Liam Ferguson purchased the North Pole, Alaska, airport (95Z) in May because he was looking for a suitable place to base his sonic drilling company. The equipment-heavy business requires a large footprint, and the 61-acre property was able to accommodate, with room to grow. The runway was icing on the cake.

• READ MORE: Delaware Ag Airport Sets Eyes on Growing GA Future

“When we started working in Fairbanks more often, I purchased a lot at an airstrip and ran my business out of my home there,” Ferguson said. “That was a temporary solution, and the goal was to find a block of land or a shop where we could move all of our equipment to. We looked around for about a year and the airport was for sale during this time. I thought that it was more than what we were looking for, but we started to entertain buying the airport because everything else was expensive, and I thought it would be cool as a pilot.

“Buying an airport seemed far-fetched and outside the realm of possibility, until we realized the potential that Bradley Sky Ranch had.” 

The property’s existing hangar building with dedicated office and shop space satisfied the needs of Ferguson’s business. In addition to improving the space, Ferguson has his attention focused on understanding what the future of the airport should look like.

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“We have been trying to assess the place and then build from there,” he said. “Now that we have learned more about the airport, I feel like I have a pretty good long-term plan of what we are going to do. I am leaving the timeline pretty open-ended, The long-term plan is to provide rental hangars, basic maintenance services, and a full range of parking options to service local pilots. We are also talking about possibly adding an Airbnb and courtesy cars to help attract pilots to come visit. Camping spots will also be available.

“We could possibly sell some lots for hangar homes or develop some ourselves. We really do have a blank slate with this and will continue to grow it as long as we have support from the local aviation community.”

The condition of the runway at the time of purchase was satisfactory and required minimal work. After grading, compacting, and removing grass from the gravel/dirt surface, Ferguson shifted his attention elsewhere. 

“For phase one of improvements, I didn’t want to come in with all of these big plans, say we are going to do something, and have nothing change,” he said. “My goal for the summer was to talk to the people that are a part of the flying community here, to learn more about this place and get an idea of what should be improved.

“Part one is to clean up and renovate the hangar. Part two is to do dirt work on the taxiways and parking spots to improve drainage in the spring and open up more parking spots. This will also include fencing and general clean up. Part three is adding infrastructure like T-hangars, fuel, and an FBO.”

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Another key focus has been refurbishing the existing tie-downs at the airport, which had fallen into disrepair.

Ferguson advised that his commute from his hangar home to Bradley Sky Ranch is a paltry one-and-a-half-minute flight in his Cessna 205. His girlfriend and business partner, Maddy Thom, frequently joins the fray in her Cessna 150. There are currently 20 aircraft based at the airport.

The pair’s short-term goal for the airport is to stoke the energy that they’ve felt from current tenants and other Alaskan pilots. One of the ways that they plan to harness this shared enthusiasm for Bradley Sky Ranch’s future is by hosting an event at the end of the month. 

“The fly-in is going to be September 27-29, which is the first weekend after hunting season,” Ferguson said. “All of the pilots will be out of the bush at that time, and we’ve already gotten over 700 people signed up that are interested in coming to the event. This is the fourth year for the event and the second year that it’s being held here at this airport. It’s going to be something pretty big and will be a way to show people that we are cleaning up the airport. The goal is to include the community, and everyone is super excited.”

Notable aspects of the fly-in include food trucks, fire pits and camping, several live bands, and a pumpkin drop competition.

The post The Blank Slate of a North Pole Airfield appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Cook Airfield was established in 1957 and once served as a reliever facility for Cessna to tie down planes waiting to be ferried around the nation. The decades that followed led the property away from aviation. At one point it was a site for motorcycle racing and the airport ultimately fell into disrepair.

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The current ownership group, Crosswinds Aviation, as local aviators would testify, performed a complete 180 on the airport.

“I was keeping my plane here at the airport, and the rumor was that it was for sale. Once we tried to buy it, it was already under contract,” said Greg Thomas, Cook Airfield’s co-owner. “Then 9/11 happened, the contract fell through, and we started negotiating to purchase the airport. Two years later, we ended up buying Cook Airfield from the trust.”

Thomas knew it would be a significant challenge to get the airport to where he thought it should be. It took years of hard work to rechart the airport’s course.

“It was a complete junkyard when we got it,” Cook said. “You could only land on the east 20 feet of the runway, because the other side had too many potholes in it. And we probably tore down more hangars than we kept.”

Since its new life beginning in 2003, the airport has benefited from several Kansas Airport Improvement Program (KAIP) state grants issued from the Kansas Department of Transportation to improve its facilities. This work has included the lengthening of the primary runway, which required the closure and relocation of a county-owned road.

Cook Airfield Today

Today, Runway 17/35 is a 3,472-foot-long-by-40-foot-wide paved and lighted surface. There is also a 1,600-foot-long-by-50-foot-wide turf runway. Cook Airfield airport has more than 100 based aircraft, more than 60 hangars, and publicly available 100LL fuel. Jet-A fuel is expected to be available in the near future. 

