Denver Colorado Area

Torque beast

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Apr 18, 2019
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Bryan
May be relocating to the area and looking for areas to look at buying a house. My big issues are a place to house the Bonanza and I also have a horse and several dogs. I see several air parks in the area but not sure if any are horse friendly. Any suggestions?


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I'm not familiar with horse property in Denver, but which part of the metro area are you looking to live (job, etc)? Commuting across Denver really sucks anymore and I'd avoid that.
 
Bring your wallet if you want to be anywhere near Denver. I've been here 27 years and prices keep skyrocketing. As ColoPilot says, traffic totally sucks, too. Not sure of your professional situation, but if you're not working remote, your work location is going to drive your residence.

Happy to connect with you with a well-respected aviator real estate friend who has a lot of area knowledge, especially for south and east of Denver. I'm on the north side: finding an airpark is tough, but an airpark and horses? I can't imagine that within an hour or more of Denver, though there are some private airports I'm not familiar with.

The real estate guy I'd introduce is Spencer Mamber. He's been doing real estate a long time. He's a terrific and relentless aviation advocate - used to have a Steen Skybolt, now has a Cub, does lots of Young Eagles rides and aviation introductions of all kinds. Was a career military pilot and I'm embarrassed I can't remember what he flew but I think it was big stuff.

Spencer Mamber with ReMax 720-838-0509 or 303-771-9400 spencerm@remax.net and www.spencerthehouseguy.com
Good luck and an early 'welcome to the neighborhood' to you!
 
Meadowlake airport on the NE side of COS might fit the OPs bill. Not convenient to Denver though.
 
I won’t necessarily have an office there so daily travel won’t be a big deal. I just need to be reasonable close the the big airport to catch commercial flights when needed. My territory will cover west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California and will need to respond to any big incidents. They prefer being close to either Denver or Salt Lake City airports


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Meadowlake airport on the NE side of COS might fit the OPs bill. Not convenient to Denver though.

I looked at Meadow lake which looks nice but did not look horse friendly. Not sure though

G-Man thx for the contact, I will contact him when i get confirmation


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I won’t necessarily have an office there so daily travel won’t be a big deal. I just need to be reasonable close the the big airport to catch commercial flights when needed. My territory will cover west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California and will need to respond to any big incidents. They prefer being close to either Denver or Salt Lake City airports


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What kind of big incidents? Hulcher Services kind of incidents?
 
Since you don't need an office in the metro area, I would take a look at keeping your Bonanza at one of the northern airports (KFNL, KEIK, KLMO). Hangars should be easier to get than the metro area, and driving time/distance out to KDEN is probably less than from around Meadow Lake. Those aren't fly-in communities, but you could probably find horse properties close by (but I don't know anything about horses, they all hate me).
 
If you are independently wealthy, you should be able to find a place to suit your needs.
 
Forget Meadowlake. Many, many hangars are full of junk, small businesses, storage, woodshops, auto repair outfits, etc. There is a list of at least 30 airplane owners looking for AIRPLANE hangars but each unit is privately owned and the airport has NO SAY in what the owners do with their buildings. I have been there 40 years and have seen the place go from a laid back, flying friendly airport to a commercial business park with airplanes slowly being squeezed out because "hangar" owners can get more $$ renting to businesses than from pilots.
 
Since you don't need an office in the metro area, I would take a look at keeping your Bonanza at one of the northern airports (KFNL, KEIK, KLMO). Hangars should be easier to get than the metro area, and driving time/distance out to KDEN is probably less than from around Meadow Lake. Those aren't fly-in communities, but you could probably find horse properties close by (but I don't know anything about horses, they all hate me).

I will look in that area and make some calls to see if any hangars are available. Thx


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Forget Meadowlake. Many, many hangars are full of junk, small businesses, storage, woodshops, auto repair outfits, etc. There is a list of at least 30 airplane owners looking for AIRPLANE hangars but each unit is privately owned and the airport has NO SAY in what the owners do with their buildings. I have been there 40 years and have seen the place go from a laid back, flying friendly airport to a commercial business park with airplanes slowly being squeezed out because "hangar" owners can get more $$ renting to businesses than from pilots.

Good to know, I will scratch that off my list


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Since you don't need an office in the metro area, I would take a look at keeping your Bonanza at one of the northern airports (KFNL, KEIK, KLMO). Hangars should be easier to get than the metro area, and driving time/distance out to KDEN is probably less than from around Meadow Lake. Those aren't fly-in communities, but you could probably find horse properties close by (but I don't know anything about horses, they all hate me).
Would that still be true for FNL? That place began to grow as a northern GA hub (for want of a better term) before I left Colorado 9 years ago.
 
