Home › Forums › Events & Projects › PLACEMENT OF CARPET ON THE KITING AREA
- This topic has 19 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 2 weeks, 4 days ago by Jerome Daoust.
-
AuthorPosts
-
October 6, 2024 at 11:12 PM #21067
Hey guys is anyone opposed to the placement of a piece of carpet nailed to the ground so we can lay our paragliders at the kiting area? It’s pretty rough without any grass out there. If no one is against it I will be bringing some pieces of carpet this week so we can do some kiting.
October 7, 2024 at 12:10 AM #21068Jerome DaoustGeneral MemberTo avoid nails working loose and raising their heads to snag lines dragged over them during inflations, I have seen carpets secured with rebar bent into shape of large “staples“. Their top portion is less likely to snag lines.
One could make them with a flatter top, or buy ready-made ones with rounded top: Home Depot or Amazon. They may be easier to drive in, by soaking the ground beforehand.
Related topic: Cost-Effective Surfacing of the LZ.
October 7, 2024 at 7:39 AM #21070What about artificial turf? It appears water alone isnt doing the trick
October 7, 2024 at 11:32 AM #21074I am 100% against it. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Winter is around the corner, we’re about to get rain, and every year the grass comes back to lush and green. If you lay out carpet, not only is it at risk of being blown away by the 70-80mph North winds we’re going to get, but it will prevent the grass underneath it from coming back. It will look like garbage, especially if nobody takes it upon themselves to fix it. It’s a huge hassle. The Crestline launch carpet was maintained by Jeremy and the Kooks before he moved. He did a great job staying on top of it. Now there are others who try their best to keep it in top shape, but that’s difficult to do if the persons don’t have the time, or aren’t around to keep it looking nice. It’s heavy, it’s a lot of maintenance, and getting rid of it when it starts looking garbage-like is hard work. There’s very few people who volunteer to get stuff done around the club, so although we have about 300 members, it’s always the same 10 people who are left to get things done around here. NO to the carpet.
October 7, 2024 at 12:59 PM #21075I’m with Jana on this one, the risks are too high for flying debris when the rainy season is just around the corner.
For future reference, if anyone has requests like this please email them to the BOD. Our email addresses are all listed on this website, and many club members have our phone numbers as well.
October 7, 2024 at 1:32 PM #21076Mario MirallesGeneral MemberThanks for asking Marcello.
While I completely understand why PGs want carpet and I have utilized it plenty on Crestline launch to keep my wing clean while setting up, it soon became apparent that as the UV and weather did its damage I now find that anything I lay down on it is completely covered in the loose carpet fibers. I doubt it’s very heathy to breathe in or for the environment in general.
I would personally do away with all the carpet as I also find it an eye sore. But then I only fly HGs. Is there a better alternative?October 7, 2024 at 4:06 PM #21078Mark HoffmannGeneral MemberMario, i was thinking the same thing about those carpet fibers. I guess Astro Turf would be better than carpet.
I thought we were getting pond water. That’s like the driest i have seen the LZ looking since it was dirt. Why are all the local homes and parks grass still green and the LZ tanked.. Maybe to much of that weed killer that was applied months ago.
October 8, 2024 at 1:43 PM #21085Mark, we’ve been over this multiple times. Artificial turf is very expensive, slippery when damp, and if not installed correctly becomes a the same trip hazard or missile hazard in the winds as carpet.
The grass was doing fine until we hit temps over 100 degrees and that was a month before we started experiencing water shortages. It happens every year, our LZ is in the high desert! The weed treatments did not cause this, during the entire spring we had a mostly weed free LZ.
I will offer this alternative for the PGs, I think it will work… We could permanently Astro Turf the PG corner of the LZ. Yes, it will be expensive… BUT… it would allow us to reduce the foot print of sprinklers that would save water for the rest of the LZ. It would give the PG kiting area a ‘clean’ lay down area year round. The cons are, it’s expensive and the PGs would have to accept the risk that it becomes a thermal trigger in the warmer months. Just a possibility. I also think we should permanently Astro turf the first 20 ft around the entire Pavilion. It’s a high traffic area and we would again be able to reduce the footprint of sprinklers plus I wouldn’t have to get too close with the lawnmower while people might be seated inside.October 8, 2024 at 9:01 PM #21090Jerome DaoustGeneral MemberThat would be awesome Luke: “Permanently Astro Turf the PG corner of the LZ + First 20 ft around the entire Pavilion“.
Maybe also cover the first 5′ or so downhill, at least on the path where people run off the SW corner, for a double benefit:
- Less chance to trip on an edge of the Astro Turf where it changes from flat to sloped down, as pilots are pushing hard to take flight.
- Less opportunity for SW wind to get underneath the material. This is in addition to the typical Astro Turf installation where it gets weighted down with sand over its whole surface and its edges well anchored.
October 9, 2024 at 6:47 AM #21092Mark HoffmannGeneral MemberLuke, Mario and I were replying to Marcello’s post about the PG area and CSS launch area. Not the entire LZ. you say Astro turf costs to much then in the next sentence you come up with a new idea… Hey lets use astro-turf for the PG area. :)
now back to the i thought we were getting water from the pond question ???
October 9, 2024 at 9:42 AM #21094Mark,
Yes, I understand we were all talking about just the PG corner. I’m sorry that I didn’t make that clear. My points are still the same… it’s still very expensive, even for just a small area. To be safe it needs to be installed correctly, not just draped over the surface like it is in the breakdown area. Also, it will need gopher ‘armor’, which is wire mesh under the surface to prevent them from digging up through the surface.
I agree with Jerome, it would be awesome to do it over the edge as well. All of this will take some heavy machine work but it can be done. It will be expensive, but we can save costs by purchasing used athletic turf.October 9, 2024 at 9:46 AM #21095And Yes, we are still getting water from the Pond. That is the only source of water for the irrigation system. There have been supply problems that have prevented the Pond to be able to fill up fast enough or recover from each irrigation cycle. We are doing our best to solve those issues.
October 9, 2024 at 10:00 AM #21096David WebbGeneral MemberCost arguments aside, the turf / grass combo approach seems like a great compromise that solves a few problems all at once:
- less grass to water and mow
- more water for the rest of the grass
- larger turf packing area
- clean area for kiting (easier on wings)
October 9, 2024 at 5:53 PM #21102Mark HoffmannGeneral MemberThanks Luke…. and like David said>>> Sounds like a good idea..
October 15, 2024 at 7:13 PM #21109Funny how you guys think. We have two rolls of astroturf by the pavilion that everyone loves to fold your gear on. No stakes or nails holding it in place against the 80 miles wind or maintenance done, does not look like trash and there’s no gopher armor under it. But all I had to do is ask to bring one piece of the same thing to protect my gear and you give me all this crap.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.