Newbie M5-180C pilot here, getting better at my landings but still need a lot of practice. Recently, while trying out STOL approach variations at KSPB, I realized that I was causing other pilots some consternation as they flew the pattern. It was a fairly busy day, 5-6 planes using the runway at times. Most seemed to be from the local large flight school at HIO, and probably weren't high-hour pilots. Anyway, I was using the steep / slow approach method, getting the plane down to (for me) slow speeds around 45 - 50 or so when on short final. The plane behind me, a Cessna 152 I think, was uncomfortably close by the time I completed a touch & go. On the downwind, the Cessna pilot asked me to do a 360 for clearance, since he was too close.

My point being- I'd like to find a Portland (OR) area airstrip where I can practice STOL technique in a calmer environment. Any suggestions?

Thank You,

-Heather

Lenhart airpark is low key and offers grass and paved landing surfaces

Scappoose gets busy. It's a favorite training ground for Hillsboro and Pearson, at least.

One of my favorite places for practicing landing short was Elma (4W8). It has a grass section that's 800' but there's extra space beyond if you go over. A bit of a flight though.

If grass isn't that important then Kelso often has a lot less traffic than Scappoose. Woodland might be another option. Toledo is another one. Not much traffic other than the Jump plane.

Pearson has grass abutting the runway, south side. I've landed a few times on that one. Be cautious of the drainage ditch. It's been a while, so double check with them first to make sure it's still ok.

Chehalis has a nice grass section that's great for practicing except they don't want you to land on it, which sucks.

Sportsman in Newberg 2S6 Pretty dead usually.

Grass runway 17-35 at McMinnville where the glider operation used to be is a fun practice spot. KMMV isn't usually too busy.

Just over the hill is Skyport, (4S4) a privately owned grass strip that is open to the public. I almost never see anyone flying in or out of there. It is only a mile from my brother's house, so that is where I fly to when visiting him. It is close to KHIO and the gliders in north plains, but the strip itself has always been wide open for me. There are power poles on the south approach to runway 34, but there aren't any wires. They put the wires underground so the approach is wide open. My first time in there I wasn't sure, so I stayed well above pole height on final. There was still enough grass to easily get down and stopped. It's 2,000' long. Here's what it looks like coming in: This was my first landing there so you can see I stayed well above the power poles on short final. Easy Peasy, and more convenient to KSPB than some of the other recommendations..

Been flying into Skyport for years but I was never quite sure the deal with the residence there and if people were annoyed by me doing laps.

My thought watching that video is that although there didn't appear to be many neighbors to complain,
I'd think if the owner lives in that house they might get annoyed if someone was to come do a bunch of touch-n-go's.
Seems like a good way to get the welcome mat pulled in.

Of the airports mentioned... I've never landed at Woodland State, but other than the old "biplane rides" sign that used to be on display there I've never seen much activity there when I was driving or flying by.
Not too far north of Portland either, closer than some of the other options mentioned.

Vernonia is a nice grass strip. It is NW of Skyport. It's not real short, but a bit technical given the hills making it a good choice for low hour pilot to build skills going to new places. It would be a good place to practice repeated landings as it is quite.... You can walk to the nearby golf course for a snack too! TT

[quote="hotrod180"]My thought watching that video is that although there didn't appear to be many neighbors to complain,
I'd think if the owner lives in that house they might get annoyed if someone was to come do a bunch of touch-n-go's.
Seems like a good way to get the welcome mat pulled in.

As I mentioned, I've landed at Skyport quite a few times when visiting my brother. They charge a nominal fee for leaving a plane overnight (bring your own tie-downs).If I remember correctly, they wanted $5.00/night, or $10.00/week. The Owner told me he was trying to figure out how to boost traffic to his little strip. He'd also like to see some income from it. He doesn't get any federal funding, and with no resident aircraft and no fuel sales it is all cost and no income. I'd suggest shooting some touch and goes and then land and knock on the door. Offer a few dollars for the pleasure of using the strip and you might be offered an iced tea. They are friendly folks when they are home. Frequently there is nobody there.

merrymunks wrote:...... The plane behind me, a Cessna 152 I think, was uncomfortably close by the time I completed a touch & go. On the downwind, the Cessna pilot asked me to do a 360 for clearance, since he was too close. .....

Trying to get this one straight in my head...
did he want you to do a 360 on downwind annd end up behind him, instead of ahead?

GroundLooper wrote:........One of my favorite places for practicing landing short was Elma (4W8). It has a grass section that's 800' but there's extra space beyond if you go over. .....

I landed in the grass on the north side of 25 (?) there once.
Kept a little altitude in the bank in case I caught a sinker over the pond on short final, so touched down longer than I'd planned.
Thats when I realized the the "over run area" past the paved rwy turnoff was solid blackberries.
I got her stopped but it was pretty close.
Im sure I would have sustained some damage otherwise.

hotrod180 wrote:

merrymunks wrote:...... The plane behind me, a Cessna 152 I think, was uncomfortably close by the time I completed a touch & go. On the downwind, the Cessna pilot asked me to do a 360 for clearance, since he was too close. .....

Trying to get this one straight in my head...
did he want you to do a 360 on downwind annd end up behind him, instead of ahead?

I think that was the general idea.

Many Thanks to all who posted, I now have some great local alternatives to check out. Thanks for the 4S4 video, FlyHound, and the advice.

We have some really remote property in the Painted Hills area that we plan to put in a rough dirt strip on, one of these days. If/when we accomplish that, you'll all have to try it out!

Daybreak WA46.

Daybreak is one of my favorite places,
but I'm not sure if the Swansons would welcome extended touch-and-go type ops there.
Like I posted about another private strip earlier,
that seems like a good way to get the welcome mat pulled.

merrymunks wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:..did he want you to do a 360 on downwind annd end up behind him, instead of ahead?

I think that was the general idea.

Seems like he had the spacing problem, not you,
so he should be the one to remedy it.
Sometimes, though, in flying just like in anything else, it's better to just go along to get along.

hotrod180 wrote:Daybreak is one of my favorite places,
but I'm not sure if the Swansons would welcome extended touch-and-go type ops there.
Like I posted about another private strip earlier,
that seems like a good way to get the welcome mat pulled.

That’s a good point. There’s several grass strips in the area to get some practice in without beating up the pattern at one of them, I used to fly around and shoot a landing at each one in my dad’s 120. There’s Fly for Fun, Brush Prairie, Cedars North, Goheen, and Day Break all within a couple minutes of each other.

Landing at Vernonia (05S) on 27 is challenging to set down in the first 1500 feet of the runway due to the hill/trees on the approach end. You will only see Mike Seager there doing RV training flights and he doesn't practice touch and goes with his students there.

Sandy River 03S - has very little traffic and is a nice approach over the Sandy River.

Twin Oaks - 7S3 - has a grass strip on the right side of 02 (sits east of the taxiway) - that is only 500 feet. It is slightly uphill.

A while back there was a thread on backcountry etiquette that brought up the act of "strip bagging". I had to reflect on that for the first time, as I've never had any reservations about dropping into a challenging runway and then depart immediately.

In remote areas I can see how someone doing a quick turn would be annoying to those who came for the wilderness experience, but in the lowlands dropping in once and GTFO seems to reduce the annoyance.