Awhile back, I bought a section of land about 35 miles due north of Lovelock, NV. It's on the Applegate Lassen Emigrant Trail, also known as the "Death Route"! I've been meaning to put an airstrip on it, and hopefully, this summer will see it get done.

This picture is taken from the middle of the section looking west. It's a gentle downslope to the east, and I'll probably align the runway E-W. Elevation is 5000 ft. I'll probably try to make the strip about 2000 ft. long.

My concern is the sagebrush. I've got an older 172 with stock wheels and tires. I'm obviously going to have to tear out the sagebrush and grade the surface. However, never having done this before, I'm not sure how big of a machine I need to make it happen. Could I use a small tractor like a Ford 8N with a back blade? Do I need a bulldozer? I've dug some holes on the place that were about two feet deep, and I never hit any bedrock, and the biggest rocks I dug up were about the size of a baseball.

Any advice? Thanks!

Never done it...However I like to guess at stuff so here goes. I would think you would need a berm and a ditch some distance from the runway on the up grade side to keep surface flow off the runway in a flash flood. A doser hook to rip the ground to remove and collect the roots from the sage brush, and then rent an old grader to even it out. Might want to roll it to pack it. Depends on soil type if it packs nice, so if it's to sandy you might want to dump some fine soil that will bind the surface and make it right without potholes. Otherwise you would need to water it now and then to keep cover on it. I would think with a small machine you would be at it for far too long and burn out. 2000 feet is a lot of work, but at 5000 feet el you will need it in the summer (I fly of the playa to the west in the heat and we use all of that.)
Now lets see how far off I am, because I have no idea really.

Beauty of a parcel.

Mighty long taproots on most desert plants. I think that would be as much of a challenge as the rocks. A controlled burn might do you for a couple seasons.

Any cholla plants or goats head in the area would be great to get rid of too. Either one can work its way pretty far into a tire.

Best of luck- nice project to have.

-DP

How much time you got? And what is it worth to you? How "nice" a strip do you want? You can do anything with enough time available. As long as hard rock or hardpan isn't an issue, an 8N can get a lot of work done. However, if your time is valuable, I'd use equipment more sized for the job.

I put in most the roads and grading around my place with a 8N and box blade, including a 35' wide 350' crowned orchard strip that would be how I would shape an airstrip to get drainage going the way it should.......Problem with a box blade is that since it is attached to the back of the tractor it is damned difficult to get long straight runs smoothed out and take out all the whoopdedoos. When the front tires go in a dip, the blade builds a mound about 8' behind. The opposite occurs when the front wheels ride up a small rise - the box blade digs a hole. Keep it up and you can get some nice mounds built. That's why graders and landplanes have the blade between the wheels. You have to "float" the high spots when using a backblade, depositing the material in the depressions. If you have the patience and can develop an eye for the grade, it's possible, but it takes time. The cat's ass would be to get it close then have someone finish it with a landplane.

If you have time on your hands, go for it. Just make sure you have a plan for drainage. If you don't, the rain will do it for you, carving out your strip where you don't want it. I realize Nevada doesn't get a ton of rain, but flying over you see a lot of areas where the water has eroded the land, even where it is extremely dry. On hard packed surfaces like roads, airstrips, etc. it is worse than if it has vegetation on it. If the strip is falling with the natural grade of the land, you are most of the way there. Just make sure you get it crowned so the water sheds to the sides before running downhill. A 2 percent cross slope from the crown to a ditch/swale on either side should do it.

Flynengr

Shovel and pick?

I'm facing a bit of the same problem. I have 40 acres about 13 miles southeast of the Wine Cup Ranch between Jackpot and Wells. I have about probably 2000 feet to put in an airstrip, and not with the winds working in my favor. I want to put one in pretty bad, because, what I do, I really like getting away from people and the world. (no offense) It is one of the most remote places in the U.S. You can see about 100 miles in just about any direction, hence the fact it is hard to get to. However, when it does rain, you can pretty much kiss any contact with that area goodbye for awhile. I drove there last fall. (I'm always on the road otherwise) It was a real pain to get to. Probably the least available country in the U.S. I have pictures but I will have to figure out how to post them... not so savvy with the ol computer..... My brother has the adjacent 40 acres and we are talking about trying to get something erected there, whether it be a yurt, or a small cabin. Yurts are easier....by far. My friends just put one up for 10K on their land at the base of Mt. Borah in the Lost River Valley of Idaho. Right by Chilly.... (north of Mackay) Took a nice flight over that area this fall in a friends 210 and got a great view coming down Trail Creek on the way into Sun Valley. (aka the worst place to fly into if you aren't loaded with money or know someone who does) Either way, let me know what you can figure out as far as work goes. I am up against the same odds. I can probably get a lot of farm equipment from Twin Falls for a discounted price, (Jerome actually) I just need the time to do it-which doesn't come easy. (loaders, tractors, you name it, my brother is a Dairy farmer there) The area that you showed pretty much is the same as where I have land. That being said, it will probably be years from now.....work comes first, have to make the money. Have to have the money..... I at least have the land for now.....

