Airstrip Repairs

[Moneybox]

Yesterday morning I took a trip out to this station airstrip. Even though it's located on a station it's meant to be maintained by the Sire of Cue as an emergency airstrip. There are three dirt strips, two crossing 12-30 and 10-28 and one leading to the homestead 17-35.

 

 

This sock seems to still work however the one meter hole seems to extend all the way through, perhaps there's a bit worn off the end.

 

 

Of course I picked to worst time to try to fix it with the wind at 30kph. It might not look too high but from up there it feels like there's a gale blowing it it's a very long way down.

 

 

I've got my hands on a new used one so this morning I'm busy with repairs.

 

 

Man, these things are big, 3.5m long and a meter at the mouth. I thought I'd repair it with the sewing machine but that's not going to happen. I'm using a rubberised paint to glue the new material over the holes. It might hold, it might not.

 

 

Meanwhile while the paint dries I'm running the grader over the airstrip, just 17-35 because the creek is washed out between here and the other airstrips.

 

[facthunter]

The "SIRE of Cue " Must be a randy Bloke. Nev

[Moneybox]

We don't have any anchor points at Cue so we setting up some concrete blocks.

 

 

I had intended to lift them into place with the Hiab but my lifting devices were too big to fit the anchor bolts.

 

 

Sounds like a simple fix, just grab some the right size but nothing is simple to purchase here.

 

 

Hopefully this will do the trick. I'm just using two blocks because the Sportstar doesn't have a rear fixing point. The manual suggests tying the front wheel down but it could a bit difficult to maneuver on and off the blocks. 

 

Edited February 23 by Moneybox

[onetrack]

Ouch, those Swiftlift clutches would have set you back a pretty penny. Couldn't you have used something a little simpler and cheaper?

 

Use a couple of these wheel restraint straps, with a ratchet strap, to tie your wheels down ...

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1990961098467569

 

Edited February 23 by onetrack

[Moneybox]

4 minutes ago, onetrack said:

Ouch, those Swiftlift clutches would have set you back a pretty penny. Couldn't you have used something a little simpler and cheaper?

Cheep as chips bought locally. About $50 for the pair delivered in record time.

[Moneybox]

30 minutes ago, Moneybox said:

Cheep as chips bought locally. About $50 for the pair delivered in record time.

Sorry, $111.90 for the pair delivered to Cue.

[facthunter]

FAR away CUE? Nev

[Moneybox]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

FAR away CUE? Nev

Normally shortened to FarCue

 

[facthunter]

That's the Queue I usually end up on. Hey what you chokin that pick for Man?  Nev

[Moneybox]

This morning I had to make my way around a big hole in the airstrip. I went there this afternoon with the intention of using the Bobcat to drop a bucket of soil into it.

 

 

I didn't have a key for the Bobcat but I put a bucket of sand in by hand. At least I can see it now.

[onetrack]

Moneybox, your airstrip cross-slope is all wrong. It should be high in the middle, and low at the edges, not the other way around.

[Moneybox]

25 minutes ago, onetrack said:

Moneybox, your airstrip cross-slope is all wrong. It should be high in the middle, and low at the edges, not the other way around.

Maybe but we don't have to worry about runoff after rain. Best it doesn't run anywhere and cause erosion. This is not my airstrip, it's one of the three at Coodardy Station. These old airstrips have been in service for generations and are meant to be maintained by the Shire of Cue. They will get there eventually but some of the best staff we've had in recent times have moved on or retired. I'll just do enough maintenance for my own purposes.

 

I did some repairs to the sock but it was too dangerous for me to get it up there. I'm waiting for the station owner to get a cherry picker in. At the moment the wind reports on Windy.com are reliable enough. I can drop my plane in in about 100m so a bit of damage 400m down a big wide runway is not a problem as long as I know it's there.

[PureCaboose]

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

Moneybox, your airstrip cross-slope is all wrong. It should be high in the middle, and low at the edges, not the other way around.

It's a self centering technique to keep aircraft aligned on the centreline. 😄

 

[Blueadventures]

16 minutes ago, PureCaboose said:

It's a self centering technique to keep aircraft aligned on the centreline. 😄

 

And be aware of target fixation. 🙃

[onetrack]

Quote

These old airstrips have been in service for generations and are meant to be maintained by the Shire of Cue. They will get there eventually but some of the best staff we've had in recent times have moved on or retired. I'll just do enough maintenance for my own purposes

It's a sad state of affairs today where good machine operators - and even operators of almost any kind - are impossible to find. When the brother and I were earthmoving contractors, we trained up a lot of operators at our own cost to try and alleviate the lack of operators. But few other contractors did, and the pool of trained operators continued to get smaller and smaller.

The Shire of Mundaring has a  brand new motor grader sitting on its bum, not being used. The reason? No matter how much they advertise, they can't get a suitably-qualified operator for it.

Of course, they're not offering top dollar, and they have to compete with mining companies offering $150K to $200K a year for operators - so everyone knows where all the operators are, but no-one seems to be putting much effort into training up a supply of new operators.

[BurnieM]

WA is a problem for all skillsets.

Yes, companies could train people up but within a year you know anybody with a skillset is going to the mining industry for double the money.