Would that still be true for FNL? That place began to grow as a northern GA hub (for want of a better term) before I left Colorado 9 years ago.
You're right, FNL is getting busy and might take a little luck or networking to get a hanger. There is a lot going on there -- the remote tower, a new terminal being built, commercial service has returned. I know the airport owned hangars all have waiting lists, but I've known some people who've moved to the area and were able to rent one of the private hangars (most of the hangars aren't owned by the airport). The airport will also let you build a hangar if you want.
 
Did anyone mention Kelley airpark. I think its horse friendly. I don't know much about it, but probably a bit over an hour drive most times to either COS or DEN. Rush hour could be several hours in either direction. There are some private airports around on the plains. So a couple hundred or more acres with strip and house type thing. Much of Kolorado has become an overcrowded disaster, and the front range leads the progression into the sewar.
 
Did anyone mention Kelley airpark. I think its horse friendly. I don't know much about it, but probably a bit over an hour drive most times to either COS or DEN. Rush hour could be several hours in either direction. There are some private airports around on the plains. So a couple hundred or more acres with strip and house type thing. Much of Kolorado has become an overcrowded disaster, and the front range leads the progression into the sewar.

I did see Kelly which looks doable but not sure on horses and didn’t see anything for sale there


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Your best bet is to find land or house with land that allows horses, then look at airports that are relatively close. You'll spend more time in the house, and the horses need more support, than the airplane. East side of the Front Range area (Longmont south to Colorado Springs) will be your best bet, or north side of the area which is Boulder (west side) to east of Greeley.
 
There is a lot of horse property near Centennial airport (KAPA), though I hear hangar space is impossible to come by. I think the area is called Foxfield, off of Arapahoe Rd. Not sure what's around Front Range Airport (FTG), but that's pretty close to Denver International.
 
Long ago had a hangar at Erie KEIK, still a lot of open land $$$. Before moving to NE had a hangar at KLMO. Again, open land $$$ and a lot of horse property.
Both nice airports.
 
There is a lot of horse property near Centennial airport (KAPA), though I hear hangar space is impossible to come by. I think the area is called Foxfield, off of Arapahoe Rd. Not sure what's around Front Range Airport (FTG), but that's pretty close to Denver International.
Front range is now KCFO
 
Long ago had a hangar at Erie KEIK, still a lot of open land $$$. Before moving to NE had a hangar at KLMO. Again, open land $$$ and a lot of horse property.
Both nice airports.

Both are nice airports, but I'm afraid it's been quite a long time since there was any open land nearby. Erie is somewhat locally known for never seeing a housing development they didn't want, and Longmont (KLMO) has been facing even more development pressure.

There are still horse areas west and slightly north of Longmont that might be worth looking at. Grabbing a location at random, I'd guess 10-15 mins to KLMO, 15-20 to Longmont proper, and faster than I expected at 75 minutes for ~52 miles to Denver International Airport. You can Google North 49th Street and St. Vrain Road, Longmont, CO 80503 for an idea of what I'm looking at. It's definitely a nice area. I have no info on zoning, lot sizes, or property costs but the area is generally 'quite expensive.'

Good luck!
 
I think Kelly is one of those places you need to go to, knock on doors and ask questions. Probably buy a lot and build in this market. If its already built, its probably already sold. There is a private strip a couple miles west of there. Just raw land with a wind sock and a smooth grass (stuble) field that had a for sale sign a few months ago. No idea what the deal is or what they might want. If i ride out that way in the next week or so, i'll get a picture of the sign and post it.
 
Thx for the info, keep it coming. I have seen several nice properties I wouldn’t mind having if I had unlimited funds. Hopefully get confirmation on the move next week then may make a trip over there and do some driving around.


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It's big area. around Kelly is the Monument divide. It runs from the mountains all the way to Kansas. The weather really changes there. It's a dividing line between the Denver area and the Colo Springs area and south. The weather can be drastically different across that line. There are some private strips that are not on the charts. Good luck hunting.
 
It's big area. around Kelly is the Monument divide. It runs from the mountains all the way to Kansas. The weather really changes there. It's a dividing line between the Denver area and the Colo Springs area and south. The weather can be drastically different across that line. There are some private strips that are not on the charts. Good luck hunting.

Interesting, which side of the line is better? Examples — I hate real windy areas as info. I grew up in west Oklahoma where the wind can be brutal and don’t want back in that situation. I have been wondering how it would be there on the east edge of the mountains.


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You can certainly get plenty of wind. Chinooks off the mountains. Warms up the area in the winter. The ridge is a dividing line between WX systems. Certainly, lots of weather spills over. That said, you can often have one air mass on one side that doesn't cross and a completely different mass on the other side. I think the amount of wind is probably similar. Since the divide is higher, it tends to be cooler. On the south side, the air masses tedn to be more frequent southwest, and south pacific type air masses. The north side tend to frequent air masses from the north and Gulf of Alaska. That said, often they merge or are the same. But sometime split at the divide. Up slope and down slope have a major effect on the weather as well. Hopefully that's not confusing, and a decent description. If you think about the terrain, and the effect it has on air masses, it makes sense.
If you could be farther south. You might look at Florence. Much cheaper realestate. Horse property is easily doable within a few miles of the airport. Nice climate, bit hot in the summer. Easy to Colorado Springs airport, difficult to DIA. Probably the best winery in the state. The Abby.
 
