Who lives at an airport?

Do you live at an airport?

  • Nope, doesn’t appeal at all

    Votes: 9 5.2%

  • No, but that might be nice one day

    Votes: 128 74.0%

  • Yes, I’ve got a house with my own personal airstrip

    Votes: 11 6.4%

  • Yes, I’ve got a house on an airpark

    Votes: 17 9.8%

  • Yes, I live in a hangar apartment at an airport

    Votes: 2 1.2%

  • Yes, but in an arrangement not listed here

    Votes: 6 3.5%
  • Total voters
    173
Jim_R

Jim_R

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Jim
When I was exploring the possibility of airplane ownership, I spoke to a colleague who owned a plane and they asked me, "What do you want to do with it?" I told him, "I want it to become part of my lifestyle." He said, "That's a good answer."

I'm single and not particularly interested in changing that status. I don't want or need a large house. I would love to be able to walk out of my house, hop in my plane, and go somewhere.

In short, I'd love to live at an airport.

I could see myself in an urban environment, in an apartment built into a corner of the hangar itself.

I could see myself in a suburban environment, in a house on an airpark.

I could see myself in a rural environment, in a house on enough land to have its own grass strip.

Who here lives that way? How did you find your place?

Any pitfalls to watch out for, or other words of wisdom to share with someone considering that living arrangement?
 
Only pitfall I see is that all three options generally involve a lot of money, either up front or ongoing.
 
I spend more time at KLAX than I'd care to admit -and not as a passenger :)
 
Sac Arrow said:
Only pitfall I see is that all three options generally involve a lot of money, either up front or ongoing.
Click to expand...

I would think that it could be possible to find a hangar with an apartment for less than a suburban house + urban hangar.

I don't know how likely it is that you could buy the hangar-apartment vs. lease it. I also wonder what might happen if the airport is eventually sold/closed, etc.
 
Jim_R said:
When I was exploring the possibility of airplane ownership, I spoke to a colleague who owned a plane and they asked me, "What do you want to do with it?" I told him, "I want it to become part of my lifestyle." He said, "That's a good answer."

I'm single and not particularly interested in changing that status. I don't want or need a large house. I would love to be able to walk out of my house, hop in my plane, and go somewhere.

In short, I'd love to live at an airport.

I could see myself in an urban environment, in an apartment built into a corner of the hangar itself.

I could see myself in a suburban environment, in a house on an airpark.

I could see myself in a rural environment, in a house on enough land to have its own grass strip.

Who here lives that way? How did you find your place?

Any pitfalls to watch out for, or other words of wisdom to share with someone considering that living arrangement?
Click to expand...


All that sounds pretty lonely if it was just you and airplane. I would get bored.
 
i live on and own part of an airport - private use 2100ft grass - there are 5 of us that own it. three of us live on there.

The runway runs right through my backyard. There is nothing like coming home from work going out back pulling a plane out and going flying!

The downside to a grass strip is usually spring - if its a wet one like this year flying can't happen until it dries out.

winter is fine with a couple inches of snow as long as the ground is frozen.
 
I keep my Maule at an airpark with a grass runway. The hangar is owned by a resident and has enough room for 3 planes, plus a full shop. It is ideal for me. The downside is that the politics at an airpark can get ugly. This one is going through some growing pains with the owners of the lots split into 2 factions that don't agree on much involving the airpark. That can be a huge problem, and is something that you can't predict in advance. The leadership of the homeowner's association is voted in, so benign leadership one year can turn into evil overlords 5 years later. In addition, a home on an airport is difficult to sell to anyone that is not a pilot. That severely cuts back on your sales market when the time comes. Our retirement plans include buying a hangar at an airport and living within 5 miles of our plane. Then I can easily ride my bike to the airport and spend the day, but selling my home isn't dependent on the size and health of the local pilot population. If I can't sell the hangar when the time comes, at least fewer of my dollars will be tied up with it.
 
Jim_R said:
...I could see myself in a rural environment, in a house on enough land to have its own grass strip.
...
Click to expand...