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Thomas built a hangar home at the airport in 2007, and since then roughly 20 additional hangar homes have been constructed at Cook Airfield. Having residences with taxiway access was always in the plans.

“After we purchased the airport, our goal was to subdivide the land into six lots, because the county told us they had to be 5 acres in size,” he said. “So, that’s what we did, to get the cash flow to help fix the airport up. Later on, we figured out that we could have 1-acre lots, as long as we were doing approved septic systems.”

The airpark subdivision is now in its second phase, with five lots still available at the south end of the property. Land continues to be allocated for additional box hangar construction. 

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“We seem to sell our hangars as fast as we can put them up,” he said. “In fact, the last one I just sold to a guy in Ireland. We have two new hangars that will be completed soon, and then we are getting ready to order two more. Most of the hangars we build are on leased ground.”

In addition to homes, commercial hangars, a pilot’s lounge, and several businesses are based at the airport. Air Capital Drop Zone, a skydiving operation, and Compass Rose Aviation, a flying club, have both been there for more than 10 years.

After 21 years of owning Cook Airfield, Thomas and business partner Steve Logue are ready to pass the baton to the next owner.

“The airport has been for sale and under contract a couple of times, but has fallen through each time,” Thomas said. “We are both ready to move on to other things and let somebody else take Cook Airfield to the next level. There is a lot of potential here, and each potential buyer has their own vision for the airport. They could extend the runway or build a new runway to the west. [With additional infrastructure], they could add a restaurant if they wanted to, which is what the last buyer was going to do—alongside a hotel.”

Cook Airfield is approximately a 23-minute drive from downtown Wichita and 26 minutes from the city’s commercial service airport, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (KICT). The purchase of the 47-acre property includes the runway with PAPI system, pilot’s lounge, and seven buildings/hangars that total 32,906 square feet.

The post Two Decades After Renaissance, Wichita Airpark Ready for New Ownership appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

With more than three decades of experience in HOA management, Duane McPherson saw the need for professional management at fly-in communities. As a result, the private pilot created Airpark Association Management (APAM) in mid-2024. 

“APAM simplifies HOA management for aviators. We handle financial intricacies, strategic planning, and administrative tasks,” McPherson said. “We understand the balance between high-flying dreams and maintaining a smoothly operated community. Airparks are a different animal and traditional HOA management companies don’t know a lot about flying. They don’t understand the regulations or appreciate the commitment that the residents have to aviation. So, these communities are underserved from an association aspect.”

There are unique aspects of managing airpark HOA communities, as well as aspects that are very similar to regular neighborhoods. 

“Most airpark boards understand the aviation end of it, and they’re able to do a lot with that,” he said. “But the homeowners association part of it, such as collecting assessments, managing the financials and boards, or making sure all regulations are complied with [is different]. I felt like I could help with my years of experience. That way residents just enjoy flying. I mean, that’s why you have a plane and live in an airpark. You should be able to jump in and go flying without having to deal with all of these administrative headaches.” 

McPherson is enthused by the growing interest in residential airpark communities. 

“In the 1990s I started flying and began seeing these associations that had airstrips,” he said. “But there really wasn’t much interest [in living at an airpark] until the last 10 to 15 years. The concept has really started to catch on and right now, I estimate that there are about 700 airparks in the United States.”

Which functions does McPherson say airparks struggle with most frequently?

“It’s a gambit of common issues that airparks struggle with,” he said. “A lot of the associations haven’t done research studies to plan for future maintenance. That’s one of the most important aspects, especially since an airpark community’s single largest common interest asset is the airstrip. You have to save for repair and repaving of the runway, adding lights, or whatever is else needed. And a lot of airparks have not saved for capital improvements, or even in some cases regular maintenance.”

Another thing that volunteer-led boards should be mindful of are the regulations that govern their communities. 

“The other common issue is keeping up with laws,” McPherson said. “Each state has completely different laws governing common interest communities. That’s one of our areas of expertise and we make sure that boards are in compliance with local and state regulations. And we can handle all financial aspects of association management with transparency, accuracy and optimal budgeting tailored to your airpark community.

“We also have a technology package that is second to none. Aspects of this software are currently being modified for the airpark, so you will be able to see which airplanes are based there, whether they have insurance, and other things that will help the board better manage their community.”

McPherson takes great satisfaction in helping existing communities.

“The governing documents for every association are different and are typically set up by the original developer, not by the people who live there,” he said. “So, the documents are created long before lots are sold, and sometimes older communities have to reinvent themselves. The original people’s ideas are outdated in some cases and technologies have changed. There are a lot of differences that can occur.

“What we can do to help is that we will modernize their documents and create a strategic plan. This often takes working with a local attorney and making sure everything is up to date because in many cases, governing documents will have paragraphs that are no longer applicable or against current laws. It takes a lot of planning to go through changing the association but it’s one of my favorite things to do.” 

McPherson also enjoys ensuring new fly-in communities are well poised for many years of operation and feels that developers should seek advice to understand the best path forward.