But sometime split at the divide. Up slope and down slope have a major effect on the weather as well. Hopefully that's not confusing, and a decent description. If you think about the terrain, and the effect it has on air masses, it makes sense.
I had to laugh. It's often difficult to find some decent crosswinds where I am now and I find myself explaining how, at KAPA, the winds came from the southeast in the morning and moved clockwise, increasing in intensity as they became westerly in the afternoon, reducing again as they continued to northeasterly in the evening.
 
You can certainly get plenty of wind. Chinooks off the mountains. Warms up the area in the winter. The ridge is a dividing line between WX systems. Certainly, lots of weather spills over. That said, you can often have one air mass on one side that doesn't cross and a completely different mass on the other side. I think the amount of wind is probably similar. Since the divide is higher, it tends to be cooler. On the south side, the air masses tedn to be more frequent southwest, and south pacific type air masses. The north side tend to frequent air masses from the north and Gulf of Alaska. That said, often they merge or are the same. But sometime split at the divide. Up slope and down slope have a major effect on the weather as well. Hopefully that's not confusing, and a decent description. If you think about the terrain, and the effect it has on air masses, it makes sense.
If you could be farther south. You might look at Florence. Much cheaper realestate. Horse property is easily doable within a few miles of the airport. Nice climate, bit hot in the summer. Easy to Colorado Springs airport, difficult to DIA. Probably the best winery in the state. The Abby.

That does make sense and will add Florence to my list. Thx for the info


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Warning about Florence/Canon City area….7 jails, including SuperMax, and there is LOTS of USAF spam cans practicing there. Both the USAFA (near COS) and the IPT at PUB, use it for training. PUB is towered, 1V6 is not, but they only do T&G. Limited hangar space at 1V6 but you could probably build your own.
 
Canon City is at least 2 hours from KDEN, probably closer to 3 with normal weekday traffic. I'm not sure that meets the OP criteria of reasonable close to the airport. KCOS doesn't offer the direct flights to cover the OP work territory, if that is important.
 
Canon City is at least 2 hours from KDEN, probably closer to 3 with normal weekday traffic. I'm not sure that meets the OP criteria of reasonable close to the airport. KCOS doesn't offer the direct flights to cover the OP work territory, if that is important.
Try 4-5 hours. When commuting between Centennial (KAPA) and the north side of Colorado Springs (north of the Academy) 2-3 hours was the norm going north.
 
Yes DEN would be out. I'm not sure if COS has the flights he needs or not. But if it does, then that area could work.
 
Cos does not have all the flights I would need. Will need to be close to Denver or Salt Lake City


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Ok, then from Monument hill south is not doable. If your ok being in rural, as in farm communities. Then your probably looking east of the metro area. East of DIA. So Front range airport might be worth looking at, and east of there. Follow I-70 east. There are communities with acreage out there. I don't know if you could find anything at Van Aire. Thats north of DIA, right under the approach corridor. Or Something like Deer Trail maybe.
 
Ok, then from Monument hill south is not doable. If your ok being in rural, as in farm communities. Then your probably looking east of the metro area. East of DIA. So Front range airport might be worth looking at, and east of there. Follow I-70 east. There are communities with acreage out there. I don't know if you could find anything at Van Aire. Thats north of DIA, right under the approach corridor. Or Something like Deer Trail maybe.
East of DIA makes much more sense - less traffic getting to DIA (we'll show you the back way when you get out here). Deer Trail is too far out - Bennett or Strasburg better idea.
 
I grew up on a farm so that does not bother me. Found several pieces of land but no house. How’s the log home market up there? Last time I priced building one they were real reasonable. I live in one now and it is very efficient. May be an option to buy the land and throw a cabin on it.


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I grew up on a farm so that does not bother me. Found several pieces of land but no house. How’s the log home market up there? Last time I priced building one they were real reasonable. I live in one now and it is very efficient. May be an option to buy the land and throw a cabin on it.


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There are 2-3 local companies that build log homes. Quite fancy, too!

https://www.newhomesource.com/learn/best-log-cabin-builders-in-colorado/
 
They are nice for sure


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Logs are great. WE live in one. But something always trying to eat them. that said, its dry here, so not so much of a problem. The idiots won't let you buy good oil based stain. So we go to Wy to buy most of that as well as some plumbing stuff etc. Anyway watch the fire insurance for log builds. It can be brutal. But good options for the builds. Ours is hand scribed and was standing dead to dry, out of Idaho. There are many log builders, so probably takes some research. Some acreage out east might let you have the horses and the plane on the same parcel. There are many of those.
 
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