Airpark Livin'

linuxjim

linuxjim

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jul 8, 2014
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299
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Wilmette, IL
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JJ
Curious to hear your experiences with Airparks. Is it really "Livin' the dream?" My wife, our little one (3yo) and I are thinking about making the move. We live in the Chicago area and there are several around.

So what do you think? We are looking at a few of them so don't have a specific one in mind yet. Do you love it, hate it? Would you do it again, or stay away? Why? Thanks.
 
I have no experience but have always thought it would be great. I have priced some homes for sale at a few of the airparks around Chicago and they are very expensive and the taxes are outrageous, at least for my budget. Which airparks have you looked at?
 
It very much is the dream at the right airpark. There's something about being able to walk down the back hallway to my airplane sitting in its heated hangar. I'm also surrounded by a good class of people: airplane nuts or people who at least like being around airplane nuts.

There are some airparks where there is a lot of derision (often this stems between the developer and the lot owners), we were lucky. I have a friend who bought into another airpark down the road who was pretty roundly getting screwed but the developer bought his lot back when he started organizing the owners against the developer.
 
I've been living in one for for about 15 years. It's great. I've made better friendships here since we all share a common interest. All the lots are large (mine is 3 acres) so there is plenty of space and it is also gated so no riff-raff nosing around. When I want to go, it's about 200 feet from my front door to my hangar. And I really like airplane noise so there's a little bonus for when I'm not flying. It's a great place to live!
 
It's like OSH year-round! No, really, I have a buddy that lives in one, and we bidded on a house in one (but eventually passed). It's convenient, nice, and cool to live in one. If noise bothers you, it may be an issue. I know my buddy is to the point where when he hears a plane he knows who is coming and going.
 
Hey we don't even get upset when the Blackhawks come over to practice NVG work on our runway in the middle of the night (it's dark here). My wife came out one morning to find her sunflowers all blown over and then she remembered the Blackhawks.
 
Moved into a small airpark community about two years ago.

My wife and I absolutely love it! Our next door neighbor is the widow of a WWII flying Ace, and it is by far the best set of neighbors we have ever had.

Being out here easily shaved a year off of my RV-9A build with the help and advice I received from the neighbors.

And the ability to say, hmm nice night lets go do a sunset flight, and be in the air in less than 20 minutes is priceless. Not to mention I'm saving(?) money on hangar rental.

-Dan
 
Several pilot friends live Kelly Airpark. The only complaint is that you can't sleep in on Saturdays. Quite a few airplane launch early for a breakfast run.
 
write-stuff said:
I've been living in one for for about 15 years. It's great. I've made better friendships here since we all share a common interest. All the lots are large (mine is 3 acres) so there is plenty of space and it is also gated so no riff-raff nosing around. When I want to go, it's about 200 feet from my front door to my hangar. And I really like airplane noise so there's a little bonus for when I'm not flying. It's a great place to live!
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Living the dream! I'm about 4nm south of you, maybe one day...
 
write-stuff said:
I've been living in one for for about 15 years. It's great. I've made better friendships here since we all share a common interest. All the lots are large (mine is 3 acres) so there is plenty of space and it is also gated so no riff-raff nosing around. When I want to go, it's about 200 feet from my front door to my hangar. And I really like airplane noise so there's a little bonus for when I'm not flying. It's a great place to live!
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Going on twenty years here and it's been great! We too are on a 3+ acre lot and built a hangar a bit larger than the house (not connected).

What noise? Heck, I can tell which of 3 Stearman's are flying just from the sweet sound.
flyingron said:
Hey we don't even get upset when the Blackhawks come over to practice NVG work on our runway in the middle of the night (it's dark here). My wife came out one morning to find her sunflowers all blown over and then she remembered the Blackhawks.
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We sometimes get strange visitors despite being a private strip. Blackhawks on occasion.

During a drought a few years ago some firefighters needed to do some practice water drops.... water our grass please?

A twin otter came in for some STOL practice - consistently landed and stopped shorter than any of the local Cessnas. That was cool.

Seriously, the biggest benefit for us was allowing us to live an aviation centric lifestyle. We fly much more than we drive, going years at a time between 100 mile car trips. Hangar holds the plane, a shop for building and maintaining and a jon boat for taking a break from it all.

