Arizona airpark homes

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fluffythewondercat

Filing Flight Plan
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fluffythewondercat
Hello all,

My pilot/spouse and I will be in Arizona next month looking at homes at these airparks:

Skyranch at Carefree
Stellar (Chandler)
Pegasus (Queen Creek)

I would love any insider info, history, news, rumors, even scurrilous gossip...

This isn't our first rodeo. We looked at other airparks last year and found it was difficult to get anything like the inside scoop. It seemed likely tensions were brewing but no one would talk or answer email.

We are early-60s. I'm looking to get us out of our high-taxation state. The only way the spouse will consent to leave is if I find a suitable airpark home, so any help will be much appreciated!
 
Take a look at Dayton, NV (A34). AZ is HOT.
 
Of those 3 Stellar would definitely be my vote. Mogollon would be a good choice if you don't mind high DA and trees.
 
fluffythewondercat said:
Hello all,

My pilot/spouse and I will be in Arizona next month looking at homes at these airparks:

Skyranch at Carefree
Stellar (Chandler)
Pegasus (Queen Creek)

I would love any insider info, history, news, rumors, even scurrilous gossip...

This isn't our first rodeo. We looked at other airparks last year and found it was difficult to get anything like the inside scoop. It seemed likely tensions were brewing but no one would talk or answer email.

We are early-60s. I'm looking to get us out of our high-taxation state. The only way the spouse will consent to leave is if I find a suitable airpark home, so any help will be much appreciated!
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First post...........

Welcome to POA.....:cheers:...

Ps.... Airparks can get a bit "cliquey"....:rolleyes2:

I have a 3000' long , FAA approved airport (2WY3) with 80 acres for sale in the lowest taxation state in the country.... Buy the whole thing and make your own airpark rules..:yes: Only 3,400 an acre, including the runway...:)
 
Don't know about Queen Creek, but having grown up in Phoenix, Chandler is incredibly hot in the summer (think just north of h*ll for temps), Carefree just a bit cooler. Even north in Prescott can be questionable in the summer at times. Given my druthers, I'd look for something in the north of Phoenix.
 
murphey said:
Don't know about Queen Creek, but having grown up in Phoenix, Chandler is incredibly hot in the summer (think just north of h*ll for temps), Carefree just a bit cooler. Even north in Prescott can be questionable in the summer at times. Given my druthers, I'd look for something in the north of Phoenix.
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Not sure when you lived there, but part of the reason that Carefree was cooler is the lack of development. I grew up and lived in the Phoenix area 73-late 90s and there used to be virtually nothing north of Bell Rd until you got to Cave Creek. Now it is just solid housing and other development. Every time I go home to visit family it makes me sick.

My dad has a friend who used to have a Stearman at Cave Creek. I believe he still keeps a 180 or 185 there now. I haven't heard any complaints. Stellar is nice too. Queen Creek must be relatively new. Used to be virtually nothing out there but desert a handful of scattered homes on washboard dirt roads.
 
fluffythewondercat said:
Hello all,

My pilot/spouse and I will be in Arizona next month looking at homes at these airparks:

Skyranch at Carefree
Stellar (Chandler)
Pegasus (Queen Creek)

I would love any insider info, history, news, rumors, even scurrilous gossip...

This isn't our first rodeo. We looked at other airparks last year and found it was difficult to get anything like the inside scoop. It seemed likely tensions were brewing but no one would talk or answer email.

We are early-60s. I'm looking to get us out of our high-taxation state. The only way the spouse will consent to leave is if I find a suitable airpark home, so any help will be much appreciated!
Click to expand...


I went to a gathering at Pegasus a few months ago. A surprising number of people (even those with airside access) were NOT pilots. Also, it seems that a lot of the lots and even homes had been repo-ed. Maybe you'll get good deals, but just be careful.

This is just my impression and info from being there a few hours.

Stellar seems very established w/ lots of traffic. Even the "public" can land there without fees, etc.