This would be my last choice of the ones you presented. Too much work maintaining the field by yourself.
Be sure to consider fuel options in your decision process.
 
There's a guy who lives in his box hangar on our field, and I can't help but feel sorry for him sometimes when I'm out there late on a weekday and it's ghostly quiet and absolutely nothing is going on. No neighbors, no trees, not much of anything but a big metal box next to other big metal boxes.....

Small fields can be very lonely and quiet most of the time.

If you like that sort of thing, then that's your bag man.
 
Margy has been designing her dream house since she was a kid. When she got her pilot's license, she started designing an airpark home (we have a few friends who live on airparks in the area). A few years ago we went down to Long Island Airpark on Lake Norman in North Carolina to look at another friend's lot there. We found a great lot that was situated on the intersection of the runway and the taxiway that leads to houses that don't have direct runway frontage (to their advantage most of these have lake frontage). She designed a floorplan that let us put our hangar and garages around on the taxiway side to give our house views of the runway (most people have a hangar between their house and the runway).

We then commissioned a local architect (also a pilot) to design the house based on that floor plan and the statement that "we like Frank Lloyd Wright." The house was designed in two phases. The first phase (completed in 2008) has the bare essentials: hangar, workshop, outdoor kitchen, small indoor kitchen, guest suite (currently used as our master bedroom), my office, and the wine cellar. When we retire and move there permanently in about four years, we will build out the rest with the real master bedroom, kitchen, music room, rec room, another guest room and the music room.

There are pictures on my webpage www.ronnatalie.com
 
More than a few places around the Metroplex that offer what the OP is seeking

Northwest Regional, 52F
Hidden Valley Airpark, 5TX0
Hicks Airfield, T16
Pecan Plantation, 0TX1
Eagles Nest, 2TS6

Some are set up where the runway is a main amenity of the development (like a pool, clubhouse, or golf course will be). Hicks developed into an airport community where the hangar interiors were developed into some very upscale apartments and condo's.
 
And we can't forget a member here named WaltM (Walt Meziere).

He got bit by the aviation bug bad enough that he went out and purchased a disused airport, brought it back from the dead, made it a very nice destination, and built his home there. Located SE of DFW, Rocking M Airport, T14, http://t14airport.com/ is worth visiting.

Here is a link to his blog as he rebuilt the airport: http://t14airport.com/home_files/t14progress.htm
 
Jim_R said:
When I was exploring the possibility of airplane ownership, I spoke to a colleague who owned a plane and they asked me, "What do you want to do with it?" I told him, "I want it to become part of my lifestyle." He said, "That's a good answer."

I'm single and not particularly interested in changing that status. I don't want or need a large house. I would love to be able to walk out of my house, hop in my plane, and go somewhere.

In short, I'd love to live at an airport.

I could see myself in an urban environment, in an apartment built into a corner of the hangar itself.

I could see myself in a suburban environment, in a house on an airpark.

I could see myself in a rural environment, in a house on enough land to have its own grass strip.

Who here lives that way? How did you find your place?

Any pitfalls to watch out for, or other words of wisdom to share with someone considering that living arrangement?
Click to expand...


Yup,, That is what I did... Found 80 acres in a remote area.. Went through the FAA paperwork routine and got a 3000' long grass runway blessed... 2WY3...

http://www.airnav.com/airport/2WY3


Hangar /house is not built.. YET..;)

Actually I am thinking about selling the place for 280,000 or so.
 
I stopped at the Lake Norman Airpark on my way to Sun-N-Fun this year and was wowed by the place. As mentioned, I'm not planning a move to an airpark, but if I were, this one would rank high on the list.
 
Living the Dream

We built a house on 8NC8 over 15 years ago and it's worked out real well. Took a chance when we were moving to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC area where we found Lake Ridge Aero Park. The developer and engine behind it's development had recently died and the children weren't 'into it' as far as the airport goes. But coming from NJ where airports were closing every month, we could see that this dirt strip had a great location where it would not be subject to the pressures that close airports.