Hey I have 40 acres about 14 miles north west of LoveLock my parcel is a bit over 3300' long I have been thinking about putting a strip in there similar to what I have here at the house but I have too many airplane projects going at the moment and no need to use the property up there for anything.

I am a pro at clearing the desert of sagebrush our place was covered with it when we bought here, Its all gone now from the strip to the house.

You can PM me for info if you like. There is a method that works and a whole bunch that don't

Sorry, no experience with sagebrush, but I am still a farmer and owned a drainage business in my past life. I agree with what the others said, that ditching along the side that water comes from is critical. A grader box might work, but if you need to move much dirt, may not be practical. I small pull type earth mover will do wonders, but depending on how large a mover it is, will require a lot more horse power than the 8N you mentioned. To do it right, I would want to use a laser to get the grade right. Ideally mount a laser receiver on the earthmover, with a means of watching it from or in the tractor. Finding all this equipment in your area and then learning to use it, may take more time than it is worth to you. Sometimes, with little experience these projects can turn into a monster and to try to tackle the project with a grader box and nothing else, you may have spent a lot of time and end up with a mess someone else will have to straighten up. Good luck. Steve

Kevbert,

My advice (worth what you are paying for it), is to hire experts. I grew up around farm equipment and about ten years ago, went out and bought a Cat D5 high track and a late model excavator. A pro would have done everything I've done 4 times faster and better.

If I had your 640 acres, I would put in crossing runways for those cross winds. It might be wise to spray a herbicide on the plants first, so that you kill to the roots before tearing them out. A dozer with a root blade would then clean them out in no time. After that a road grader would make it perfect.

The ranch immediately below and along side the Mount Borah (highest Peak in Idaho) access road used to have a strip right by the farm buildings, they had a Super Cub. It was hard to distinguish from the pasture and the feed lots, but it was there if you knew what to look for.12 years ago I landed on the dirt road as close to the trailhead as I could get, tied the plane down and left my stereo on (with a 10 watt PV panel on the skylight to keep the battery up) to keep the cattle away and started hiking. 8 hours later upon arrival back at the tie down spot, I had a ring of curious cattle all around the plane, but none closer then 50 feet. Right about then a ranch hand drove up to check the head gate on their irrigation system, and we had a good laugh at the curious cattle...as scarey as the hike up Borah was I was more worried about the cattle. The old boy who ran the operation was named Wiley, and just a real great guy, a real Idaho cowboy/rancher and friendly as hell.

I rig a cable choker to my mid size Kubota, and easily pull the biggest sage brush, it helps if you have someone to rig and you stay on the tractor. If you are on a budget/have no money (like me) you're 8N will do the job (I used to have one before the Kubota), clear the brush first, you may get lucky like me and find it's good enough, and naturally drained, as is. Pushing a lot of dirt around first can screw up what is already working fine...if you have a few swales, so what, if you can handle it, point is it doesn't have to turn into a major engineering project to be usefull, and if it's a little funky it'll keep the riff raff out! This all depends on your aircraft type of course.

MGUS wrote:I'm facing a bit of the same problem. I have 40 acres about 13 miles southeast of the Wine Cup Ranch between Jackpot and Wells. I have about probably 2000 feet to put in an airstrip, and not with the winds working in my favor. I want to put one in pretty bad, because, what I do, I really like getting away from people and the world. (no offense) It is one of the most remote places in the U.S. You can see about 100 miles in just about any direction, hence the fact it is hard to get to. However, when it does rain, you can pretty much kiss any contact with that area goodbye for awhile. I drove there last fall. (I'm always on the road otherwise) It was a real pain to get to. Probably the least available country in the U.S. I have pictures but I will have to figure out how to post them... not so savvy with the ol computer..... My brother has the adjacent 40 acres and we are talking about trying to get something erected there, whether it be a yurt, or a small cabin. Yurts are easier....by far. My friends just put one up for 10K on their land at the base of Mt. Borah in the Lost River Valley of Idaho. Right by Chilly.... (north of Mackay) Took a nice flight over that area this fall in a friends 210 and got a great view coming down Trail Creek on the way into Sun Valley. (aka the worst place to fly into if you aren't loaded with money or know someone who does) Either way, let me know what you can figure out as far as work goes. I am up against the same odds. I can probably get a lot of farm equipment from Twin Falls for a discounted price, (Jerome actually) I just need the time to do it-which doesn't come easy. (loaders, tractors, you name it, my brother is a Dairy farmer there) The area that you showed pretty much is the same as where I have land. That being said, it will probably be years from now.....work comes first, have to make the money. Have to have the money..... I at least have the land for now.....

