Chandler, Arizona — Neighbors of Stellar Airpark, in Chandler, have little concern over safety. Even the neighbor who’s house has been crashed into. While not overly flattering, author Megan Boehnke could have done much worse in her AZcentral.com.

Oneida, Tennessee – Big South Fork Airpark, an aviation and equestrian community adjacent to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area 50 miles north of Knoxville, has completed Phase 1 of their development, announcing properties available for sale.

Gary Gallagher, Bill Armstrong and Tom Donald of the Big South Fork Airpark began planning the community in 2006.
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While this story in the Reno (Nevada) Gazette-Journal might not do the perception of GA any favors, the home on Dayton Airpark is beautiful.

The FAA issued Airport Compliance Manual (ACM) Order 5190.6B (link to entire Order web page) last year. In the details, the FAA has placed airparks (both existing and future) with through-the-fence (TTF) agreements or on premise at publicly-funded or granted airports squarely in its cross-hairs.

ACM 5190.6B Chapter 20, Section 4A, is a horrific statement, “Any residential use existing on the airport or any residential use granting “through-the-fence” access is an incompatible land use.” The FAA is painting the subject with the broadest possible brush.

Same Chapter, Section 3B, “The likelihood that residents of an airpark will seek restrictions on the use of the airport for the benefit of their residential use is very high, whether or not they own aircraft.” The FAA offers no evidence from existing federally-funded airports with airparks that substantiate this assertion.

Chapter 12 has further language pertaining to TTF and incompatible land use, including a response to Sporty’s Pilot Shop owner Hal Shevers in his attempt to encourage the FAA to promote TTF and airparks as a way to save airports across the country. As you might imagine, he was rebuffed.

The federal docket for comments on the ACM is open until March 31, 2010. Now is the time to make your voice heard. Download chapters 12 and 20 or the entire ACM (22MB PDF) and post your comments at this page at regulations.gov by clicking on the top Submit a Comment link (next to the original FAA notice dated 10/7/2009). Should you think this issue does not apply to you, think again. For the FAA to cavalierly state residential use near an airport is an incompatible land use (with no regard to circumstance and no apparent flexibility) is beyond the scope of rational thought.

Question from Morris: I am inquiring about floor plans. I need to blow up the thumbnails to get a better view and also need the prices and what is included with the plans. Any help? Thanks.

Answer from Dave: The floor plans have been submitted over many years to Living With Your Plane by people all over the country. They are simply to provide you ideas for building… we do not have building plans so there is no charge from us. The name and address of the person who submitted the plans to us usually is on the layout and you might want to contact that person and see if they have and are willing to provide a set of plans. Hope this helps.

The Wired.com blog Autopia has a spotlight on Florida’s Spruce Creek Airpark complete with quotes from our own Dave Sclair.

The AOPA, in a letter dated December 18, has asked the FAA for more flexibility in its “proposed ‘one size fits all’ approach to airparks and other residential through-the-fence (TTF) operations at public-use airports”. A story posted to AOPA Online notes:

“The new FAA guidance acknowledges no acceptable residential TTF agreements, a statement that AOPA considers a significant departure from the agency’s past policy.”

Following is a press release from Brent Blue, founder of ThoughTheFence.org. In our opinion, Dr. Blue has done an outstanding job of pursuing the through-the-fence issue to the benefit of ALL property owners, but especially those who currently enjoy the benefits of a legal, and binding, through-the-fence agreement.

The FAA’s new Airport Compliance Manual (ACM) adversely affects every federally funded airport by its new mandate telling local airports how to deal with their neighbors. The new policy forbids local airport authorities from entering into new “through-the-fence” (TTF) agreements with neighboring land owners and requires non-renewal of current agreements at the end of the contract term. The rule, which replaces “discourage” with “prohibit”, affects thousands of businesses, pilots, aircraft hangars, and hangar homes connected by gated taxiways to airport property.

The FAA, responding this week to two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, could not provide any data to support new prohibitions on TTF agreements. The new prohibitions were announced in the ACM 5190.6B unveiled September 30, 2009, which was prepared without any public input or comment.
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The recent AOPA Aviation Summit provided me with a lot of opportunity to visit with pilots – airplane owners from all sections of the country. Most of my discussions focused on residential airparks, naturally enough.

Fortunately, I was able to speak with a number of airpark developers as well as individuals who are currently living on airparks or looking for a place to purchase. A couple real estate agents who specialize in homes on airparks were also on hand for me to share ideas with.

One developer from Texas said he had sold three lots during October alone and business had held up quite nicely during the last year. Read the full story

An email from Tom Hall sheds light on a Tennessee airport with a through-the-fence issue:

Although widely publicized, I do not see our airport listed. Scott County Airport (Oneida, TN) is currently “in informal non-compliance” with FAA land use. All funds have been with held. This is in retaliation for granting TTF access to the Big SouthFork Airpark.
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