Marc C. Lee authored a nice story in the September 2010 issue of Plane & Pilot magazine. The story, “Airpark Living: Waking Up To Your Dream” offers briefs descriptions on 18 airparks around the country (and one in Costa Rica). Be sure to check it out.

(Following is a photo essay of an airpark home in Illinois. Want to show off your home to fellow airpark dwellers and dreamers? Send Dave a description and photos.)

From homeowner Curt Welge:

Our house is just under 4000 sq. ft. of open construction. Tall ceilings and fireplace, hardwood floors, plaster walls, full unfinished basement. Geothermal heating and air conditioning for low cost year round comfort. 60 X 40 hangar with 54 X 16 Hydroswing door. Hangar is also heated and air conditioned with Geothermal and in floor radiant heating as well. Hangar is finished on the outside with brick and hardee board siding with a dutch hip roop. Interior hangar is drywalled and floor is epoxied white.

Read the full story

Ron Heidebrink opened Hardee Airpark in beautiful Myrtle Beach, SC in 2002. Boasting a 3,300-foot grass runway, the airpark offers lots of an acre or more and several have beautiful homes built on them. Following are some photos of the airpark, the runway, homes, hangars and some of the surrounding amenities.

This is the first in what we plan as a continuing series of photo stories about residential airparks. Send basic information and photos about your airpark to Dave Sclair.

AOPA is reporting Independence (Oregon) Airpark at Independence State Airport has, “access agreements that were consistent with FAA guidance, and that the FAA has no plans to require the department to take any additional corrective action regarding the residential airpark.” This is good news for all of general aviation. Could we be seeing a little bit of flexibility from the FAA?

Jackson Hole Auction Company (866-486-7653)will hold a public auction of 18 fly-in hangar home sites in Afton, Wyo., on Saturday, May 15, according to William Burke, co-founder. “This is an absolute auction with no minimums and no reserves,” he said. “That means these properties will sell to the highest bidders.”

Located 60 miles south of Jackson Hole, Afton Municipal Airport’s (AFO) 7,023-f00t runway can accommodate most piston and turbine aircraft. Afton AirPark features dedicated taxiways, providing access to each of the 54 lots and hangars, and is serviced by Afton Flight Services FBO. Homeowners can arrange for fuel services directly to their homesite hangars. The property is unique in the fact there are no private hangars available at the Jackson Hole airport where tie down costs can run $250 to $750 per day, Burke said.

The auction, which will be at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts at 240 S Glenwood Street, will be broadcast live on RFDTV starting at 2 p.m. on May 15 with telephone bidding available for pre-registered bidders.

Are you proud of your airpark home? Send us some pictures that we can share on Living With Your Plane. Why?

1. It gives other folks ideas on things that can be done to make an airpark home as inviting and pleasant as possible.
Your photos encourage others to make the move to live in a fly-in community.
2. You get to brag a little.

Email your photos with some or all of the information below to dave@generalaviationnews.com.

• square footage
• type construction
• age of home
what you did to make it better, more livable, etc.
• other

Be sure to include:

• your airpark’s name and city
how long you’ve lived there
• how many homes on the airpark
things you particularly like about this lifestyle

We’ll post the information and photos as we receive them.

EAA hosted, last week, a working group of interested parties in an effort to preserve residential through-the-fence (TTF) on public airports. The efforts of this group are to push back against FAA Order 5190.6B “which contained a new key policy statement: “Under no circumstances is the FAA to support any “through-the-fence” agreement associated with residential use…”.” Read EAA’s  story here.

The Snohomish County (Washington) Council has voted 4-0 to preserve (or at least try to preserve) Frontier Airpark by requiring “a special notice for any new developments within 2,500 feet of airpark communities.” Read the full HeraldNet story here.

If only every news story started like this:

Snohomish County is looking at ways to preserve its lone residential airpark, a community where many people have personal airplane hangars and access to a private airstrip.

Read the rest of the story from the Everett (Washington) Herald.

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.