Here are some key considerations he says that a developer should consider when drafting governing documents for an airpark community:

Aviation regulations: Include provisions that comply with federal, state, and local aviation regulations and zoning requirements related to the operation of aircraft within the community. This may include restrictions on aircraft types, noise levels, flight patterns, and hangar construction.

Airpark maintenance: Establish guidelines for the maintenance and upkeep of common areas, runways, taxiways, and other aviation-related facilities within the community. Outline responsibilities for maintaining and repairing infrastructure to ensure the safety and functionality of the airpark.

Hangar use: Define the permitted uses of hangars within the community, including provisions related to aircraft storage, maintenance, and commercial operations. Specify any restrictions on hangar construction, size, design, and appearance.

Community amenities: Outline the availability and use of amenities, such as fueling stations, tie-down areas, aircraft wash areas, and other aviation-related facilities provided within the community. Establish rules for accessing and utilizing these amenities in a safe and responsible manner.

Aircraft ownership: Define the requirements for aircraft ownership and registration within the community, including restrictions on nonresident aircraft, subleasing, and commercial operations. Specify any insurance requirements or liability provisions related to aircraft ownership and operation.

Homeowner responsibilities: Detail the obligations and responsibilities of homeowners within the community, including compliance with aviation regulations, noise abatement policies, and community standards. Outline procedures for resolving disputes, enforcing rules, and maintaining a sense of community harmony.

Architectural guidelines: Establish design standards and architectural guidelines for hangar construction, home construction, and landscaping within the community. Ensure that these promote a cohesive aesthetic and maintain the unique character of the airpark community.

“By considering these key factors and incorporating them into the governing documents, a developer can create a comprehensive set of rules and regulations that govern the operation, maintenance, and use of an airpark community,” McPherson said. “These provisions can help ensure the safety, functionality, and overall success of the community while preserving its aviation-focused identity and appeal.”

The post Airpark HOAs Aim to Keep Pace With Capital Improvements, Maintenance appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The airport, which has been around since the 1950s, was purchased in 1991 by Allen Chorman. His plan from the outset was to use the airfield as base of operations for Chorman Spraying, formerly known as Allen Chorman & Son. 

“When I was 12 years old, my dad and I rode over here on a Sunday. I remember like it happened right now,” Jeff Chorman said. “He was like, ‘Maybe we could rent the airport from John [Mervine],’ who was a real big name in Delaware at the time. My dad ended up buying the airport from John and since then we’ve built the airport up and widened the runway from 37 feet wide to 51 feet wide.”

• READ MORE: Flight Training in the Scenic, Wild Last Frontier

From mid-March to mid-November, this 3,585-foot-long paved runway is abuzz with activity from sunup to sundown. Chorman Spraying employs nine pilots and has a fleet of aircraft that consists of Air Tractors, Ag Cats, Thrushes, and Bell Jet Rangers. 

“We are probably one of the largest agricultural operators on the East Coast, as far as agricultural work, and cover the eastern shore of Delaware and Maryland,” Chorman said. “We have gone from running two airplanes to running seven all the time. And we have gone from radial engines to turbines, although [we] still spray mosquitoes with Twin Beeches and are thinking about getting into the drone world.” 

The operation is an integral partner to farmers within roughly a 50 nm radius of D74. Typical crops in the region that the company tends to are wheat, barley, pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupes, peas, sweet corn, and other vegetables, in addition to a strong emphasis in the fall on cover crop seeding.

Aerial services are provided from 10 main airfields and five satellite airfields, from Chestertown to Snow Hill. But most ag aviation flights originate from Chorman Airport, which is a competitive advantage for the operation.

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“Having your own airport [as an ag operator] is almost a must. It’s all about control,” Chorman said. “Even though it’s a public airport, we still control the people who are here. [By having our own airport] we control the activity during the busy times and also the overall ramp operations and security here.”

Efficiency and safety on the field is balanced with national security precautions in the area. Chorman reported that there is frequently a presidential TFR active near the airport, due to President Joe Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach being only 26 nm away. 

“Right now, if you look at Delaware in ForeFlight, the whole state is yellow,” he said. “I was the first one in agricultural aviation history last year to get permission to conduct ag operations inside the TFR’s inner ring during Biden’s 10-day visit last year. The Secret Service understands [the need for our operation to continue helping farmers] and has been great to work with.” 

Chorman’s longtime interest in military aviation led him to acquire a handful of vintage aircraft. His Stearman biplane, T-6, and T-28 can be seen by airport visitors this fall during a highly anticipated fly-in event at Chorman Airport.

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“We are planning our second annual fly-in for October 26, weather and TFR permitting,” he said. “We will have a cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs. Last year we had 65 airplanes fly in, and you couldn’t have ordered better weather. We are hoping for a good turnout again this year”

The airport welcomes transient traffic, although fuel is only available to based aircraft. There are roughly four dozen aircraft presently kept on the field. 

Chorman is encouraged about the future of the airfield and that it will continue being a central asset in the operation of his business and an attractive option for local pilots to base their aircraft.  

