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.

“My background is property management, and I worked in the apartment industry for a long time,” Naugle said. “Then three years back, I got licensed in real estate, and at that time I was a student pilot. But I started out just doing traditional residential real estate. Then I met a gentleman named Russ Keith, who lived right across the street from my mom. One day I was walking my dog with my wife from her house, and I noted that Russ was in his garage working on an airplane. I go, ‘What’s going on here?’ He told me that he is a pilot and is building a little two-place biplane. Lo and behold, I look over and see that he is also in real estate.” 

Naugle was surprised that his longtime neighbor was interested in the same things he was. What were the chances? The two hit it off immediately.  

“At the time, I had recently started a group called Airplanes and Coffee with Mike Roberts, who was the person who first got me into aviation,” Naugle said. “I had found out about Cars and Coffee and thought it would be great to do something similar, where a group of friends meets up at the airport once a month to hang out and talk about aviation. I invited Russ to one of these events, and the next thing I know, he’d become a well-established part of the group, and I started working for him at his company, Boomtown Brokerage.” 

Naugle finished up his private pilot training shortly after making the move to the new company. After joining forces, the two pilots decided to shift much of their daily focus to the niche industry of aviation real estate almost exclusively. 

“We have sold a lot of property out at Thompson Field (1TA7) in Canton, Texas, over 30 lots there last year and basically finished up that community,” he said. “Now we have another community that we are the exclusive team selling runway lots, Aero Village in Krum, Texas. The neighborhood, which consists of 14 homesites, is based around Bird Dog Airfield (E58).

“We have just been rocking and rolling and having a lot of fun selling airpark homes to pilots and trying to save these communities from nonpilots moving in that don’t care about the runway or aviation focus. They just want to use the hangar for cars, or whatever else. It is a huge benefit as pilots to help get other aviators into airparks.

“Not only can we travel to all of the airpark communities around quite easily, also having the same experiences as our clients is important. Some pilots really care a lot about having a paved runway; others are fine with a grass strip or even prefer one. There are so many differences in airparks around here, not to mention the differences between airparks and traditional neighborhoods. We understand the different types of fly-in communities and the homes there, which we can communicate well to our potential buyers.” 

Naugle pointed out that Texas is a great place to be involved in aviation real estate. And he said it is an exciting job for him to understand the diverse fly-in communities nearby and showcase them to others. 

“Here in North Texas, there is a huge population of not only pilots but also airparks,” he said. “We have a lot of transplants from out of state that are interested in property here. DFW is booming, and a lot of people are getting jobs around here and want to be within an hour of Dallas Fort Worth International [KDFW] or Love Field [KDAL], for example, and we do our best to help them find that right home.”

Naugle provided a brief overview of some of the airparks in the area:

Pecan Plantation (0TX1)/The Landings (66TE)

Pecan Plantation offers a unique opportunity to live in one of the most amenity-rich communities in Texas. It features a full-service clubhouse, activity center, pools, golf, tennis, marina, equestrian center, riverside parks, and access to Lake Granbury. It has two airport runways, and both airparks are in the same enormous community. The Landings is the newest section and is currently selling lots.

Airpark Dallas (F69) 

This airpark community is located in the heart of Plano, one of the most desirable cities in North Texas. World-class shopping and entertainment are just a stone’s throw away from this marvelous community. 

Eagles Nest Estates (T56)  

This is one of the most active flying communities in the entire DFW area. You can find groups of pilots flying together in formation almost daily. 

Propwash (16X) 

Between its gorgeous 3,000-by-60-foot asphalt runway and the number of warbirds that call this airpark home, this community is a local favorite.

Hidden Valley Airpark (5TX0) 

Hidden Valley Airpark is one of the premier fly-in communities in the country. This beautiful 300-acre gated-community offers families a unique landing place to call home.

Naugle advised that he has learned a lot from his business partner, Russ Keith, both about real estate and aviation. The two can routinely be seen flying in North Texas in a Cessna 172 and are always happy to lend a helping hand to those looking to capitalize on the dream of living alongside their aircraft. 

“Russ has over 30 years of real estate experience, so he has a huge following,” Naugle said. “He went from zero flight time to CFII in only 102 days. I love to harp on that because that’s pretty unique. He’s just a swell guy, and I’m really grateful to be partnered up with him.