We were glider people at the time so the lack of fuel and unkempt strip didn't really bother us. We built a lovely Deck Home (that's a brand name) and an oversize hanger that would fit a 15M racing sailplane.... little did I know that my racing days were coming to an end.

We traded in the sailplane for a Maule, shared our hangar with a neighbor and started commuting to Lake Norman every weekend (just down lake from Ron) where we had some friends with a lakeside house. It's great to have a mission!

With a change in airport ownership, grass grew, fuel was added and the place generally improved. The city of Durham which was a bit down on it's luck when we moved here, has become 'hot'. So while we live in a rural setting, it's a 10min drive into the most fun part of town. Good luck all around.

The oversize hangar has been subdivided into a workshop/studio and hangar for our RV10. Costs couldn't be lower.

For the OP: We live a flying lifestyle which means among other things old, low mileage cars, a willingness to visit anyone, anywhere, anytime within RV10 range, and an unwillingness to go anywhere that requires just driving... except within our little town.

It's great but I can't imagine doing it alone; a mate is highly recommended.

I also can't imagine doing it in the middle of rural nowhere. Our jobs brought us to town and the commutes from our airpark were particularly short. Otherwise it seemed like we were living way out of town until things picked up in lovely downtown Durham, but it did give us a mission.

The flying lifestyle can be many things. For us it was spending weekends at a NJ gliderport. Here in NC it included gliding, weekend commuting in the Maule, building the RV10, then traveling in the '10. Fortunately we had the flexibility to do those things but I would caution against locking one's self down into a rural airpark unless you had a pretty good idea how you wanted that to play out. What I would be trying to do is picking an airport I wanted to hang around, finding a place close by to live and flying as much as I could while keeping an eye out for an airpark situation that fit my eye.
 
Flyhound said:
I stopped at the Lake Norman Airpark on my way to Sun-N-Fun this year and was wowed by the place. As mentioned, I'm not planning a move to an airpark, but if I were, this one would rank high on the list.
Click to expand...
Lake Norman or Long Island Airpark. Both are nice and both are situated on a wonderful lake near a great city (Charlotte).

I used to commute the Lake Norman and drool over Ron's Long Island as it was being developed. All things being equal, I'd love to be at either one.
 
I think my living at the airport experience was a little different that most others.

When I was a flight instructor, I worked a a small airport in West Virginia. The FBO had 5 RV parking slots, so I just parked my 5th wheel there, about 150 feet from the runway. And yes, when the FBO closed and everyone went home, It got very dark and quiet. It worked out because some of the people that had planes based there knew they could set it up with me to have their plane pulled, fueled and ready to go before anyone else was up. I didn't have any rent or utility bills, phone and cable was provided and lunch was free for me at the FBO.

Another time I was working in Tok, AK and they had an apartment on the second floor of the hanger. The tough part of that was the rotating beacon was about 10 feet from my bedroom window. During darkness my room would fill up with green, white, green, white light. Plus I could hear the electric motor driving the beacon. And yes, I did put up black out curtains. I was also the after hours guy to call for fuel so I made extra money driving the fuel truck. Another plus was during summer I saw all kinds of cloth covered airplanes that had flown in from the lower 48.

So to answer the original question, Yes, I have lived at an airport. It appealed to me at the time, but no I wouldn't want to do it again. However, living on an isolated lake without neighbors, possibly in Alaska, with a dock to put a float plane might appeal to me.
 
AvionicsTech said:
Holy smokes. Can... can you adopt me? :D

Seriously though, that looks amazing. Love the models.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the architect designs more commercial stuff than homes (he has done the "terminal" buildings at several GA airports in the area). He says any time the plans for my house came out all other work in the office stopped as people wanted to work on that instead. I suspect the model is still in his office. We didn't get it with the house. He has brought it out to the pilot day a few times (along with the photos one of his staff took of the finished project).

I always joke with him that when he started my house plans he had a Bonanza but when he finished he had a Baron.
 