Do it if you can.
 
We have both of the extreme ends of the spectrum here in Puget Sound, The best of the bunch is Diamond Point, very well managed airpark. followed closely by Crest Airpark in Kent. The opposite is Frontier airpark. where the place is run by a few up tight individuals in the HOA that can and will dictate the policies by lawsuit.

And of course Yelm, where each property owner owns a portion of the runway, and a few years ago when they didn't get their way would park their cars and trucks on the runway. for a while every one had a lawsuit lodged against every one else, hell of a mess, took two years to get it settled.

So, just learn the organization of the airport, and be careful of the agreements you sign.
 
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I would think that even if each owner owned a portion of the runway that there would have been an easement / right-of-way granted in the paperwork somewhere that would have ensured access to the full runway by all property owners. I guess some folks are just dicks though and like to muck things up.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I would think that even if each owner owned a portion of the runway that there would have been an easement / right-of-way granted in the paperwork somewhere that would have ensured access to the full runway by all property owners. I guess some folks are just dicks though and like to muck things up.
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That arrangement was only one thing wrong with the way the airpark was set up.
 
All homeowners own a split of the common area and runway at our place. Everyone gets along reasonably well and we've had no problems.
 
ejensen said:
Several pilot friends live Kelly Airpark. The only complaint is that you can't sleep in on Saturdays. Quite a few airplane launch early for a breakfast run.
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Go with them! I only need half an excuse to fly.

Besides, you'll learn to appreciate the afternoon siesta.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I have no experience but have always thought it would be great. I have priced some homes for sale at a few of the airparks around Chicago and they are very expensive and the taxes are outrageous, at least for my budget. Which airparks have you looked at?
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We are looking at the south/southwest side so we looked at Meadow Creek out in Monee and Brookeridge in Downers Grove. We've glanced at Aero Estates in Naperville but think that might be too far.
 
Seems like it would be awesome. It would be great to live amongst a bunch of fellow airplane nuts. However, I think I'd be like the guy in upscale neighborhood with the ugly old beater in the driveway that everybody complains about at the HOA meetings. ;)
 
Not a air park, I lived on a airport where I could open my door and take 10 steps to the ramp. Spent about 2 years there, I thought it was great.
 
My current dream is a house on a lakefront with a strip in the back.

Boat, plane, house, we want it all!
 
:rolleyes2:
Hank S said:
Go with them! I only need half an excuse to fly.

Besides, you'll learn to appreciate the afternoon siesta.
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:rolleyes2:....... I can think of at least half of a reason........take Mike flying.....btw, did you get your mag issue resolved? Let me know about the move too!
 
I am at Salmon River in CT. Nice place, good people. Getting relocated to West Palm Beach am only sorta looking at air parks. Remember you will be selling a unique property.
 
Hank S said:
Go with them! I only need half an excuse to fly.

Besides, you'll learn to appreciate the afternoon siesta.
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The comments were from the non-pilots. I usually meet them from my airport.
 
James331 said:
Not a air park, I lived on a airport where I could open my door and take 10 steps to the ramp. Spent about 2 years there, I thought it was great.
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Your hangar had an apartment or that had apartments on the property?
 
txflyer said:
My current dream is a house on a lakefront with a strip in the back.

Boat, plane, house, we want it all!
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Me too and managed to get close to it at 8NC8. There is no lakefront development on Falls Lake but we're as close as you can be. A public boat ramp is less than an air mile from the house but have to drive 1.5 to get there.

Bass fishing is good, grass strip has lights and fuel, proximity to booming town is good too. Had to buy in a few years before that was all in place but it worked out.

Two airparks north of Charlotte on Lake Norman have it all. Live the Dream!
 
txflyer said:
My current dream is a house on a lakefront with a strip in the back.

Boat, plane, house, we want it all!
Click to expand...

Bill Watson said:
Me too and managed to get close to it at 8NC8. There is no lakefront development on Falls Lake but we're as close as you can be. A public boat ramp is less than an air mile from the house but have to drive 1.5 to get there.