“Being active in the aviation community is super helpful for our business. We are always at fly-ins or hosting fly-ins with Airplanes and Coffee, and are active with several different aviation groups. We also travel to Sun ’n Fun in the spring and EAA AirVenture in the summer each year. Outside of that, we regularly go to these aviation communities and are friends with the pilots there. We love what we do, so jump at the chance to go check out a new hangar home or go see someone’s new airplane. Really being completely involved with aviation is what it is all about for us and keeps us in the loop.”

Living alongside your airplane is a dream come true for many. Naugle leaves a parting thought for pilots who may be considering joining the airpark lifestyle: “Do it! The most common regret we hear from clients is how they wish they would have made the decision sooner. If you love flying and spending your time around aircraft, there is no place better to live than an airpark.”

The post Becoming an Aviation Real Estate Agent appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“My husband and I came to live here at Cuyler Airfield (FD27) a little over a year ago,” said Jennifer Santorelly. “[My husband] has spent his whole life…restoring World War II airplanes for a living. We met about 30 years ago when we were both working for [aircraft restorer] Kermit Weeks in Miami. I was a receptionist, and he was a mechanic there.

“Basically, from when we first started dating, we always knew that we would live at an airpark. We had been living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, for a long time, and it was so hard to get our little [Piper] Cub out. Anytime that we wanted to go fly, we had to drive to the airport, push the plane out, then finally go flying.”

There was a more convenient way of enjoying one’s aircraft—living with it. The couple had tried to do just that several times, but the fit wasn’t  right in any of the scenarios. 

“We had purchased property in different airparks and ended up selling them,” she said. “It just wasn’t right [for us at the time]. We had looked all over Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina for the perfect community for us. And because I’m a sixth-generation Floridian, I did not want to leave the state.”

To Jennifer’s relief, the couple found a suitable community a few hours north of their longtime home where they would not have to leave Florida.

“We found this little airpark up here in north Florida, which is about 1 mile from the Georgia line,” she said. “A house came up for sale, and it was at the time [when] they sold in a matter of seconds. We got on it immediately, bought the house, and then moved up here. We were happy that we took this chance to finally move to an airpark.” 

While Santorelly still works, her husband retired before their move to Glen St. Mary. It left them both with the opportunity to enjoy aviation, albeit in a much different capacity. 

“What we really wanted in an airport community was the quietness of a grass strip,” she said. “We wanted the ‘Red Barn at Oshkosh’ type of feel. Since we’ve been up here, we’ve started a local EAA chapter, Chapter 1349, with a bunch of our neighbors. Our club is new in the last couple of months and [we] are just getting started on doing events. We hold monthly meetings on the third Saturday of the month.”

The chapter, with Jennifer serving as secretary, consists largely of residents of the northern Florida fly-in community. This airpark has a healthy number of residents, as well as homebuilts and certified single-engine pistons. 

“There are about 40 homes at Cuyler Airfield, [which is] quite a few,” she said. “We are very close to Jacksonville, so a lot of the residents here are retired pilots from the Navy. There are all kinds of planes here, too. There is a Pitts, a couple of Luscombes, a Taylorcraft, a couple of 172s, and many more. 

“Steve Chase is building a Pietenpol in his hangar. Jeremy Wicker just completed his Pitts. Rod and Susan DePinet own a Cessna 172 that they fly everywhere. Most every weekend they are flying to airports, like Flagler (KFIN) and Fernandina (KFHB), for lunch. My husband has a Clipped Wing Cub that he owns and a project L-4 that he’s building.

“We are really close to a forest. We are out in the woods, and there isn’t a lot around here. But it’s very pretty. I really liked the location, being that it’s a country feeling. So many airparks are built close to other communities that I felt like we would be right on top of them soon. It’s peaceful here, with a really charming look to it. The house we found is really pretty and was exactly what we were looking for.

“And the hangar was big enough. He wouldn’t even look at a house if the hangar wasn’t a minimum of 50 feet by 40 feet. If it was below that, he wouldn’t even consider the house. He refused.”

Santorelly noted that there were surprises about airpark living, a dream the duo had shared for so long. Little would have prepared them for what it was all about. 

