so ive been trying to put together a semi-permanent track in my backyard for practice and the occasional casual race with a few guys from my local club and im running into the usual problem of not having enough space to do anything interesting but also not wanting to just do boring ovals forever

the space is roughly 40x25 meters, there's a big oak tree in the back left corner and a raised garden bed that my wife will absolutely kill me over if i crash into it so that's basically an obstacle i have to design around anyway

what i've been doing so far is using those cheap foam pool noodles zip tied to wire stakes as gates, which works okay but they fall over constantly and the wind just destroys the whole layout if it picks up. anyone found anything better for low budget markers that dont blow away? also curious what gate spacing people are running for 5inch builds, right now i have about 8 meters between most gates which feels kind of cramped but opening it up more means i lose all my obstacles

the other thing is im not sure whether to try a more technical slower track with tighter gaps or just let it be open and fast. the guys i fly with are all on different skill levels so maybe technical is better for that

pool noodles are rough yeah, i went through the same thing. what actually worked for me was getting those cheap plastic traffic cones from amazon and then running some thin PVC conduit between them as flag poles, you can slide the noodles over the conduit if you still want the gate look. way more stable, cones dont move in anything short of actual wind, and if you peg one it just tips and doesnt send shrapnel everywhere

for 5inch in a space that size id honestly go technical over fast. tight technical tracks punish bad flying more than raw speed does so it levels the field a bit between different skill levels. also makes the faster pilots actually think instead of just pinning the throttle, which is more interesting to watch anyway. 8 meters is probably fine for gate spacing if youre adding direction changes, that's about what a lot of indoor tracks run and it keeps the pilots honest

the tree is your best asset honestly, run a gate right next to it and make people thread through a gap close to the trunk. sounds sketchy but if you set the gate wide enough its not actually dangerous and it becomes the defining feature of the track. the obstacle you have to design around usually ends up being the most memorable section