Bass fishing is good, grass strip has lights and fuel, proximity to booming town is good too. Had to buy in a few years before that was all in place but it worked out.

Two airparks north of Charlotte on Lake Norman have it all. Live the Dream!
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I probably shouldn't say anything because I'm not quite ready to retire yet and I don't want the prices to go up... but there is also Summerland Key in the Florida Keys that has this too... FD51

lecfc0d44-m0xd-w640_h480_q80.jpg
 
txflyer said:
My current dream is a house on a lakefront with a strip in the back.

Boat, plane, house, we want it all!
Click to expand...

Nice. I keep my boat at my parents house on Lake Eufaula in eastern Oklahoma. There is a state park airfield (91F) about 4 miles from their house that we fly in and out of. We live about 110 miles away as the crow flies, but we can get to the water pretty quickly with the 182 hangared about 1.5 miles from our house. It's certainly not a lakefront house with a private airstrip, but it's darn handy :)
 
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txflyer said:
My current dream is a house on a lakefront with a strip in the back.

Boat, plane, house, we want it all!
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How big of a lake do you need ?
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and would it bother you if the lake is frozen a good part of the year :D

Sky Manor Aero Estates Park Rapids, MN
 

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Our neighborhood has lots that either have runway or lake frontage (a couple have both but they were very expensive and frankly, since the lake is 170' below the runway level, pretty onerous terrain for building). We do have community slips and I've got enough friends with waterfront lots that invite us over regularly (including one who likes taking care of my boat so it's actually at his house rather than in my slip).

We purchased our lot because the taxiway that gives the non-runway people access to the runway runs down one side of our lot. This allowed us to put our hangar facing this taxiway so the house faces the runway. Most everybody else has their hangar in between the house and the runway. There's only one other house currently that the hangar is integral to the house like ours but I think we've inspired a couple more.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6593102,-80.9737531,1124a,20y,23h/data=!3m1!1e3
 
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OkieFlyer said:
Nice. I keep my boat at my parents house on Lake Eufaula in eastern Oklahoma. There is a state park airfield (91F) about 4 miles from their house that we fly in and out of. We live about 110 miles away as the crow flies, but we can get to the water pretty quickly with the 182 hangared about 1.5 miles from our house. It's certainly not a lakefront house with a private airstrip, but it's darn handy :)
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We run up at Grand Lake a little further North. There are 3-4 decent airports around the lake, so lots of options. They used to have a nice grass strip runway that has since gone by the wayside, with 2-3 aircraft parked out there on most weekends. However, it's only an hour's drive from T-town, so by the time we drove over to RVS, preflighted, and made the 50-60nm leg in a 172, I'd be losing time, lol.

I'd seriously consider living in an airpark community if there were one on the east/SE side of Tulsa. Hell, I know what I'd name it if I had the capital to build it myself!
 
Stark?


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Well, I tried, but failed to live the airpark dream. I bought 1/2ac lot on an airpark. My next door neighbor was the VP of the HOA at the time I bought. I floated some ideas about the home and hangar I wanted to build, and within 12 hours the architectural committee met, altered the housing plans for my lot(and 16 others), voted it amended, and published the results.

Natch, I wasn't able to come to terms with the committee, and my house plans were rejected. Now, I wasn't planning anything wild, or outrageous, but the killer was I was planning a full two story house with a 16' high hangar. Of course, the fact that would block some of the HOA VP view had nothing to do with the changes, sure...

Anyway, few months later my HOA VP neighbor clears his lot for the hangar he's building and I find a huge mound of scrub brush on my lot. Not cool. I submit another more scaled back house plan and guess what - rejected again! Neighbor puts a 5th wheel trailer on his lot while his house is being constructed, ok - that's allowed for six months. More than a year later trailer is still there, hangar is done, house is only a slab and some plumbing pipes.

I gave up, sued them all and the association. Someone heard about me giving up and bought the lot for more than I paid. Moral of the story? Know your immediate neighbors, and the HOA house committee members first.

<edit: I just checked google earth and the neighbor HOA VP house is still not built. He's living in a part of his hangar. Which is one of the amendments they made for our lots, that no lot could be a hangar-home, but must be two specific structures. Sigh>
 
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