“[We were taken aback by] how quiet it was,” she said. “We have always lived in subdivisions where you are right on top of your neighbor. Now we almost have an acre and a half lot that is extremely peaceful. It’s also nice to be surrounded by like-minded people. For example, one of the kids [Jacob Miller] down the street just soloed. He grew up here and has now soloed at Cuyler. It is nice to see everyone interacting and talking about something like that. That kind of community feel is special. We haven’t regretted moving here at all.”

The post Cuyler Airfield a Dream Come True appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

To date, 19 homes have been constructed, with the first being built in 1997. Gordon Doherty was the community’s second resident. 

“An important consideration for me was Yoder Airpark’s connection to major highways and paved roads,” Doherty said. “It is a 15- to 30-minute drive to the amenities of a big city (restaurants, sports, and arts). Another consideration was the quality of the local schools. I wanted an airpark that had [a] good, old grassroots flying atmosphere.”

Largely, it is identical to the airpark of yesteryear. Its central feature, the 4,200-foot-long grass airstrip, has withstood the test of time.

“We have talked about paving the runway over the years,” Doherty said. “If you have a thunderstorm, you have to wait for it to dry out, which is usually four hours for less than an inch of rain. A paved strip is expensive to build and maintain for a private airport. Pretty much everyone has decided that ‘You know what? We like it just the way it is,’” 

In 2021, Don Yoder “flew west” at age 87. As a result of his death, the 135 acres to the south of the airport was held by his estate. Just like any other airport property in transition, there was uncertainty. 

Of highest concern was who would pick up the land and what would they do with it? As a point of reference, the population of the Wichita metro area has in recent years begun a brisk march westward, leaving much of the nearby land in the sights of developers.  

Zack Steffen and Aaron Young, both pilots and lifelong residents of the area, explained that a primary desiret of theirs was that the land be used for aviation purposes. So, the two former collegiate track teammates decided to run together with the grand airpark vision laid out before them.  

“The dream and the vision started on the north section of the airport,” said Steffen, a resident since 2017. “Then in 2001, Don purchased some land on the south side. At that time, he put the tunnel in under the runway, where the [Pawnee Prairie Park] Trail goes through. It’s a part of the Rails-to-Trails program, where they pulled up the railroad tracks and put gravel in. Now, it’s a nice running and biking path that goes all the way from Garden Plain into Wichita—just over 15 miles.” 

Both Steffen and Young’s goal is to bring more pilots into the fold at Yoder Airpark. In support of that, they subdivided the large property they purchased from Yoder’s estate. After working with the local jurisdiction, they settled on forming 14 lots, which average about 5 acres each. The first lots from this parcel were offered at the beginning of this year. 

“We purchased the property from Don’s estate and worked with his family to make the airpark dream a reality,” Young said. “We gave them our word that we would maintain his vision, so every single one of our lots has runway access. A part of our future work is actually extending the runway, so each has taxiway access to the runway. The south 1,800 feet of the runway has pilot-controlled lighting, so we have night operations, which is pretty unique for a grass strip. Once the runway is extended to 5,000 feet, nearly a mile long, that will be closer to 2,600 feet of lighted area.”

The duo said they had already sold half of the lots before officially unveiling the development to the public. 

“People so far have learned about us through word of mouth, basically, to date,” Young said. “People have bought lots then have told their friends about the airport. But we have pushed out some Facebook posts in some aviation groups, a few local and grass-flying oriented ones. Even though anyone can buy a lot here, we would love for there to be more pilots, people flying, and aviation activities. It’s always exciting when you see a neighbor taking off, even if it’s not you. It’s nice to have planes flying here.”

There is a diverse background of both aviators and aircraft at the airpark.

“I think the breadth of aviation enthusiasts we have at the airpark is amazing,” Steffen said, “going from the power paragliding enthusiasm to a neighbor that performs in air shows to private pilots like Aaron and myself to professional aviators. You have people here that range from tens of hours of flight time to tens of thousands of hours. To be able to talk to each other is great, and the community is really good about giving advice.” 

Yoder is one of roughly half a dozen airparks within a 20 nm radius of one another. And a key selling feature for the community is its proximity to the region’s largest public-use airport, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (KICT).

Like many other fly-in communities, an open hangar door is an invitation to stop by and chat. Yoder Airpark is no different, with residents taking great care to routinely check up on neighbors. The comingling includes these informal pop-in visits, as well as planned events, mixers, and fly-outs.