I just bought a house at Lake Oconee, GA (gotta love living in a state whose abbreviation is GA) at 32GA, a 2700 ft grass strip. My house has a detached 2500 sq ft hangar. I recently accepted a job that brought me to Lake Oconee and this property literally popped to the market just as we were shopping. I had really only half joked about living at an airstrip, but I'm loving it so far.
 
I've always dreamed about doing something like this. Would probably have to get divorced first, though.

Aw screw it, who's got something for sale? :D
 
Jim_R said:
When I was exploring the possibility of airplane ownership, I spoke to a colleague who owned a plane and they asked me, "What do you want to do with it?" I told him, "I want it to become part of my lifestyle." He said, "That's a good answer."

I'm single and not particularly interested in changing that status. I don't want or need a large house. I would love to be able to walk out of my house, hop in my plane, and go somewhere.

In short, I'd love to live at an airport.

I could see myself in an urban environment, in an apartment built into a corner of the hangar itself.

I could see myself in a suburban environment, in a house on an airpark.

I could see myself in a rural environment, in a house on enough land to have its own grass strip.

Who here lives that way? How did you find your place?

Any pitfalls to watch out for, or other words of wisdom to share with someone considering that living arrangement?
Click to expand...


I read this post and it reminded me of John Travolta here in Florida. He actually had a house built in an airpark and to top things off his house looks like an airport. I think it's pretty cool

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=...546513654382.0004862efa3b50396b3cf&dg=feature
 
FloridaPilot said:
I read this post and it reminded me of John Travolta here in Florida. He actually had a house built in an airpark and to top things off his house looks like an airport. I think it's pretty cool

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=...546513654382.0004862efa3b50396b3cf&dg=feature
Click to expand...


Wow! That strip looks like it has a dogleg in it. That must be fun landing Travolta's 707 on it ...

I like the looks of that airpark outside Charlotte NC on the lake. One of our nieces just relocated to Charlotte for a job. My wife went out there to help her get settled in and came back in love with the place.

Right now, if we could find an airpark near College Station TX, that would be insane luck for me if we could get a place. We're looking for our next move up in homes right now. But I have trepidations about going into any debt for any of it. If we can't swing it with cash and get a fair price, I don't want to stick my neck out and risk another housing crash and end up underwater... especially on a specialized form of housing like air-park property. I'm not sold on an over all healthy housing market yet. Sorry, just rambling off topic probably .... :redface:
 
Ever since I started flying, the idea of living at an airpark is irresistible to me. My wife is not so sold on the idea though. One thing we do agree on though, is we both love life on the water. We currently live with our boat and jet skis on the dock in the backyard. Water is key with us.

Many years ago, I discovered the Lake Norman airpark and thought this might one day be an ideal solution for us. I can't think of it being much better, taxiway in the front yard and boat dock in the back. However, I'm not too sure about Lake Norman, I fear it may be to cold for us there. We like warm and sunny.

Do any of you all know of other airparks where the lots back up to a lake, ocean, or river?
 
I own a 73X55 hangar at an airport that allows you to build out a house inside. It isn't an airpark, no yards, houses, etc. just an airport. I am working on building out the second story now and I love the idea. My airplane, shop, tools, cars, all right down below me where I can work on them anytime I want. Everything inside and locked up. No lawn care, pool care, etc. No external maintenance of any kind really. Plus when we get ready to go somewhere, just shut the door, and we're gone. They do get quiet at night, I'm not sure there is any disadvantage to that. The only downside is pilots live there, other than that it's perfect.
 
Jim_R said:
Who here lives that way? How did you find your place?
Click to expand...

We live 1200 feet from airport boundary. Wife's a real estate agent and found it on real estate tour. All the advantages, none of the disadvantages.
 
I've lived at residential airparks continuously since 1995...first in Nashville, TN area on a grass runway Airpark (Fall Creek Airpark), and now at Pine Shadows Airpark in Ft Myers, FL (3200' paved runway, private fuel, 70 home community, HOA owned runway). I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything!
 
