We are very pleased with our decision to use US230 for our runway. The material is holding up very well in a year when Texas has offered many challenges from flooding to extreme temperatures it has retained its qualities. We find it is easy to repair prop strikes and crashes. The repairs are made with the Loctite that you suggested and it works very well. We repair damaged areas immediately, if possible. I personally make a weekly "runway walk" looking for any disruptions of the fabric that could lead to later problems. Overall, I give your product an A+ rating. The US230 runway that we installed has increased our membership 25% to date and it is still increasing. We added a new member at our meeting last night. As the saying goes - 'Build it and they will come'. - Fred Taylor, President, GTRCC
Radio Controlled (RC) Aircraft, or aeromodelling, has become a very popular hobby in the United States with clubs in all 50 States totaling close to 600. Finding and developing an area for the aircraft to safely land can be an RC club's biggest obstacle. A model airplane runway fabric is the answer.
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An asphalt paved runway costs 4 times the price of labor and materials needed to construct a geotextile runway. Often, land where it would be acceptable to install a paved runway is limited. A geotextile runway constructed with US 230 is an inexpensive and adaptable way to provide landing space for the model aircraft.
In addition to being cost-effective and adaptable, the geotextile is tough enough to withstand prop damage from a plane over-rotating or uprighting. In rare cases where damage occurs, the geotextile can be easily repaired.
Here is one repair method used by our friends at Lakeland Aircraft Modelers: "The adhesive that we use to apply any patches is GOOP found at Home Depot, as well as other retailers. The GOOP patches take about 20 minutes to dry enough to use the runway and seems to hold up really well. We haven't had any of them come off although we haven't had them go through the summer heat yet, but I think it won't be an issue. It's a good idea to use round corners on the patch material to lessen the chance of them pulling up."
Are you interested in learning more about geotextile runway solutions? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
A geotextile runway is also fairly simple to install. Blade the runway area, or remove all weeds with a post-emergent weed killer such as Roundup®, and fill in low points. Compact the area making sure to establish a crown and allow for drainage on the sides. Rake out bumps and rocks. Apply a pre-emergent weed killer such as Preen. Unroll the geotextile onto the prepared runway area. Secure the geotextile by driving in 6" sod staples to just slightly below grade level. Use staples every 18 inches. Overlap geotextile edges 6" or so and glue it with something like Black Jack® brand Emulsion Roof Coating, 3M&#; #78 Spray Geotextile Adhesive or Loctite® Spray Adhesive Professional Performance. Elkhart Flight Masters say Chemlink M-1 Universal Adhesive is a very effective adhesive. You can also tape it with Tite Seal® Roof Deck Seam Tape. The tape is white, creating a white strip down the middle that many clubs prefer. The Flying Gators used EternaBond RoofSeal Tape with good results. They used the white as a marker down the middle, placing it over the staples joining two adjacent rolls. The black is used for repairs of prop strikes. The black will "bubble up" a little due to heat exposure from UV. The white does not.
US Fabrics US 230 Aeromodeling geotextile was featured in the March edition of "Model Aviation." Check the Related Information link at the bottom of this page to read the article by Tony Stillman, Flying Site Coordinator entitled "Affordable runways and a new club."
The US Navy installed US 230 geotextile runways for their UAV's at Dahlgren Airforce Base and were pleased with the results.
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The use of a woven geotextile in renovating Ostend-Bruges Airport's runway replaced traditional gravel methods, significantly reducing CO2 emissions. Compared to gravel, the geotextile required only three trucks for transport, resulting in a 92% reduction in CO2 emissions. Its polypropylene (PP) composition further enhances environmental benefits over polyester (PET) granulate.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of geotextile runway custom. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.