Carefree seems to have lots of "rules" especially regarding noise abatement. I get the feeling the neighbors like to complain, but not sure it's a serious threat. Only flown in there once.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Not sure when you lived there, but part of the reason that Carefree was cooler is the lack of development. I grew up and lived in the Phoenix area 73-late 90s and there used to be virtually nothing north of Bell Rd until you got to Cave Creek. Now it is just solid housing and other development. Every time I go home to visit family it makes me sick.
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Yup, that's about right. Altho I left in mid-70s, my parents lived there until the late 90s. I tried to schedule my visits in the winter, along with my aunt & uncle who spent 3 months in the winter with them to get away from the Buffalo, NY weather.

I was in Prescott a couple years ago on business and really liked it. Great airport, same altitude as Denver, got a Costco and easy access to Phoenix when I want to do serious shopping.
 
murphey said:
I was in Prescott a couple years ago on business and really liked it. Great airport, same altitude as Denver, got a Costco and easy access to Phoenix when I want to do serious shopping.
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I love Prescott. I'm working on getting my wife to open up to the idea of moving there when I retire from the Navy. She's not there yet.
 
Check Florida out they have some air parks in the southern part of the state that are nice.
 
My vote would be stellar. The guy who operated carefree is pretty difficult to work with IMO. I've heard some not great things. I've been into Pegasus a lot because I instruct a guy who has a tr182 there. It's pretty far from anything. It lies just barely outside of the class D at Mesa Gateway. There's a small mountain that creates an interesting wind pattern there too, and the runway and taxiway are just in OK shape. Stellar is definitely the nicest of the 3.
 
NJP_MAN said:
Of those 3 Stellar would definitely be my vote. Mogollon would be a good choice if you don't mind high DA and trees.
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AZ82 has some great things going for it.

Granted, I've only seen pictures. But homes/hangars seem affordable and it's a beautiful setting. I see from Wikipedia that Overgaard is a popular destination for Phoenix refugees in summer.

We both want to buy into a community where there's a goodly amount of pilot activity and where we can live among like-minded people. A distinct lack of crabby non-aviation types nearby would be a bonus. :)

Thanks for all the responses so far -- I'm reading each with great interest!
 
Are you looking for "metro area" living, or "upscale rural?"
 
N801BH said:
First post...........

Welcome to POA.....:cheers:...

Ps.... Airparks can get a bit "cliquey"....:rolleyes2:

I have a 3000' long , FAA approved airport (2WY3) with 80 acres for sale in the lowest taxation state in the country.... Buy the whole thing and make your own airpark rules..:yes: Only 3,400 an acre, including the runway...:)
Click to expand...

Is this property in WY?
 
dans2992 said:
Are you looking for "metro area" living, or "upscale rural?"
Click to expand...

That's a good question.

We visited one airpark last year that was ... um, rural. Nearest town was 25 miles away and we had a long trek down a rock-strewn road to get to the house. Right then we realized neither of us are suited for or accustomed to living in a rural environment, as we are Silicon Valley techies, plus we definitely want to be around other people as well as have access to emergency services.

The pilot wants a paved runway (can't say I blame him) and many of the rural strips I've seen are gravel, usually with one or two isolated log or prefab homes. Oh, I should also mention we want a hangar on our property.

A couple of people mentioned Prescott, and we were anxious to see it as we'd heard many good things about the quality of life. There are several airparks (AZ27, AZ57) in the area, though not close in, but they seem to be in the slowly-dying-for-lack-of-interest phase.

When it comes right down to it, there are a LOT of airparks in Arizona!
 
fluffythewondercat said:
A couple of people mentioned Prescott, and we were anxious to see it as we'd heard many good things about the quality of life.
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There are houses very near the Prescott airport, and a golf course/country club that abuts the airport (Antelope Hills).

Don't forget to checkout LaChollaAirpark just outside of Tucson
 
Payson (PAN) is nearby where you're looking. 5000ft/public airport. More info if interested.
 
focal_plane said:
Payson (PAN) is nearby
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Wow forgot, somehow I don't think of Payson as an airpark community, but it sure is. Mazatzal Mountain Airpark. Beautiful homes, and one of the best $100 breakfasts in AZ. Great city, kinda like Prescott.
 