Dav8or said:
Do any of you all know of other airparks where the lots back up to a lake, ocean, or river?
Click to expand...

I am looking at a piece of property right now that has a 2400ft runway, 1200ft of Potomac waterfront, an existing dock and 4 approved percs :yes: . All that about an hour outside of DC and a mile from a nice golf course.
 
Amusingly we two couples who we socialize with on the airpot that neither are pilots (or have aspirations to be pilots). We've got only four of the lots that have two-pilot couples. The rest have only one pilot. Also we have several couples just off the development (who actually have to drive through the airpark to get their house) that we regularly socialize with.
There's always some social event going on from just frozen pizza night to a more involved party to taking the boats out to a bar or tying up somewhere or flying out to someplace.
 
Is there something like a community dock ?
 
Our airport subdivision only has 12 homes on the strip and only half of those have pilots in them. There's another 40 or so homes in the subdivision but only 3 or 4 are pilots and two of those kept there airplanes elsewhere. :dunno:
 
Thanks for all the responses...this has been fun.

I'm a little surprised there aren't more folks living in their hangars--I've seen many such arrangements while taxiing through more built-out airports. Maybe what I'm interpreting as apartments are either really just offices or are not used as primary residences, but maybe more like crew crash pads or something.

I also thought I might hear more "horror stories" about living on an airpark. I've heard the general "beware the airpark Board" cautions for years, but haven't really heard many specific examples of bad experiences.
 
Jim, the two airparks I've been associated with (lived at) for the past 19 years have had realitively very few issues in terms of the HOA, the board of directors, ownership or runway/taxiway use issues. I am, and have been for quite some time, very involved in the board of directors. This certainly helps as it gives you a little more control as to the operation and direction of the Airpark.

Keep in mind that pilots, in general, are a very peculiar and headstrong bunch of folks (if you don't believe me try living with 70 of them in the same neighborhood :D). But they are also a very intelligent and, for the most part, pretty cooperative toward each other. After all we all have something very special in common!

That being said finding a good quality Airpark in which you feel comfortable investing your money (quite a bit of your money if you find a nice one!) can be tough.

A few things I think are important are 1) finding an Airpark that has an established set of By-Laws 2) there should be an established board of directors 3) the runway and taxiways should be member or HOA owned (you don't want to run into use issues if the runway "owner" decides to not grant you access anymore). There are many other issues to consider but these are just a few big ones.

I have also helped folks buy and sell property (as their real estate agent) on airparks so I know a little bit about what to look for and stay away from. PM me sometime if you want talk about it further.
 
weilke said:
Is there something like a community dock ?
Click to expand...

Yes, there are boat slips that were sold independently from the lots (though plenty are available) and room on the end for visitors. I own one of the slips but my boat is actually at a friend's house who has his own waterfront because he decided it looks cooler over at his place (and he takes care of it for me).
 
We never had any problem with the board. We had a problem with the developer himself, but once we got the HOA started and he sold the last lot he owned we don't have to talk to him anymore. We just have to deal with his screwups while he was still in control. He wasn't a bad guy (he wasn't trying to screw us) but he's just not done anything he hasn't screwed up in the process.
 
Jim_R said:
I'm a little surprised there aren't more folks living in their hangars--I've seen many such arrangements while taxiing through more built-out airports. Maybe what I'm interpreting as apartments are either really just offices or are not used as primary residences, but maybe more like crew crash pads or something.
Click to expand...
I've heard that living in hangars at some airparks is frowned up or even prohibited. At my airpark the rule was that if you build a hangar you must concurrently build a residence. Hangar/homes aren't prohibited but the residence must be capable of a Cert of Occupancy.

I've run into non-airpark airports where an apartment or trailer home is in place. Where I've seen it, the intent seemed to be to have someone on the airport 24/7 for caretaking, security or night service. Could be a good deal for the right person. I ran into one foreign student type who was getting some flying time and living money in exchange for living at an airport.
 
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