“We have hangar dinners here all the time, where somebody will volunteer to host at their house,” Steffen said. “There is also a social committee that plans different events and get-togethers for people in the HOA. One of the fun things we are planning is a progressive dinner, where each house has a different appetizer, drink, main course, or dessert. A couple of households will go together for that, which will be a lot of fun.”

This year, the group is planning to host several fly-ins, including the community’s largest annual celebration.

“We have the Fourth of July fly-in that happens each year, which has always been a tradition,” he said. “It is always the same day as the Garden Plain parade, so we have a pancake feed with a couple hundred people attending. We’ve had up to 40 planes come to that, and we do a flyover during the parade right as the national anthem plays. This event gets bigger every year, and we all look forward to it around here.”

The post The Second Life of Yoder Airpark appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The 34-year-old fly-in community is not only unique from others across the country in that regard, but also for being the only residential airpark in the state of Massachusetts. Sherry Grobstein, an instrument-rated private pilot and longtime resident of the community, explains how she first came to know about it. 

“I started flying in 1970 and lived in New Jersey, then moved to Massachusetts. I lived in Lexington for a long time, near Hanscom Air Force Base—so I flew out of there a lot. My partner and I bought our house in 2009. He was getting close to retirement, my kids were getting close to finishing high school, and he moved down here in 2011. Then my youngest went to college in 2013 and I moved down here full-time.”

• READ MORE: Building the New American Dream SkyRanch

Communal Spirit

The communal spirit of Falmouth Airpark and its residents was how Grobstein and her partner, Richard Dupee, first learned about the community. “We had a friend that lived here, and he invited a bunch of us once to a cookout and we thought that the airpark was really cool. But then it took a little while to decide to buy a house at Falmouth and to find one here.” 

The experience has been as enjoyable as imagined for Grobstein. “We have an RV-10 that we built and there is an enormous difference between, ‘Gee, maybe I will go flying and have to drive to the airport.’ Compared to just, ‘OK, let’s go.’”

“Life doesn’t get any better,” she added. The idyllic convenience of living alongside one’s airplane in Cape Cod was the byproduct of one man’s mission to create an airport around 70 years ago. 

• READ MORE: Discovering Aviation’s ‘Lightning in a Bottle’

Falmouth Airpark History

“The airport was initially built by a guy named Bill Gallagher in the 1950s. There were originally four airports [in the town of] Falmouth, but this is the only one that still exists. Bill built the airport kind of as a hobby.”

Grobstein continued, explaining more about the airfield and Gallagher’s determination to put it on the map. 

“He worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and he sort of built the airport on the cheap. There are stories saying, ‘Well, one year he would pave a thousand feet of runway and the next year maybe he would have enough money for 500 feet more. He got a hangar from what used to be the Otis Air Force Base, who wanted to get rid of it. Bill had an Aeronca Champ and ultimately lost his medical, but he would take other people flying with him so they would be PIC.” 

Gallagher passed away in 2001 and the airpark was incorporated in 1985. “We currently have bylaws and covenants, which were filed in 1988. That same year, they [Yonkers Contracting Company, the developer] began selling lots. On January 1st, 1997, residents ultimately took control, but they didn’t have voting control yet. I am not certain when the first house was built here, but the third house was built in 1992—so it was probably by 1990 there was a house here.”

Grobstein asserts that the noted bylaws and covenants are in part what keep the member-owned community strong, as well as help ensure the safety of pilots and others on the property.  

“The taxiways and streets are separate and if you go on the street side, it looks like a normal neighborhood. We have a lot of covenants; some are no longer enforceable as there was a court case in Massachusetts a couple of years ago where they said that if you have covenants you have to say they apply for a certain number of years. And if you didn’t say at the beginning that you can renew them forever, then you can’t renew them anymore.” 

• READ MORE: Salty Approach: Pilots Don’t Take Excursions–They’re On One

Community and Activities

Regardless, the first impression for many aviators is nearly identical to that of Grobstein when she first visited Falmouth. 

“Usually when pilots come here, they say that they really want to be here and live at an airpark. But sometimes their partners are not so enthusiastic. But I would emphasize the community here and all of the activities that we have. We have a very active social committee. They have book clubs, stamping workshops, other artsy-craftsy things, we have barbecues on Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Before the pandemic we also used to have a winter dinner, which will hopefully come back. We have a lot of parties.”