Stellar is very nice, has many interesting aircraft and is very expensive.....which is why it's very nice.
 
Yes, if you want to be where the activities/malls/restaurants are, Stellar is the best bet.

AZ82 is out there a ways. Great for a "get away from it all 2nd home" but not sure you'd like it as a primary residence.
 
I have flown into Payson and spent a couple of nights at their excellent campsite on the field. The airport manager at the time (2009) was one of the nicest guys I have met, and passionate about the airport and keeping it healthy and vibrant. If he is still there, it's bound to be a good bet!
 
Getting a condo in Kierland and a hanger at SDL might be almost as good too...
 
dans2992 said:
Getting a condo in Kierland and a hanger at SDL might be almost as good too...
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+1. Condo near an airport. I don't doubt airparks work for some people but I'd rather own the airport outright or live nearby and just use the airport.
 
Not sure, but if you could, it might be the same as a house and car payment, plus they're not real small aircraft friendly. Several friends left there after getting the feeling they weren't a priority... but nice enough place to drop in once in a while.
 
dans2992 said:
Yes, if you want to be where the activities/malls/restaurants are, Stellar is the best bet.
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It's true, but funny as I recall Stellar when I was a kid. There was some housing developed on the west side of the airport and that just about everything else was undeveloped. Lots of cotton and alfalfa fields.
 
CT4ME said:
Not sure, but if you could, it might be the same as a house and car payment, plus they're not real small aircraft friendly. Several friends left there after getting the feeling they weren't a priority... but nice enough place to drop in once in a while.
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That's kind of what I thought. I flew in there a couple times with my dad back in the early/mid-80s. Haven't been to SDL since.

IIRC, the father of the Stearman guy I mentioned earlier in the thread owned a flight school at SDL during WWII that did primary training for the Army. My grandmother packed parachutes at SDL during the war.
 
I beleive the "greenway hangers" at SDL are somewhere between $400-$600/mo.

They also have some agreement to avoid the $1-$2/gal of avgas gouging that takes place with every FBO on the field.
 
dans2992 said:
I beleive the "greenway hangers" at SDL are somewhere between $400-$600/mo.

They also have some agreement to avoid the $1-$2/gal of avgas gouging that takes place with every FBO on the field.
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Are they anywhere near the Greenway hangArs ?
 
Fearless Tower said:
It's true, but funny as I recall Stellar when I was a kid. There was some housing developed on the west side of the airport and that just about everything else was undeveloped. Lots of cotton and alfalfa fields.
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Correct me if wrong. I think a cotton farmer, rich, had a dream years back and developed stellar from very little to a high end wealthy airstrip-nice home complex. Homes start high. A mill or more is not unusual.
 
dans2992 said:
Getting a condo in Kierland and a hanger at SDL might be almost as good too...
Click to expand...

And the waiting list is years long.

DVT has hangars cheap though, couple hundred a month.
 
I didn't get that impression last time I was there. I'd say about 70% of the Greenway covered tie-downs were vacant. Not sure about the hangars though.
 
dans2992 said:
I didn't get that impression last time I was there. I'd say about 70% of the Greenway covered tie-downs were vacant. Not sure about the hangars though.
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It always amuses me that the planes that are at the covered tiedowns are nicer than most hangared planes elsewhere.

Sr22
Sr22
Columbia 400
Columbia 400
Mooney
Bonanza
Sr 20
Sr22
Bonanza

And the occasional piper.
 
CTLSi said:
Take a look at Dayton, NV (A34). AZ is HOT.
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Hey, thanks for this pointer. I had no idea there was an airpark 12 miles outside of Carson City.

You're right about the temps, very moderate. Private hangar, check. Near a population center, check. Stick-built housing, check. Enough stuff to keep the non-pilot spouse happy, check. And Minden's only a half-hour away -- I hear there's great soaring there.
 
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