“In 2018, we repaved the runway because it was in very bad shape with no base underneath at all. We didn’t have any state or federal funding for that project,” Chorman said. “The airport will continue to grow as the need develops. I can see two more hangars here with eight units each for rental airplane storage, as well as an [automated weather observing system] AWOS. I would also like to have a GPS approach here, since we are strictly VFR now with pilot-controlled lighting. We are just starting to work on getting that done and the Delaware Aviation Council is helping.”

The post Delaware Ag Airport Sets Eyes on Growing GA Future appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

His flight training business, FLY8MA, moved with him to Big Lake, about an hour north of Anchorage. The company and its staff of full-time, experienced flight instructors invite adventure seekers to experience what flying in Alaska is like. 

“It’s not just about the training or getting a tailwheel endorsement—that’s a very lower 48 [way of thinking],” Kotwicki said. “The wilderness that you see here, even the best photographer and videographer can’t capture. It can only be experienced, and that’s what I want to provide for people that come here.”

Alaska is a land of extremes that attracts people who enjoy challenges, Kotwicki said. In that vein, he has spent a considerable amount of effort to transform his 115-acre property into a destination for flight training. 

“We get people that visit for a variety of reasons, whether to do flight training or a scenic tour with us in our Cessna 206 that we have on a Part 135 certificate,” Kotwick said. “So, we have pilots and nonpilots that come here and those that train with us, [and] most want to experience what flying in Alaska is like.They may want to fly a Cub on 35s [inch tires] while at the controls when landing on a mountaintop or landing on a crystal blue alpine lake in a Super Cub on floats with glaciers all around.

“So, we will work with them to the extent of what they want to do. And what I mean by that is we can show them a lot of cool stuff, or there may be a specific goal they are trying to achieve that we are going to train towards.” 

Kotwicki’s flight training company’s headquarters is based on the property, which is also home to FLY8MA Pilot Lodge Airport (57AK). There are two gravel runways and an under-construction control tower, in addition to short-term rental facilities used by students and other visitors. 

The first four overnight accommodations built on-site are standard one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabins. These units are modern and feature heated floors, but Kotwicki wanted to add some additional flavor to the airport. 

“I thought, ‘Well, what would be cooler than these cabins?’” he said. “‘We could get an airplane and turn it into a house.’ So, I spent about eight months calling around trying to find who would sell me an airplane. Finally, someone said yes but said that I would have to come and get it [a Douglas DC-6] right away or they would charge a ramp storage fee.

“During the long drive on the way to pick up the airplane I thought, ‘I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.'”

Cleaning, reconstructing, insulating, and furnishing the retired aircraft into its present state were aggravated by the cold Alaskan winters. In total, it took about two years between transporting the DC-6 (in pieces on a flatbed trailer) to its new home and the first guest being welcomed. 

Two more decommissioned transport category aircraft have since been added to the airport and its rental availability page, a Douglas DC-9 and a Boeing 727. 

The DC-6, for example, can accommodate up to six guests. There are two bedrooms, a living room, and a cockpit, complete with a coffee station and beer fridge. Where else can you sit behind the yoke with a cold one in hand? 

Guests’ fondness for the existing overnight aircraft rentals has inspired Kotwicki to add another retired airplane to the lineup. He just closed on a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, which he intends to turn into a summer-only rental that keeps most of the original systems inside intact.  

“This is a place to preserve the history of these aircraft and get you up close and personal, whether that be the avionics and controls of a 727 and all of the associated systems, or face to face with an 800-pound grizzly on a beach you flew to in a Super Cub with your flight instructor from our lodge,” Kotwicki said. “The experience of getting to touch and feel every inch of the aircraft, walk around outside to poke your head up in the avionics bay or gear bays, see all of the systems, or just the novelty of barbecuing steaks on the wing deck, [it’s an] experience [those who visit] all say is simply one of a kind.”

The post Flight Training in the Scenic, Wild Last Frontier appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Fyve By, an Atlanta-based company, seeks to solve the pervasive problem of hangar rash, while simultaneously enhancing ground operation safety. 

Benjamin Youngstrom, Fyve By’s co-founder, explained that the vision for the company is an evolution from its initial goal.

“The inspiration came from wanting to make a functional change in aviation, and we started with the idea of making autonomous tugs and ground equipment,” Youngstrom said. “As we worked on it, we came to understand why all of the autonomous ground support equipment companies that have come before have failed and why all of the ones that exist now are going to fail.

“The problem is that they require infrastructure. Driving a tug, you can’t see anything past the front of the aircraft, even when you’re talking about smaller jets. So, if you put the sensors for an autonomous tug on the tug itself, it will have the exact same problem as a human being. You need to build infrastructure, and as we started designing the external vision for the tug, we realized that the external vision is the product and not autonomous ground support equipment.” 

The switch in focus toward creating a tool for ground support personnel came in early 2023, and the Fyve By team has been hard at work ever since to bring the product to market. 

“Hangar rash incidents easily account for billions of dollars in damage per year, especially when you calculate not only raw damage but additional training expenses, lost revenue, lost trust, additional aircraft value loss, and customer care costs,” Youngstrom said. “So, while the exact repair bill value [to correct the damage] is only a couple billion dollars per year, when you calculate total lost costs, including opportunity costs, you are looking at a five-to-10 billion dollar industry expenditure.”