And of course, a residential fly-in community isn’t really that without aircraft. Grobstein notes that there is a good mix of models and residents. “I would say that most people here are either pilots or enthusiasts. Falmouth Airpark has mostly singles, both tricycle gear and taildraggers. One biplane. Two twins. Quite a few experimentals, mostly RVs.”

The post Falmouth Airpark Shows Off Cape Cod’s Charm appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On August 13, residents and friends of the airpark celebrated the 60th anniversary with a barbecue and airplane wash. Among the guests were 60 cadets from the Civil Air Patrol, representing units from all over the Evergreen State. For the CAP it was an overnight campout.

“Shady Acres has always been kid-friendly,” says Marianne Scott Lincoln, who, along with her brother, Jim, and sister, Judy, grew up at the airpark. Their father, Bill, was a pilot. Both Jim and Judy became pilots. Marianne flies a drone and her son, Aaron Krizek, is a pilot in the Air Force. 

Judy Scott, who is in her 60s, still lives at the airpark. She played hostess to the weekend celebration. Her Cessna 172 Lady Hawk is just a few feet from her front door—both the airplane and the door to the house are painted bright orange. 

Several pilots flew in for the event, putting their aircraft on display. The collection included a Stearman, the 1950s-era Cessna 172, a Cessna 150, and a Kitfox. Later in the day, a CAP Cessna 182 flew in from Joint Base Lewis McChord (KTCM), the Air Force base a few miles to the west of the field.

Shady Acres residents Suzy Omegna and Mike Gibbons fired up their industrial-sized barbecue, cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers. A buffet was served under the cover of an open-air pole hangar. According to Scott, that is pretty much par for the course with airpark living: “People help each other out, we know our neighbors.”

Shady Acres in the Beginning

According to Lincoln, Shady Acres began as an idea discussed among pilots who were members of the Western Travelairs club. In the late 1950s, they met monthly at what is now Pierce County Airport-Thun Field (KPLU), a non-towered field located a few miles east of Shady Acres. 

"There were enough of them who wanted to live on an airport with their airplane. The airpark grew out of those conversations," Lincoln says.

It took a few years to go from conversation to corporation, she adds. "On April 19, 1962, Harold LeMay, Jack Brown, and William ‘Bill’ Black filed Shady Acres Corporation at the State of Washington Secretary of State’s Office."

The airpark began as 40 acres that was subdivided into 2.5 acre parcels for pilots to build their homes and hangars. 

Usually the hangar came first, Lincoln notes.

A few of the founders went on to be locally famous. Harold LeMay started a refuse company in the region after World War II. In addition to aviation, the LeMay family had an interest in vintage automobiles. Their private collection grew so large that in June 2012, they opened a museum in Tacoma to house the collection. His grandson, Eric LeMay, still lives at the airpark.

Slim Lawson, one of the first residents of Shady Acres, was also a flight instructor. For decades you would be hard-pressed to find a pilot in the Seattle area who did not have his name in their logbook. 

• READ MORE: The High-Paced Atmosphere of Skydive Airports

Prairies, Forests, and Farms

When the airpark was established, Pierce County, located south of Seattle, was dominated by prairies, forests, and farms. Tacoma was a big city, with smaller communities of Puyallup, and Spanaway to the east. The military was the largest employer with Joint Base Lewis McChord then known as McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis Army Base housing the troops.

Shady Acres was carved out of 40 acres located south of McChord and east of Fort Lewis. Today, both bases are in Class D airspace and have control towers. It is not uncommon to see military aircraft overflying Shady Acres.

The airpark has grown to 47.75 acres. The farms have given way to cookie-cutter housing tracts and industrial parks. The south end of the airpark is bisected by a road. At ground level, there are warnings about low flying aircraft. The farm that bordered the north end of Shady Acres disappeared decades ago. The property is now occupied by the Frederickson Industrial Area that primarily serves manufacturing and distribution businesses such as Boeing (NYSE: BA), Tacoma Guitars, and Medallion Foods. 

Getting in and Getting Out 

Shady Acres can be a technically challenging airport. Runway 16/34 measures 1,800 feet by 20 feet. It's basically a strip of asphalt placed in the center of a grass field. There are obstructions (trees, fences, roads, etc.) at both ends. Pilots who train at Shady Acres learn short-field takeoffs and landings and soft-field takeoffs and landings from day one.