Thanks for all of the great input! (Well, everyone except for porterjet! )

I'm definitely leaning towards hiring an excavator to come up with a bulldozer and grader. It seems a bit short-sighted to only put in a 2000 ft. strip at that altitude when I've got a mile to play with, and the longer the strip is, the more it makes sense to use bigger equipment.

The absolute worst problem I've got right now is that every time I've been there, the wind wasn't really blowing! It's in a big valley that shelters it somewhat from the wind, but I know it has to get it sometimes, and I have no clue what the prevailing direction is. I'm pretty sure that the topography of the hills around it are going to change it from what is seen in Lovelock or Winnemucca. I need to spend some extended time there this spring to educate myself. I'd hate to double my expenditure and put in cross strips, only to find I would only ever use one of them. I need a recording anemometer!

I just found out that there's an excavator in Imlay (wide spot in the freeway very close to the property) named Richard Heidemann that might be able to do the job. I'll track him down one of these days and get a wild ass guesstimate for cost, and post my findings.

Kevbert,
Right after I posted my informed advice about your potential strip, I started laughing, as maybe others will. Who the hell am I to offer advice on putting in a airstrip when you can see by the following what I consider to be a grade A number one landing facility? I'll try and keep any future comments to something I have some knowledge about. Use the somewhat local guy, that'll help you later if/when you build, tell him you'll use him then also, it'll give him an incentive to treat you right. That works for me in the crane business anyway, return business is easier for all involved.

I built my strip in sage brush, it wasn't very big, maybe 2 feet high. I shoved it around with the backhoe then graded it out, seemed to work ok. It does grow back, you have to keep mowing it.............

You will definitely be money ahead to hire a local guy with a blade. But I could be biased just because I'm a local guy with a blade. Just not very local to you.

I wouldn't worry so much about killing the sage. It can be bladed of bucketed off. After that it will never outgrow a once a year mowing regimen. It might take a dozer to get started, as heavy sage is quite capable of taking out the sidewall of a blade or tractor.

I can see about two scenarios for the work. One is fast and dirty- leave the existing "topsoil" in place, and just swipe out the brush and high spots. The other involves a dozer, a scraper, a blade, some compaction equipment, reseeding, and lots of $. If you can't spend the money to do it "right", you might be better off to do it as cheap as you can.

My advice is probably worth every penny it's cost you. Just be sure to bring up all the great ideas that you got from some guy on the internet when you're talking with the local guy. That'll set him straight.

I will add my .02 cents worth.. I have 80 acres in Merna Wy. It is at 8000msl and thankfully been a pasture for 60 years and no sagebrush on it. I tried to drag it using my PU with a homemade land plane but didn't get very far. Called a local excavator,Koch construction in Danial Wy. His outfit is up the road about 10 miles so driving the grader was not an issue. He did truck in a BIG tiller and broke uo the soil and grass clumps. Bladed it with a 1.5 degree crown and then rolled it with a sheeps head thingie. Total cost was 5000.00 or so. First year the runway was smooth as any paved runway. The winter left a few hiccups but nothing that my homemade landplane didn't take out and make it damn smooth again.. Last year we had a pretty wet spring and summer so alot of tall weeds sprung up and even though it looked like crap it stayed smooth to land on. I am right this morning looking to find 250 lbs of Sheep fescue grass seed to plant. All the guys I have talked to say broadcasting it on top the snow and letting it melt down into the cracked and roughened soil will be my best bet at getting it to germinate. Snow is going fast so I am needing to get this done in the next few weeks.. i di research using the preferred Kentucky 31 fescue seed but the cheapest I have found it was 9500.00 for covering 8 acres. The sheep fescue looks like it will come it at 3.50 a lb = 850 bucks... A no brainer,,, I think. My runway is 100 X 3000.
http://maps.avnwx.com/airport/2WY3

Stol wrote:Total cost was 5000.00 or so.

Holy crap!

I was thinking I would be willing to pay several hundred, but definitely not several thousand! It sounds like you've got a fantastic airport. Of course, I don't need it that perfect.

Hey Porterjet, if I buy a couple of picks and shovels, did you want to come out for a "vacation"?

I was thinking 5k was a good deal with fuel prices. YMMV

It all sounds like a lot of fun really. Might have to get a ranch one of these days.

I'd figure around $1,000 for a local guy just to move the equipment. Everybody is pretty hungry right now though.

for a California "death-route" experience:
160 Acre Nevada County Mining Claim - $4500 (Nevada City) "un-patented":
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/for/1645586182.html

I would argue an airstrip is "development costs", at least for several years.
$5000 would be light for grading here though.

Read careful you are buying the mining (claim) rights, not the real estate?

c180bill wrote:for a California "death-route" experience:
160 Acre Nevada County Mining Claim - $4500 (Nevada City) "un-patented":
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/for/1645586182.html

I would argue an airstrip is "development costs", at least for several years.
$5000 would be light for grading here though.