Hangar Rash Headaches

They anticipate their solution will help mitigate hangar rash incidents, which are a headache to operators, FBOs, insurance underwriters, and others. 

“We started out using normal security cameras and then moved on to using 3D cameras, called stereo cameras,” Younstrom said. “But we found very quickly that they were too expensive to set up and were unreliable. They never gave the best view of what we were working on in the hangar.” 

After additional iterations, Fyve By’s proprietary Sky View product was unveiled in early 2024. As the name implies, it serves as an eye in the sky, helping to guide in-hangar aircraft movements.

“Eventually we switched over to lidar, which is very complicated to work with,” he said. “It’s a talent intensive technology. You need to understand robotics and need to have an in-depth understanding of computer vision. After we closed our pre-seed funding round, we hired a very capable team of engineers that have managed to make a really reliable system that identifies aircraft, equipment, vehicles, and everything else in a hangar.

“We are able to take that identification to provide a 3D rendering shown on a tablet, accompanied by audio and visual warnings when you get too close to something that can cause damage. In essence, I like to call the final product a ‘Honda Sense’ style backup camera for moving and managing aircraft.

“The goal was to give line crew something simple and straightforward that wouldn’t act as a distraction and instead would just provide value. And when it isn’t providing value [when aircraft aren’t in danger of colliding with one another], it would be something that almost wasn’t noticeable.”

Test Fit and Target

There is additional existing functionality in the system, which the team notes has functionality that other products do not.

“Currently the Sky View system also allows crew to do a ‘test fit and target’ with the system,” Youngstrom said. “Before they move an aircraft, they can use their tablet to place an exact replica of the aircraft they are about to move in the hangar. The system will tell them if the airplane fits where they want it to go and they can set a target at that spot. Unlike the hangar stacking products on the market where you have to eyeball the placement in the hangar using a printed sheet of paper, our ‘test fit and target’ function allows you to know you’ve put your plane exactly where you want it.”

Sky View is currently in beta testing, with a healthy mix of different customer types trying out the technology out for themselves. 

“We are selling preorders with customers and have existing orders both from private flight departments and FBOs,” he said. “As part of our beta program, we have an FBO, a maintenance facility, and a private flight department. This accounts for 10 hangars and about a quarter billion dollars’ worth of aircraft being protected by our system right now.”

Youngstrom and the Fyve By team are optimistic for the impact they expect to have in the aviation industry.

“There is a lot on the horizon for our technology,” he said. “We’re looking at features like full range stacking, which would take into account not only can the plane theoretically fit in a hangar but whether a human or machine is realistically capable of moving it where they want it to go. We’re also looking at providing auto slowing, auto braking, and other semirobotic modules.“ But truly our focus now is building useful, reliable, and consistent products that make the lives of line crew, maintenance crew, directors of maintenance, FBO general managers, and insurance adjusters easier. We don’t want to be another overhyped, cash grab, Silicon Valley tech startup that ends up bloated and valueless. We want to be the safe and reliable new industry standard for how aircraft are moved in hangars and on the ramp.”

The post New Tech Aims to Ease In-Hangar Aircraft Movements appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Soon, another notable addition will be unveiled around a 45-minute drive or 15-minute helicopter ride from The Strip—the Las Vegas Executive Airport and Spaceport. 

Rob Lauer, a private pilot and real estate developer, outlined plans for the project, which will have an emphasis toward both GA and commercial space operations. 

• READ MORE: FAA Greenlights New Las Vegas Area Airport

“It’s a great addition to the systems in place, which we’ve seen during recent events how busy the airports here were,” Lauer said. “There is a video from the Super Bowl of 60 large aircraft who couldn’t fly in [to existing airports]. Vegas is like nowhere else on earth when it comes to events. We are the leader in the world in entertainment, gaming, tourism, and conventions. People come here for the experience, and we are going to offer an experience with fly-in convention opportunities with our own casino-hotel on site in three to four years, maybe less.” 

The concept of Las Vegas Executive Airport and Spaceport was first envisioned several years ago. Soon after coming up with the idea, Lauer purchased a 240-acre piece of land. 

The airport recently received approvals from the FAA for its submitted 7480-1 form for notice of construction, and the county, key steps toward becoming an operational facility. 

“We own the name Las Vegas Executive Airport, which is the official name, and the plan is really simple,” Lauer said. “To start, we are building a 5,000-foot-long runway and are talking with companies about coming in to operate an FBO, a jet fuel farm, and an MRO facility. In addition to that, we plan to have 40 large 20,000-square-foot hangars with 2,000-square-foot offices for lease.”

While the airport is farther from Las Vegas than several other airports in the area, its remoteness has benefits that the other options do not. 

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“One of the things that came out of our airspace analysis, which was performed by Air Force Brigadier General Robert Novotny (the former commander of the 57th Air Wing at Nellis Air Force Base) is that we are right outside the Class Bravo airspace in open VFR airspace.” Lauer said. “This will make it far more affordable and efficient for aircraft to fly in and out. What our argument was, is that another airport outside the Class Bravo airspace adds to the capacity of the Clark County Airport system.”