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According to airnav.com, there are 21 airplanes based at the airport—a non-towered facility with a unicom frequency. A wind-tee and windsock are placed mid-field, and because the airpark is surrounded by trees which can block the wind, pilots are cautioned to get a weather briefing from nearby McChord and Thun Field before takeoff, because the trees act as a windbreak so the windsock can be deceiving. 

When taking off from Runway 34 at Shady Acres, pilots are cautioned to turn east a few degrees to avoid clipping the Class D airspace of McChord, but not so far east that they fly over the Boeing factory—the large fans atop the facility’s buildings are there to vent heat from the kilns. They generate an updraft and turbulence that can be a life-changing event. In addition, McChord is a C-17 base, and it is not unusual to see the behemoth aircraft overflying Shady Acres a few hundred feet above pattern altitude.

Thun Field

To the east is the very busy, non-towered Thun Field. The airport has three flight schools, and it's not uncommon for their CFIs to bring their learners over to Shady Acres to practice short-field takeoffs and landings. 

When approaching from the south, pilots are warned to keep an eye out for road traffic because the short approach takes you over a city street that runs perpendicular to the runway. In the past, there was some discussion about putting the street into a tunnel, but that idea was rejected as cost prohibitive, so instead there are road signs warning of low flying aircraft. The pilots do their part by respecting the displaced threshold on the runway. 

The airport is not fenced off from the surrounding community. On occasion, there have been times when the aviation-impaired have come on to the property in cars and bikes and motorcycles and created a hazard by trespassing on the property and racing up and down the runway as if it was a drag strip. When this happens, often one of the residents will come out to let them know they are trespassing on an active runway.

The airpark is privately owned, but public use. The airport is a corporation and the homeowners are shareholders. They pay an annual fee toward airport upkeep and general maintenance. Because it is public use, pilots can fly in, but if they create a hazard or a nuisance, they are asked not to return. Occasionally, troublemakers are caught on video.

Living There

Suzy Omegna moved to Shady Acres four years ago before she had completed her private pilot certificate because she "wanted to live on an airport where I could fly by just taking a few steps from the front door."

The current residents are happy when they get new neighbors who are pilots. The greatest concern, Omegna says, is that shares may be sold to non-pilots, who might not see the value in the runway out their back door—until a Life Flight uses the airport for emergency flights and people see the value of the airport in the neighborhood.

The airport has been challenged before. In the early 2000s housewares giant IKEA announced plans to build a distribution center on 65 acres right off the extended centerline of Runway 34, resulting in encroachment of the airport overlay. The residents of Shady Acres hired an attorney and successfully fought the location. The distribution center was still built, but relocated so that it was no longer directly under the flight path of Runway 34.

Another challenge encountered by Shady Acres residents is when their non-flying neighbors see an airplane in the sky and automatically think it came from the airpark and the pilot is doing something unsafe or illegal.

Omegna tells a story of someone posting on a neighborhood app complaining about an airplane circling "2,000 feet overhead the pilot must have put it on autopilot—waiting for it to run out of gas" and worried that it was going to crash. Other neighbors chimed in, saying to call the FAA. A search of flightaware.com showed the airplane to be a Cessna 206 Stationair. A little more sleuthing revealed it was not someone from Shady Acres—it was law enforcement orbiting a traffic accident.

The post Shady Acres Turns 60 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For much of the time since, Stateler has been a part-time fly-in community resident alongside his wife, Chan, son, Logan, and their dog, Joey. At present, the family splits their time between a typical subdivision residence in Fort Worth, Texas, and a runway-adjacent home at Lost Mine Airpark (MO56) in Theodosia, Missouri.

Their choosing of this airpark over others in the country was the byproduct of a simple flight planning calculation, as well as an initial bout of hangar home heartbreak. 

“It’s a good story. I grew up in Pennsylvania on a windy lake in a mountain environment and kind of wanted to reproduce that with our child, who at the time was 1 [year old]. So, I took a sectional chart and made a two-hour circle around it,” Stateler recalled. 

“Then I said to myself, ‘Where in two hours can I find mountains, as well as a clear water lake that had airpark abilities.’” 

Out toward the upper portion of this range circle, the Missouri Ozarks were an option that Stateler thought could satisfy his wishes. After some searching, the couple found a property that they felt would be perfect. 

