We frequently are asked about the good, the bad and the ugly of
living on an airpark. We’ve got our own ideas from living on an airpart
for nearly 25 years but we’ve prepared a brief survey that we hope you
will complete so we can get your ideas, too.
We’ll compile the results and publish them in the near future and
then do another survey on the good reasons to living on an airpark.
Just click on the link below to get to the survey
Our survey on liability insurance in force at residential airparks provided some very interesting results. We had hoped to obtain more participation but the 22 different fly-in communities represented in the survey results did give us information that should be of interest to everyone living on an airpark or considering acquiring property.
First, 77.3% of the respondents said their fly-in community did have liability insurance and the most popular level of coverage was $1 – $2.5 million. Slightly more than 70% of those completing the survey indicated that amount of coverage. Less than $1 million was in force at 17.8% with coverage of $2.5 – $5 million and over $5 million each reported by 5.9% of the fly-in communities.
After we posted a survey of homeowner fees at airparks, a request came in from Gary Hamilton in Southern Idaho for additional information. He suggested we ask for more information to help enlighten residents of airparks further regarding the cost of living at various locations around the country.
He wrote:
“I live at Sunrise Skypark in Southern Idaho. After reading your recent article titled How Much do you pay? I have questions.
First, you mentioned that 75 percent of respondents said that their assessments were under $100 per month. I would like to know more. How much under were they? Did they average $50 a month, $60 a month or what.
"You also mentioned ‘built on’ percentages regarding homes constructed. These figures seemed low to me. Many airparks that I am aware of have constructed homes figures in the vicinity of 50 percent and more.
""I would like to suggest a follow on article or topic to the one you have already done. It would be something like ‘Are you paying enough?’
"Using the previous article as a reference, if 75 percent of associations are charging significantly less than $100 a month, are they collecting enough to maintain and improve their airpark? Where does the majority of their money go? Taxes, maintenance, etc.?”
Well, Hamilton’s questions and comments certainly have merit.
What is the homeowner fee at the airpark where you live?
How much of the fee is for taxes, insurance and other regular expenses.
How much goes into a maintenance fund, either long or short term?
You can help by providing your comments.
Most fly-in communities or residential airparks are owned and managed by a homeowners association, usually by a board of directors. Some fly-in communities continue to be managed by the developer or someone the developer appoints.
Are any residential airparks managed by a professional management company? Do some fly-in communities hire a firm to handle the day-to-day chores much like a condominium association might do? Have you heard of any organizations that offer such management services for fly-in communities or residential airparks?
A LWYP subscriber in Texas asks about such companies and if there are some how much do they cost and how is the fee computed?
If you are involved in any such operation or are aware of any, please share the information by posting a comment on our website.
Our recent survey on real estate activity resulted in 50 responses and the answers were kind of interesting. We had completed surveys from 22 states and one foreign country (New Zealand). Florida elicited seven responses and Texans responded four times. There were three each from Georgia, Illinois and Washington.
One of the primary objections to residential airparks – indeed all airports, large and small, public and private – centers around noise. This usually is generated by the number of airplane takeoffs and landings in a given period.
Making roads and taxiways accessible for both planes and road vehicles is a question that frequently comes up. Is it safe? is obviously the most common question. Will it work on airparks of all sizes? What kind of planes operate out of airparks with joint use of roads and taxiways?
Recently we asked these questions and others of residential airpark residents. A total of 54 persons responded to the survey and they represented airparks in 22 states.
Have you had any experience with hangar doors, especially from Schweiss Bi-Fold and Hi-Fold, that you are willing to share?
Bruce Goldberg of Hackensack, NJ, writes that he is soon going to be building a hangar home in South Caroline and is interested in feedback on hangar doors.
Any experience you’ve had with these doors or other products that you want to share will be helpful not only to Goldberg but probably to numerous other Living With Your Plane subscribers.
You can add your comments easily by clicking on the comment button at the bottom.
Whether you currently live on a residential airpark or are interested in the possibility of moving to one in the future, you probably are interested in the demographic makeup of such developments. Current residents may wonder if the residential airpark at which they live is unique or its breakdown of residents is average.
Those looking to acquire a property on a residential airpark want to know if they will fit in considering their age, financial situation, family situation, etc.
In an attempt to determine the current picture of residents of airparks, we recently asked subscribers to Living With Your Plane to complete a short, 10-question survey. In less than two weeks we received 156 completed surveys and more than 250 people took the time to look the questions over.
Following are airparks located on publicly-owned or public-use airports:
• Pine Mt Lake, Groveland, CA
• Hyampom Airport, Hyampom, CA
• Rosamond Skypark, Rosamond, CA
• Fuller Town, Sacramento, CA
• Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, CA
• Trinity Center, Trinity Center, CA
• Yucca Valley Airport, Yucca Valley, CA
• Erie Air Park, Erie, CO
• Glenwood Springs Airpark, Glenwood Springs, CO
• Salida Airport Estates, Salida, CO
• Buchan Field, Englewood, FL
• Buckingham Airpark, Ft Myers, FL
• Eagles Landing, Winter Haven, FL
• Marathon Key Airpark, Marathon, FL
• Tarpine Airpark, Panacea, FL
• Lake Village Airport, Lake Village, IN
• LeDoux’s Landing, Eunice, LA
• Lost Creek Airport, Luzerne, MI
• Attala County Airport, Kosciusko, MS
• Ferndale Airport, Big Fork, MT
• Millard Field, Omaha, NE
• Newport Ridge Airpark @ Hamry Field, Kindred, ND
• Keystone Airpark, Westport, OK
• Tenkiller Airpark, Cookson, OK
• Independence Airpark, Independence, OR
• Lake Billy Chinook Airport, Culver, OR
• Sunny Hill Airpark, North Bend, OR
• Twin Lakes Executive, Graniteville, SC
• Huggins Memorial, Timmonsville, SC
• Swanson Airport, Eatonville, WA
• Municipal Airport, Lynden, WA
• 4 Seasons Aero Estates, Adams, WI
• Sullivan’s Harbor Springs, Harbor Springs, MI
If you spot an airpark on our list that you believe isn’t either public-owned or public-use, please let us know so we can investigate further and get our records as accurate as possible.
Click FULL ACCESS to get all airpark detail. Just $20 per year.