The big focus at present is to create the runway and get Las Vegas Executive Airport ready to accept its first visiting aircraft. The runway is currently set to be 4,000 feet long but being at an elevation of 3,700 feet msl, Lauer advised that they are working to add thresholds and extend the landing distance available to 5,000 feet. 

“We are looking at the end of the year to start construction,” he said. “The good news is that it’s a 1 percent grade, so it’s only going to take us a month to grade. It will take a month to pave the runway and taxiways, so we could realistically have our runway up and running by the end of the year. Then maybe a few months after that, pending county approval, we can start building the FBO, hangars, and other infrastructure.”

One of the key aspects planned for the airport is the fly-in hotel, casino, and convention center. One of the planned recurring events on site will be the Las Vegas Air Races. The 2024 event is planned at another airport in the area that is to be announced, but future events are expected to be on site and will take place immediately following the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition. 

Lauer’s vision extends beyond the property being a place for GA traffic, including both drone and spacecraft operations. The spaceport will be the first of its kind. 

• READ MORE: Las Vegas Spaceport to Host Air Racing Event in October 2024 

“There are technically 16 other certified spaceports in the country,” he said. “All of the others are owned by governments (county, state, or federal). Ours is the first private airport and spaceport in the United States. Space companies are a huge part of our project to build a space economy here in Las Vegas. That’s our focus and we hope to bring space planes from all different manufacturers in and operate them from our facility. So, you’ll be able to fly in and do space training activities.”

In July, spaceport leaders officially partnered with the Nevada UAS Test Site Operator UNR Research and Innovation Nevada Center for Applied Research to establish a cutting-edge drone test site on the spaceport’s grounds. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) demonstrates the commitment of the site’s leadership towards investing in the future of aviation.

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“Nevada must seize the opportunity to cultivate a thriving economy rooted in cutting-edge technology,” Lauer said. “The Las Vegas Spaceport is attracting forward-thinking businesses aligned with our mission to foster a new industry in southern Nevada. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with the Nevada Center for Applied Research to establish a premier drone test site that will serve as a beacon of innovation.”

The post New GA Airport Near Las Vegas Has Its Eye on Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

To Justin Mackie, owner of Mackie Ranch Airfield (UT91), airport ownership is a way of sharing his perspective of flying with other aviators and supporting aviation in Utah. 

Mackie is a private pilot who began flying at 15 but stopped shortly thereafter in favor of riding motorcycles. No matter how busy he was with that lifestyle, he always hoped to return to the skies. 

• READ MORE: New Turf for Blue Cedar Landing

“I stopped flying when I was about 17 years old and left aviation for a different direction in life,” Mackie said. “I raced motorcycles and was in that business but always wanted to get back to flying—it just wasn’t in the cards time and money wise. In 2016 I picked it back up and really got into backcountry flying and the STOL stuff. I finished my ticket and started getting more into it.”

As many pilots do, especially those who enjoy flying off the beaten path, Mackie wondered where else he could plant the tires of his highly modified 182. He thought a seemingly unusable section on his 160-acre property would be the perfect place. 

“This ranch has been in my family since 1966, and it’s an original Mormon homestead[from] back in the 1850s,” Mackie said. “I’ve owned it going on 15 years and live here in the summertime. We have [an] all-natural, grass-fed beef operation here, and there’s always been this part of the ranch that was just a waste of dirt, if you will. There was a spot that was just covered in sagebrush and juniper trees up on this bluff on the other side of the waterway. I always wondered what I would do with it, until I got back into aviation and bought an airplane.”

Building an airstrip of his own started to make more sense once Mackie began considering the effort it takes to get to the ranch from Henderson, Nevada, where he spends most of the year.

• READ MORE: Idaho Luxury Fly-In Development Poised for Takeoff

“I own a private equity firm, and it’s a three-hour drive to my ranch from my home in Vegas,” he said. “Once you own an airplane, you start thinking real quick, ‘Why am I driving?’ So, I started scheming about how this would all work once I got a plane—now I am on my fourth—and finished the airstrip in the spring of 2021.”

The more Mackie considered building an airstrip, the more he felt like the ranch was a perfect place for one. He did have some concerns, though. 

“There were some things to figure out, as far as our ranch is in a low point in the surrounding mountain range,” he said. “We are in a horseshoe-shaped section of land in a 3,500-acre private valley, where there’s only one road into this valley up a canyon from the nearest town, Enterprise, Utah. So, there is rising terrain all the way around us, and there are some drainage areas that I had to sort out where the runway is.

“I hired two local guys and we just went to it. It took us about four weeks to build the runway, which is 2,450 feet long by 70 feet wide with a groomed native dirt surface and a 3-acre parking apron. And so there is no manure, hoofprints, or cows on the runway when you want to use it, I fenced off the entire area.”

Mackie credits several organizations with assistance during the creation of the airstrip and throughout its operation the last several years. 