Not sure how any non-mining company could compete without putting up their prices (a lot).

 

[Moneybox]

3 hours ago, PureCaboose said:

It's a self centering technique to keep aircraft aligned on the centreline. 😄

 

Yeah that doesn't work.

 

 

20kt crosswind on runway 34 this morning. How windy is considered too windy to fly?

 

[Moneybox]

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

It's a sad state of affairs today where good machine operators - and even operators of almost any kind - are impossible to find. When the brother and I were earthmoving contractors, we trained up a lot of operators at our own cost to try and alleviate the lack of operators. But few other contractors did, and the pool of trained operators continued to get smaller and smaller.

The Shire of Mundaring has a  brand new motor grader sitting on its bum, not being used. The reason? No matter how much they advertise, they can't get a suitably-qualified operator for it.

Of course, they're not offering top dollar, and they have to compete with mining companies offering $150K to $200K a year for operators - so everyone knows where all the operators are, but no-one seems to be putting much effort into training up a supply of new operators.

This situation was set in motion many years ago when the government in power at the time removed training subsides. There was a time when you received the first two years of a apprentice's wages virtually paid for. We trained who we needed without a big drain on the budget. 

[skippydiesel]

22 minutes ago, Moneybox said:

 

 

20kt crosswind on runway 34 this morning. How windy is considered too windy to fly?

 

Your POH should have the MAX Cross Wind Component allowable for your aircraft to manoeuvre (TO/Land) safely.

 

For a steady Head Wind (straight or almost straight down the strip)- thats up to you and your personal comfort zone.

 

WARNING! strong winds, can create severe surface turbulence, which may catch the pilot unaware.

Gusting Head Winds  can likewise create sudden changes in landing/TO performance making TO/Landing a chalange.

 

As a general rule, if winds are presenting as a challenge, use minimal to no flap and keep your speed up and be ready to abort (ie have a plan in mind), should nature do something unexpected.😈

[Moneybox]

30 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

Your POH should have the MAX Cross Wind Component allowable for your aircraft to manoeuvre (TO/Land) safely.

 

For a steady Head Wind (straight or almost straight down the strip)- thats up to you and your personal comfort zone.

 

WARNING! strong winds, can create severe surface turbulence, which may catch the pilot unaware.

Gusting Head Winds  can likewise create sudden changes in landing/TO performance making TO/Landing a chalange.

 

As a general rule, if winds are presenting as a challenge, use minimal to no flap and keep your speed up and be ready to abort (ie have a plan in mind), should nature do something unexpected.😈

 

First attempt was a go-around. I couldn't get it to sink in time and I didn't want to plonk it down near the big hole. Second time I used the width of the airstrip and quartered it into the wind for a smooth landing. I'm coming in quite steep, none of this 3° stuff. If anything was to fail with that wind I'd end up back in the bush.

 

 

I I did see somewhere it mentioned up to 20kt cross wind.

[BrendAn]

On 04/03/2026 at 1:06 AM, Moneybox said:

Maybe but we don't have to worry about runoff after rain. Best it doesn't run anywhere and cause erosion. This is not my airstrip, it's one of the three at Coodardy Station. These old airstrips have been in service for generations and are meant to be maintained by the Shire of Cue. They will get there eventually but some of the best staff we've had in recent times have moved on or retired. I'll just do enough maintenance for my own purposes.

 

I did some repairs to the sock but it was too dangerous for me to get it up there. I'm waiting for the station owner to get a cherry picker in. At the moment the wind reports on Windy.com are reliable enough. I can drop my plane in in about 100m so a bit of damage 400m down a big wide runway is not a problem as long as I know it's there.

i see windsocks that are tattered occasionally, if it was me i would have built a tabernacle mast to hang them on. so it could be lowered to replace the sock. bad things can happen to old farts on high ladders.

[skippydiesel]

Moneybox,

 

"I I did see somewhere it mentioned up to 20kt cross wind."

 

A 20Kt X wind component would be unusually high for small aircraft like yours.

 

Your POH states 10Kt for TO/Landing. I would go with this and not try to "explore the envelope" in what can be a challenging flight situaton, with very little room for error.

 

The most challenging X wind is a blustery one, it's there, then gone, then back - the pilot is fighting to mainatine straight & level while slipping on/of, into wind - not fun!

 

Aircraft types may have very diffrent handling characteristics, in X wind landings, from relativly benign to scary. 😈

[RossK]

On 04/03/2026 at 2:17 PM, Moneybox said:

I I did see somewhere it mentioned up to 20kt cross wind.

Hi MB,

I've emailed you the Evektor Bulletin for the Crosswind Limt increase, 18kts by the way.

Bulletins are available on the Evektor Website.

Evektor Bulletins

 

[facthunter]

There's the Aeroplane's stated limit and your Limit. Both may be questioned. A High Wing can generally do a higher X wind than a low wing.. Rudder size and effectiveness count also . Small Planes don't have the Inertia larger ones do, so the Kick straight has to be close to touch down but better to  touch down slower and on the into wind wheel (still banked) and countering the cross wind helping prevent weather cocking into wind  OR wind raising the upwind wing and putting a tri gear Plane on it's nose. Nev