Triple Tree Aerodrome, Pappy Rossi's Seven Thousand Feet of Manicured Grass in Woodruff, South Carolina, Where the Runway Is Mowed Like a Golf Green and Everybody Camps Under the Wing

Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina is a nonprofit, volunteer-run airfield famous for its 7,000-foot manicured grass runway - a turf strip mowed, rolled, and crowned to feel like landing on carpet. Built by WWII fighter pilot and retired airline captain Pat “Pappy” Rossi on roughly 400 acres of rolling upstate countryside, it has become one of American aviation’s most beloved destinations, where pilots camp under their wings and gather by the hundreds for annual fly-ins.

What Is Triple Tree Aerodrome?

Tucked between Greenville and Spartanburg in the upstate of South Carolina, Triple Tree is a grass airfield unlike almost any other in the world. Its runway runs 7,000 feet - longer than the paved runway at many regional airports - and it is not a rough pasture with a windsock stuck in it.

The turf is mowed to a measured height, rolled smooth, and crowned in the middle so rainwater sheds off and the surface never turns soggy. There are no seams, no expansion joints, no centerline paint. Just green grass running toward a tree line, with a lake glittering off to one side.

Pilots who have flown in for years still describe the touchdown the same way: it feels like landing on carpet.

The Story of Pappy Rossi

The field exists because of one man’s lifelong dream. Pat Rossi - known to everyone as Pappy - flew as a fighter pilot in World War II, then spent a full career flying for the airlines. The entire time, he carried a single ambition: to build not just a good grass runway, but the perfect one.

When he retired, Pappy bought roughly 400 acres of South Carolina countryside and got to work. He didn’t simply grade a strip and throw down seed. He treated the runway like a golf course and himself as the greenskeeper - selecting special grass, mowing with precision, and crowning the surface for drainage. It was a labor of love that consumed the back half of his life.

The name comes from three trees on the property that Pappy loved. Three trees - Triple Tree.

Rather than gate off his private paradise, Pappy did the opposite. He opened it to other pilots so they could feel what he felt. That generosity is now built into the field’s identity: Triple Tree is a nonprofit run by volunteers, and its entire purpose is to be shared.

Pappy Rossi passed away in 2015, but the field did not close. The pilots he inspired carried it forward - mowing the grass, rolling the runway, and hosting the events that keep his vision alive.

Can You Camp Under Your Wing at Triple Tree?

Yes - and it’s the heart of the experience. You land on the turf, taxi to the parking area, shut down, and tie down right there in the grass. Then you pull your camping gear out of the baggage compartment and set up directly under the wing. Your airplane is your tent stake.

At night the field fills with rows of tail draggers, antiques, and homebuilts parked wingtip to wingtip, each with a small tent, camp chairs, and often a campfire beside it. String lights glow across the grass, and you can’t walk twenty feet without another pilot waving you over to show off their airplane and tell you its story.

In the morning there’s dew on the wings, coffee somewhere on the field, and a Cub already warming up. The magic of Triple Tree isn’t only the runway - it’s the people who show up.

What Events Does Triple Tree Host?

Triple Tree hosts two signature gatherings that draw aviators from across the country.

One of the largest radio-control model airplane fly-ins in the world. Thousands of RC pilots descend on the field with museum-quality scale models - giant-scale warbirds with wingspans wider than a person’s reach, and jets powered by real miniature turbine engines. These are hand-built works of art, right down to the rivets, panel lines, and a tiny pilot figure in the cockpit.

An annual full-scale fly-in. Real aircraft arrive by the hundreds - Cubs, Champs, Stearmans, Wacos, warbirds, and homebuilts - parked out on the green all week long. For many pilots it’s a pilgrimage they plan their entire flying year around.

How Do You Fly Into a Grass Strip Like Triple Tree?

Flying into a grass field is a joy, but it demands soft-field technique and honest preparation. Here’s how to do it right:

1. Use soft-field technique. Keep weight off the nosewheel or tailwheel, hold the airplane off, and let it settle onto the turf gently.
2. Check the surface condition before you go. Grass changes with weather. Triple Tree keeps theirs immaculate, but always call ahead and get current conditions.
3. Run your density altitude numbers. Know the field elevation and calculate performance - especially on a hot, humid Carolina afternoon. Grass plus heat plus a heavy airplane means a longer takeoff roll than you expect.
4. Use the room. Seven thousand feet gives you plenty of margin to stay smooth. Fly the airplane all the way through the rollout.

There is no diner at the end of the taxiway here. This is not a $100 hamburger stop - it’s a destination. At the big events, volunteers run food on the field, and the campfire culture means someone is almost always cooking and offering a plate. You come to Triple Tree to stay a while.

Why Triple Tree Matters

The best summary of the place came from a couple on the ramp - husband and wife in a bright yellow, immaculately restored fabric airplane. When asked how long they’d been coming, the wife explained that this is where they had their first date. He flew her in, they camped under the wing, and she knew right then. Now they return the same weekend every year, set up in the same patch of grass, and watch the airplanes float in over the trees.

That is what Pappy built: a runway so perfect it looks fake, kept alive by volunteers, and shared freely with anyone willing to fly in and stay.

Key Takeaways

• Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina features a 7,000-foot manicured grass runway that’s mowed, rolled, and crowned for drainage.
• It was built by WWII fighter pilot and retired airline captain Pappy Rossi, who passed away in 2015; the field is now a nonprofit run by volunteers.
• Pilots camp under their wings on the turf, making it a stay-a-while destination rather than a quick fuel stop.
• The field hosts one of the world’s largest RC model fly-ins and a major annual full-scale aircraft gathering.
• Flying in requires soft-field technique, a current surface-condition check, and careful density altitude planning.