at the end of my flight! (The runway at xxx, a towered
field, is 2,443' x 70'.)

Out of curiousity, I just checked two clubs at xxx which have their
rules online. One didn't exist 5 years ago, and the other has eliminated
the 3,000' paved runway requirement.

The newer club prohibits operations at unimproved runways unless with
a CFI at a specified nearby airport and at high altitude airports (above
3,000' MSL) unless the pilot has a club checkout or previous logbook
experience. No other restrictions.

The other club I checked only prohibits landings on dirt, sod, or
gravel runways - or at any airport that is not listed in the AF/D unless
prior approval is given by the club manager or chief pilot. They also
prohibit touch & goes by primary students if the runway is less than 4,000'
and for anyone in a retract, high performance, or turbocharged aircraft. A
club mountain flying checkout is required for operations at an airport
higher than 2,000' MSL or over mountanous terrain over 8'000' MSL.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

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