“I got together with the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) and the Utah Backcountry Pilots Association real early on,” he said. “One of my concerns was having a piece of private land with an airstrip that’s open to the public and the liability that comes with that. Most states today have a recreational use statute on the books, that if I make this open to the public, it’s not invitation only, no one’s paying to use it, and a few other things, then I have no risk of liability if somebody hurts themselves here. 

“I really want to convey the message of how important it is for people to use their private land to give back to the general aviation community and utilize the resources of the RAF and their local backcountry flying groups… Because of the amount of resources and lobbyists that exist in those organizations, I am able to do what I’m able to do here because I make it available to the public. I want landowners, or people with private strips, to know that they don’t let people fly in right now because they are scared.” 

Other publicly accessible airstrips inspired how Mackie wanted his strip to look like. A few in Idaho, specifically, served as inspiration for his efforts. 

“My goal, starting early on in my flying, was being a student of backcountry flying, high-density altitude, and all of the things that go along with safely operating in the mountains as a bush pilot,” he said. “I started spending six weeks or so a summer up in the Frank Church[-River of No Return] Wilderness [Area] in Idaho. I came to realize pretty quick that there’s a lot of people that show up in the backcountry without the necessary equipment or skills.” 

• READ MORE: Finding Freedom by Flying in Alaska

In addition to the utility for his own use, Mackie hoped the airstrip would serve as a place where other pilots could dip their toes into backcountry flying.

“You could literally take a lawn chair to those [challenging backcountry strips], and it was like sitting at a boat ramp at the start of the summer, watching the train wreck all day long,” he said. “That became a big motivating factor for me and my airport. I decided it would be a place to go practice and refine my backcountry skills at an altitude that was meaningful but not a place that was scary, density altitude wise. There really wasn’t a lot of stuff in this area that anyone had built that was a great training grounds or a place that was made available to the public to hone their backcountry flying skills.” 

While Mackie Ranch Airfield is well suited for greenhorn pilots, there are, of course, operating challenges to be mindful of. 

“A normal day here is 70 to 80 degrees, which equates to a density altitude of about 7,000 to 8,000 feet,” Mackie said. “Completely surrounding us, there’s this big valley with peaks that are 7,500 to 8,200 feet high. If you can’t outclimb the ridges to the northeast of us, from Runway 05, you have a half mile to get over a ridgeline that’s 150 feet higher than the departure.”

One of Mackie’s friends, who had ample experience flying in and out of the airstrip, experienced an incident last summer where they impacted the face of a nearby mountain (but fortunately walked away unharmed). 

“So, it’s a challenging airport,” he said. “But at the same time, I get a lot of messages from local guys that this is their first off-airport experience and have had no issues. If you’re smart about it, it’s fine. For people that disregard the wind too much or disregard the high-density altitude, it can get sketchy real quick.” 

The post Utah Bluff of Juniper and Sagebrush Turned Into Backcountry Destination appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

He passed down his passion for flying to younger members of the family, and both he and his teenage son began flight training at the same time. His next youngest son has recently started training for his private certificate, and there are three other sons who could also follow the same path. 

In only a few short years since returning to the skies, Manda has purchased an aircraft of his own and an asphalt airstrip in Missouri. But having an airstrip wasn’t the reason he purchased the property.

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“My wife and I own a landscape company up here in Kansas City [Missouri] and as part of that company, we grow sod,” Manda said. “Three years ago or so, we bought 130 acres from a guy…and developed a sod farm. We were looking to expand our operation further and…[the guy] was looking to sell more of his property. We ended up buying the house and the airstrip along with 75 more acres.” 

The airport has been around since 1979 and sports a new name following the transition, Blue Cedar Landing Airport (43MO). Manda said that maintaining the airport requires minimal additional attention to his company’s existing operations on the property. He envisions his privately owned airfield will be a vibrant GA-focused outpost and has plans for future fly-ins.

That’s why Manda is excited for other pilots to come and enjoy the airstrip as much as he and his family. 

“We mow our sod once a week, and when we do, we just mow a little bit more and mow up to the runway,” he said. “So, because I have those fields around me that I will never develop or plant trees on, it will always be a wide-open area. That gave me the thought to have a fly-in where people can just park their airplanes in the grass. We could do flour-bombing competitions, food trucks right next to the airplanes, and other things you may not be able to do at a municipal airport. We will do different things to bring people together and support aviation.”

Manda decided that a large farmhouse that came with the second land purchase would make for a good short-term rental, bringing another option for pilots looking for a place to stay the night alongside their aircraft. 

“We looked at doing something different that not a lot of places can do, so we decided to make this house a Vrbo for really anybody, but I’m definitely going to cater it to the fly-in community,” he said. “It’s a great place for three or four couples to meet up and have something to do. They can fly in and keep their airplane here and rent the house that’s literally 100 yards from the 2,430-foot-long-by-30-foot wide asphalt runway. And we will have a car that they can get on Turo to get around the area.

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“The house is about a 15-minute drive to downtown Lee’s Summit, where there is tons of stuff to do. There are shops, restaurants, and dining, like a little brewery and a wine bar. It’s situated about 10 minutes away from downtown Pleasant Hill, where there are eclectic shops, restaurants, and Rock Island Trail, which connects to the Katy Trail, which at 240 miles long is the longest developed rail-trail in the country. We have teamed up with a bike shop so people can rent bikes, since it’s hard to fly with a bike.”

