Cardinal Calibration
Painting a compass rose
BY LAURIE PROBST
A COMPASS ROSE—WHAT A beautiful sight to see from the air, painted
on the ramp of a local airport. If you’d like to see one at your local
airport, consider making it a chapter project. There are a couple of
ways to get it done. If you’re looking for a group of experts to partner
with, contact your local Ninety-Nines chapter and make it a joint
project. Airmarking is a signature project for these women pilots,
and working in conjunction with a local EAA chapter makes it even
more fun and worthwhile. Each Ninety-Nines chapter has its own
airmarking chairperson, who can tell you what is needed ahead of
time and who can also coordinate the actual painting. There have
been many such joint projects across the country. If you’re not able
to partner with a Ninety-Nines chapter, here are some helpful tips.
To start you will need to contact the entity in charge of the airport to see where the compass rose may be painted. Some airports
have restrictions as to where pavement may be painted, or they may
even have some resurfacing scheduled that would affect the date
and/or placement of the rose. When you contact the airport manager, you will also need to ask if the airport has a particular surveyor
it uses, if there is any charge involved, etc. Having one who is familiar with the airport is always a plus. The surveyor will need to come
out and drive nails into the pavement to accurately mark the four
cardinal directions for your rose. Paint fades over time, so having the
nails is extremely helpful when returning to touch up in the future.
Don’t forget to give the surveyor the dimensions of the rose, so he or
she knows how far apart to put the markers.
The other question to ask the airport
manager would be whether the airport is
able to secure highway paint. It adheres to
the pavement well and lasts longer. Many
roses are painted in Handicap Blue and
Highway White, as both are quite visible
from the air. If the rose is to double as a
landing pad for a helicopter, such as Flight
for Life, you will also need to ask for the
reflective powder to sprinkle on the wet
paint. This helps make the pad more visible
for night landings. Some airports have access
to paint via county maintenance facilities; if
not, you may have to purchase it.
Determining the area of the compass rose
will help you figure out how much paint will
be needed. Plan on at least two coats for the
initial rose.
Other supplies to get ahead of time
would include brooms, sidewalk chalk, paint
rollers, poles, brushes, tape measure, pans,
rags, masking tape, a sifter for the reflective
dust, and a chalk line. A rope can also come
in handy as a compass to mark points of the
rose out from the center. Draw a plan for
