LMAC Field Update
Update: April 23rd. 2008
The field is open for business. Thanks to all that come out on Saturday for Field Clean Up Day, you now have a smooth runway, level parking lot and clean area. Special thanks to Tom Knight and his friends at A and B Rental for the loan of the roller.
Update: April 17th, 2008
The field is starting to dry out. Please use caution when going out on the runway. We will be rolling it on Saturday, April 19th.
Update: April 7, 2008
The field is very wet! Please use extreme caution when using the field. We hope to roll the field in a couple of weeks, so be patient.
Update: April 27 - 2007
The field has been rolled, the tables are out, the garbage has been picked up. Thanks to all that donated their time to make the field better for everybody. Special thanks to A&B Rental for providing the roller. The field is as smooth as it has ever been!
Update: April 19 - 2007
Please join us at the field to help prepare for the coming flying season. We will be picking up the garbage that has accumulated over the winter, putting out the tables, cleaning the outhouse, putting up the flags, setting up the flight stations, rolling the field and generally fixing whatever is broken. Please bring gloves, rakes, tools and yourselves. We plan on starting at 9:00 A.M.
See you there.
Update: January 2 - 2007
The field is open but very wet. Please use caution at the field. The rain throughout the fall and early winter have left the field very wet. It will be very easy to leave ruts in the parking lot and runway.
Update:April 12 - 2006
Grass covers over 90% of the resurfaced runway. There are still a lot of rocks on the runway, so watch out for them. The bare spots will be reseeded shortly. We expect to roll and furtalize the field late in April. If you are flying on the filed, take care of where you step, the fround is still soft. Make sure not to leave any tracks.
Update: September 28 - 2005
Grass is growing! The rain has finally arrived and the grass has started to grow (although I think more rocks have grown than grass!). If you stop by the field, you will see a green coverage to much of the field. At this time, the shoots are very delicate, you must keep off them.
There has been some erosion due to rain run-off. These areas will be cleaned up and re-seeded in the spring.
Remember, Keep Off the Grass!
Update: September 6 - 2005
The field has been disked, raked and seeded. Conrad worked throughout Saturday to complete the seeding of the runway. Now, all we have to do is wait for the grass to grow. Conrad has indicated that we must keep off the grass until it has firmly taken root. So, keep off the field until further notice. We must give the grass a chance to take root.
Update: August 22 - 2005
The field is currently being prepared for seeding. On Sunday August 21. dedicated members of LMAC were at the field removing some of the larger rocks from the runway. Conrad, our sod farmer who is responsible for the filed, has done preliminary disking of the field. More is to come. Seeding will take place shortly. Once the seed is in the ground, it is imperative that we keep off the grass. Until the roots take hold, the grass is very fragile. So, keep off the runway! More details to follow.
You all owe thanks to George Phelps, Phil, Gerry and Kevin Hicks, Wayne Andrews, Tiberio Almedia, Jack and Kathy Baas, Bob Locke and Dale McGill (I may have forgotten someone, sorry). These people spent a long hard day picking rocks so that you may have a good place to fly from.
As I sit here writing this, I am reminded about all the people that thought that fixing the field was a good idea but how few of them are around to help deliver on the new field. I hope more will help when we call next time.
Update: June 8th. 2005
About 300 loads of fill and topsoil have been dumped on the field. A bulldozer has leveled all the dirt on the
runway. An additional 100 or so loads are yet to be delivered. Dale McGill and Phil Hicks have been working with
grass providers to get pricing on seeding the field.
Only helicopters and those that do not need a runway can use the field now!
This City and the contractor (J AAR) have been to the field and discussed the work to be done. The
Club has removed the flight stations and some of the protective flight station fencing. Make sure that
you exercise caution when flying, keep seperation between pilots. The Contractor plans to start moving
fill and topsoil onto the field the week of May 16. So, from the 16th on, the status of the field will be day to
day. Do not fly if you see trucks going in and out of the field! Dale and Phil are looking into seeding the field
once the work is complete. This page will be updated as soon as work starts.
Highway 100 tender is closed and will now go to City Hall Council for approval on April 18th. Once approved,
the contractor can start work. City does not expect to start for at least 2 weeks after approval. Contractor will build
road into field for soil and fill to be trucked in. Preliminary quotes on cost to see the field have been recieved.
Update: March 8th. 2005
The City and your Field Officer had a conference call today to review the status of the project. As is stands, the following
events have taken place:
The tender for Hwy. 100 work has been issued and closes Friday March 11th.
The City, the contractor and LMAC representative will meet at the field to review the logistics of dumping almost
300 truckloads of soil and fill on the field. A road may need to be built to support the weight of the trucks on the top of
the landfill site (this may prove to be an issue that may kill the project).
A plan will need to be put into place to re-locate all buildings on the property.
The fill and soil is expected to arrive some time in April.
The City will then level the fill and top-soil.
The Club will then be responsible for the seeding of the field.
More to come....
Old Update:
We have met with City of London staff to review the possibility of leveling the runway. What the City
is proposing is to take some of the fill from the Hwy. 100 construction project and dump it on the
runway. They plan to put approximately 12 inches of fill on the entire runway followed on by a
layer of topsoil (the actual amount will depend on how much can be obtained from the Hwy 100
project). Once the fill is in place, the city will level the runway, putting a slight dome in the centre of it to
assist in water runoff. Once this is done, the club will be responsible for the seeding of the runway.
The actual timing of this work will depend on when the snow clears and when an accurate survey
of the runway can take place.
What this means to you, the LMAC member is, that for the duration of the construction, you will be
without a runway. Plan on making alternative arrangements for flying during this time.
More to come as the plan evolves.