The 7,300-square-foot home sleeps up to 20 and rents for an average of $800 per night. Manda is adding a separate one-bedroom option to the property that will be priced more economically, $200 per night on average. He believes that the addition of this smaller rental and an available on-site rental car will entice more aviators to consider flying in.  

“On the property we also have a little pilots lounge that we are currently finishing and will be named ‘The Stables Event Space at Blue Cedar Landing,’” he said. “It will be an event space for rentals up to 150 people. When the space isn’t rented, it will be open for pilots that fly in during the day and want to have a coffee or just get together.”

Blue Cedar Landing is located 11 nm south of Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport (KLXT).

The post New Turf for Blue Cedar Landing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Richter joined forces with longtime friend and business partner Jordan to create their Planecave venture. The two met more than 25 years ago when they were both working behind the camera in Hollywood. Since then, they each had their own successful entrepreneurial careers.

Jordan’s foray into a novel business venture ultimately led to inspiration for the airplane hangar development firm.

“Steve had gone off to Hawaii to start a shark diving business,” Richter said. “It was sort of a fledgling tourist operation that he resurrected and was very successful with. He sold it two years ago and was traveling the country. When he went to Alaska, he fell in love with backcountry flying and immediately bought a plane.”

Jordan began initial flight training at the north central Oregon airport. Only a week after receiving his private pilot’s license, he joined Richter on a trip around the country. 

“That was really the beginning of Planecave, because we started talking about how difficult it is to find hangars up where he is [on the Oregon-Washington border] and down here as well [in Los Angeles],” Richter said. “Steve said, ‘If you want to look at this and develop this, let’s talk about it because we have a long waitlist at every airport around here. And no one is building hangars.’” 

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The duo decided to tackle the apparent nationwide hangar shortage, starting with KDLS first.

“Steve knew the airport manager and had learned about the waitlist, and that the airport has space to build hangars—but didn’t have the funds to do so,” Richter said. “[It was] the same problem we discovered at many airports all across the nation and it became clear to us why that problem exists.”

The pair’s plan to tackle the hangar shortage at the airport is different from how others have solved the problem elsewhere, according to Richter. They believe that aviation infrastructure is prime for outside investment. 

“What we’ve come up with is an innovative, newer approach, where we don’t just look at one property necessarily,” he said. “But we look and say, ‘How do we create a product that we can sell to someone who wants to have a return and wants to have very little to do with the investment?’ It’s what we call in the real estate world a triple net investor, and I have some of these types of investments for that very reason. You don’t have to deal with the property very much and essentially just buy the value of the lease.”

The two rows of hangars have been approved by the airport and the ground lease is awaiting final sanctioning by city and county authorities. Construction is expected to begin in late August, with a targeted completion date in October. 

“There is potentially a 40-year ground lease for this development—20 years plus two 10-year options,” Richter said. “There is very high demand, very low supply, and very low [expected] vacancy based on that. And it’s a business that’s very difficult to disrupt. No one is going to come up with some new digital technology that’s going to disrupt how you park your airplane. All of those things pointed in the right direction, and it seemed like this idea could have legs on that basis.”

Roughly 35 pilots were on the waitlist at the airport, with 18 new hangars planned to be created. Each nested T-hangar will be 42 feet wide with a 12-foot-tall door (four of the hangars will be slightly larger). 

Richter said that reception from aviators in the area has been positive, despite the limited marketing from the Planecave team to date. Interest has also come from outside the aviation community, including traditional investors looking to learn more about this niche of real estate. 

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“Right now, we’re intending to, unless we find a single investor who wants to finance the entire project, syndicate the project to several parties,” he said. “There are networks that exist [to attract real estate investors], but this is a unique and new product that people are not familiar with. So, it takes a little bit more education on our part, and we really have to educate investors on why we think this is a good investment. I’ve talked to a whole bunch of them and most seem to immediately get it.

“I tend to say, lLook, it’s like self-storage on steroids. People don’t give up their self-storage facility once they have it, and people definitely don’t give up their hangar once they have it. That makes a really good pitch to investors, and they see the opportunity, the high demand and low supply. They see the value in the 40 years of steadily increasing revenue with low vacancy.”  

The Planecave team’s goal is to initially satisfy the demand for hangar space at Columbia Gorge Regional, with its sights set on pursuing additional projects in the future.

“Everyone else seems to be concentrating on one airport, right?” Richter said. “It may be the guy who needs a hangar but can’t get one and decides to start a project. We think there is a real opportunity to repeat this over and over again. To serve the market at other airports and keep going. The feedback we are getting seems to support that.

“Hangar projects are an attractive investment property for investors that want to come in and buy a finished product that is stabilized with tenants, and that has a good outlook into the future in terms of the lease lengths, rents, and vacancies.”

The post Hangar Shortage Spurs 2 GA Pilots to Launch Development Project appeared first on FLYING Magazine.