“We had originally bought a lot at an airpark that was in development on western Bull Shoals Lake. When we bought into that in 2007, they had dirt movers out, [and] had plowed a 5,000-foot area to build a runway and a fully plotted-out airpark.”

Stateler noted that the runway was never finished, and the airpark’s marketed vision never came to fruition. As a result, the family was flying their airplane into Branson and then driving an hour to get to their on-property cabin. “This was not the plan,” he added, recalling that they did the flight and driving combination for several years. 

Despite his initial airpark choice being a flop, Stateler wasn’t deterred from living alongside his aircraft. Fortunately, he was already familiar with a more than suitable backup option in the area. 

“You know, in 2007, I had also met with the president of the Lost Mine Airpark HOA and flew out there. It seemed good but we were being told a whole bunch of stuff about this new airpark, how much better it was going to be and we kind of bought off on it. And we regret that. During our seven years at the other place, Lost Mine was always in the back of my mind.” 

Since deciding to make the move to Lost Mine Airpark, Stateler has invested a lot of effort in the community’s continued success. He is now president of the HOA and owns several lots that he purchased from “the airpark matriarch,” Mary Newton, when she decided to move on from the community. Newton’s late husband, Grant Finley, was an initial driving force behind the community, which at the time was called the Ozark Country Estates. 

An original brochure (circa 1970s) from the development touted the ability for pilots and others to “get away from it all.” The ability to relax and take life a little slower has been attractive for Stateler and something that initially caught his attention about the community. 

The aforementioned four-page pamphlet for the residential airpark began by noting, “The day is bathed in sunlight filtered through a leafy screen that seems to always be kept in motion by delightful refreshing breezes. The lake is so clear and blue that you doubt at first that it can be real. Thousands of delightful caves await your exploration. The air is so free of pollution that the night sky sparkles with the light from a thousand stars that appear but an arm’s reach away. A home nestled in the quiet woods of these gently rolling Ozark hills can bring to you and your family a remarkable new ‘way of life’ whether for vacations or retirement.”

The name Lost Mine reportedly comes from a mining lease in the area that operated the majority of the 20th century. But there was no record of its owner on file. 

That said, “lost” isn’t such an uncommon phrase in the area, with little known residential treasures nestled along the lake’s hundreds of miles of shoreline and in its wooded areas.

“It’s a great place to be, but you got to want to be there. You’re not going to luck across it or come across it by accident. I kind of did, but through the sectional chart. But you’re not going to drive by it on accident or anything like that. You kind of have to know that it’s there and want to be remote,” Stateler said. 

With Lost Mine Airpark being on Bull Shoals Lake, ease of access to water sports of several kinds is a draw for many residents of the area. 

“I’m not sure where the term Caribbean of the Midwest started, but it has to do with the water here that is so clear. The lake that Lost Mine is on is the last in a chain of four lakes, so water starts in the White River and then goes into Beaver Lake. Then it goes into Table Rock, Taneycomo, and then it goes into Bull Shoals. It gets filtered so much through all of these lakes that Bull Shoals is a super clear water lake. There is a lot of diving there and some places to get certified,” Stateler explained. 

While the corporate pilot’s airpark experience changed course from his initial heading, Lost Mine has become more than a second place of residence. 

“We really fell in love with the area and the locals there. It’s different from one side of the lake to the other. It’s just a completely different class of people who are really friendly and everyone in the neighborhood has always been willing to help out with our transition. I have another ten years flying [for work] yet, but we are planning retirement at Lost Mine. There is a great group of folks, and we love it there.”

Stateler continued, noting that with his job’s schedule and an aircraft ownership transition it may not be until this fall that he flies back to the community, “We’ve been there for five years now and until a few weeks ago, until I sold it, the Twin Comanche has been our primary transport to the airpark. The market is hot right now and I had bought a Seneca last year to redo completely with a new interior and new avionics. I’m currently working on that now with my IA, but it’s a way bigger project than I had envisioned. But I wanted to get out of the Comanche in a high market.”

With an initial hangar home heartbreak, Stateler’s perseverance enabled him to experience the fruits of airpark living, albeit on a part-time basis. As a byproduct, he and his family may experience what original marketing materials for Old Country Estates touted, “When people come to Lost Mine, they come to stay.” 

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