The TSS fleet will fan out across Pennsylvania on October 14 for the Great Grass Race. This is an exercise in old fashioned dead reckoning and pilotage. Participants in the race will navigate to grass strips using nothing but their compasses, their eyes and whatever features they can pick out on the ground. No GPS, no VORs, no ADFs, no radar vectors. Oh yeah, no LORAN either!

Our most eager TSS pilots are already preparing for the challenge. TSS pilots Herb and Mark honed their grass field skills this past weekend. Here is Herb’s report:

—

1. We flew to Hays Field (180 RAD about 15 miles from EMI) and did some takeoffs and landings. It is a challenging but not over challenging strip. You will have to wipe the grass stains off the wheel pants if you choose a panted airplane. Then we flew north out of the ADIZ (all on one ADIZ flight plan). {Subsequently, Leo Mortimer advised that they do not want folks practicing takeoffs and landings at Hays}

2. Then we began a search for private grass strips shown on the chart outside the ADIZ. This was not to scout out every grass field between GAI and the site in Northern PA. Rather it was (a) for fun because Mark and I had done it before 15 years or so ago; (b) this is really good training for our forthcoming adventure. We found six out of eight. North of the ADIZ and not much further north than the cement plant NE of FDK, there are about 10 grass strips owned by lucky individuals who have a lot of land and one or more airplanes. There is an art to finding grass fields and looking for the ones not too far from home will hone your skills in how to read the chart, look for clues on the ground, and have some fun flying on a nice day. And none are on the GPS even if you have it on.

—

Of all the features on our new WAAS-equipped GPS boxes, I guess the on-off switch is still one of the most exciting.

–Charlie