Density Altitudes and Takeoff/Landing Distance

[FlyingMonkey]

Hey all...

I'm planning to retire in the next 2-3 years, and we're looking for a property to retire to, most likely in the Southwest.  The ideal place will have enough room for a runway, I've been looking for about 1800-2200ft with good no obstruction approaches, probably a dirt surface.  Most of the places I have looked are about 4000-5000ft altitude.

The question I have is : is that enough runway?  I'm assuming in Summer there will be 6000ft+ density altitudes.  The CT does land and takeoff pretty short, and you can always go around if you float.  In Summer I might need to restrict takeoffs to morning and evenings only to avoid higher temps.  If there are no obstructions for landing you can drag it in behind the power curve and set it right where you want it. If it's in the Southwest the low humidity helps mitigate the heat a little bit. I can takeoff and land on 2000ft easily here on grass with trees at the ends, but elevation here is only about 900ft. 95% of my flying is solo at aircraft weights around 1090-1200lb.

I've talked to my friends about it who are familiar with my airplane and half say yeah that's enough if you're careful and half say nope.  So what do you guys think?  Is 2000ft enough runway at 4000-5000ft altitudes for a CTSW?  I know a bunch of you live in that region and probably have very informed opinions on this.

[Eddie Cesnalis]

26 minutes ago, FlyingMonkey said:

Hey all...

I'm planning to retire in the next 2-3 years, and we're looking for a property to retire to, most likely in the Southwest.  The ideal place will have enough room for a runway, I've been looking for about 1800-2200ft with good no obstruction approaches, probably a dirt surface.  Most of the places I have looked are about 4000-5000ft altitude.

The question I have is : is that enough runway?  I'm assuming in Summer there will be 6000ft+ density altitudes.  The CT does land and takeoff pretty short, and you can always go around if you float.  In Summer I might need to restrict takeoffs to morning and evenings only to avoid higher temps.  If there are no obstructions for landing you can drag it in behind the power curve and set it right where you want it. If it's in the Southwest the low humidity helps mitigate the heat a little bit. I can takeoff and land on 2000ft easily here on grass with trees at the ends, but elevation here is only about 900ft. 95% of my flying is solo at aircraft weights around 1090-1200lb.

I've talked to my friends about it who are familiar with my airplane and half say yeah that's enough if you're careful and half say nope.  So what do you guys think?  Is 2000ft enough runway at 4000-5000ft altitudes for a CTSW?  I know a bunch of you live in that region and probably have very informed opinions on this.

 I flew for 15 years in my CTSW from home field 7,100' in eastern CA.  Other fields are over 6,000'.  DA's would go up to 11,000' but 9,000 is more common.  At that elevation 1,000' would be adequate but require a level of precision.  2,000' would be more than adequate.  IMHO

[FlyingMonkey]

11 minutes ago, Eddie Cesnalis said:

 I flew for 15 years in my CTSW from home field 7,100' in eastern CA.  Other fields are over 6,000'.  DA's would go up to 11,000' but 9,000 is more common.  At that elevation 1,000' would be adequate but require a level of precision.  2,000' would be more than adequate.  IMHO

Thanks Ed.  I think for takeoff the surface matters a lot.  Hard packed dirt should give better takeoff distances than grass, but not as good as pavement.

[Eddie Cesnalis]

2 minutes ago, FlyingMonkey said:

Thanks Ed.  I think for takeoff the surface matters a lot.  Hard packed dirt should give better takeoff distances than grass, but not as good as pavement.

True dat.  Our CTSWs have 30/40 where they are more boyant and provide a way to minimize rolling in grass in favor of accelerating in ground effect.  Even at my home field which is paved I get airborne in 5 seconds then accelerate in ground affect then do an initial zoom climb at 80kts :).