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How can you search for an aviation community ?

dsmithlib

dsmithlib

Active Member
We plan to move from our snowy midwest home in the next few years and have begun shopping. I am RV7 homebuilder and as such have a couple of priorities. My strategy is locate one or two areas and then shop for the right home.
On an airport OR within 10 minutes of a vital community airport
An active aviation community - EAA chapter
With our own kind..... we are not celebrities and will never own a twin or a jet
Easy access to hangars
Less than 45 minutes to a mid-sized city with commercial air
Known assessments and tax rate
Well south of IL
I am looking to narrow my search by trying to find the target areas. There are many very good realtors but they usually have an interest in a specific area which they sell hard.
I have not been able come up with a good airport locator that allows me to figure some of this out.
Does anyone know where something like this might exist ?
Thanks.......
 
Augusta, Georgia....

......has a very active EAA chapter 172, about a 10 minute drive south of town with our own airstrip and hangars.

Nearby is Bush field with Delta and US air service. The Savannah river provides a lot of entertainment, fishing, skiing, etc and about 30 minutes north, Strom Thurmond lake on the Savannah river, a 70,000 acre lake with homesites available on its 1200 mile shoreline.

Temps in the winter sometimes get below freezing and Augusta is also home to the Masters golf tournament. Just across the river, in South Carolina, is an airpark named Twin Lakes with homesites available.

Best,
 
Texas has hundreds (if not thousands) of RV'ers, and the Hill Country is gorgeous if you're tired of the Midwest. I have an airpark lot for sale that is in a beautiful country setting yet only 15 miles north of San Antonio International. There are lots of airpark choices in Texas, not a lot of available lots, but they are out there. See my signature block if you want to know more about Kestrel Airpark.

(Shameless plug, I know....)

Paul
 
pierre smith said:
...... The Savannah river provides a lot of entertainment, fishing, skiing, etc and about 30 minutes north, Strom Thurmond lake on the Savannah river, a 70,000 acre lake with homesites available on its 1200 mile shoreline.st,
Click to expand...

That's about 1 and 1/2 times the shoreline that California has........:eek: Must be a big lake.
 
Pecan Plantation

Check this one out. 80 miles SW of DFW Int. EAA 983. 20+ RV's several Lancairs, Glassairs, Lots of spam cans. 2nd airpark under construction. Don't come here if you don't like fun. Fly-in June 12th. Check out EAA 983 web site
 
I've spent many, many hours browsing all the aviation real estate websites and contemplating my next move. I've also visited a number of fly-in communtities in Texas.

You really need to narrow down your search to which States meet your needs and make a list of other important factors. Such as proximity to family, affordability and other non-aviation factors.

As others have mentioned, Texas has a lot to offer: quite a few airparks, no state income tax, winters that aren't too terrible (except maybe this year) and no hurricanes.

Florida is another no income tax state. Weather is a bit milder then Texas but more T-storms in the summer. From what I've found the airpark homes cost more in FL then in TX but there a lot of good GA airports in FL with affordable homes nearby. Hurricanes are a concern.

I agree with Gary that Pecan Plantation is great. I'd move there if it were just closer to a big city (have to make the wife happy). There are a number of other airpark communities not far from Dallas/Ft. Worth.

If you're going to check out Texas, Georgetown is worth considering. You can get a nice house that's a 10-15 min drive to the airport. Not too far from the big city of Austin.
 
Rick_A said:
Texas has a lot to offer: ....and no hurricanes.
Click to expand...

I'd say Texas hurricanes are rare, but can happen. Reference that little Ike thingie that came rambling through Houston last year, plus Rita thru Beaumont and E TX in 2005.
 
jbDC9 said:
Reference that little Ike thingie that came rambling through Houston last year, plus Rita thru Beaumont and E TX in 2005.
Click to expand...

Yep, wasn't thinking of the Gulf Coast. I guess the difference is that all of FL is a target for Hurricanes.:eek:
 
We chose Las Vegas

after two years searching the country in the motorhome for the perfect airpark. The only area we didn't cover was the South East. No-Seeums eat me up. :(

In general, we found lots of airparks that were affordable, but in the boonies, and lots that were in or near a larger city, but big $$. Today's housing prices might be a help there, but watch out for the tax situation. In my search, I found great prices in Texas for airpark homes, but high property taxes.

Las Vegas has a nice reliever airport in Henderson just at the south end of town, adjacent to an upper scale development with great prices these days. Quite a few hangars for rent or sale, but probably not as cheap as the houses. Boulder City is a quiet town just SE of Vegas with a nice airport with hangar availability too.

Lots of great flying weather here. HOT in the summer, but with RV climb rates, it's not too bad. Great the rest of the year.

Keep your airspeed up,
 
There are many airparks in Florida worth considering. The hurricane angle is overplayed. For example, prior to the big hurricane year, SW FL had not seen a hurricane in over 40 years and had a lower risk of hurricane hits than Atlantic City. It quieted back down after that also. I've lived on this airpark for over 20 years. The big issue with many airparks is whether the folks get along with each other or not. Pilots, by their very nature tend to be confident, take charge folks. Too many chiefs can be an issue as can wealthy fliers living with frugal fliers. The aviation caste system can also come into play. When you research communities ask about conflicts, lawsuits, etc. Do the folks fly places together and socialize? Are there active homebuilders, etc? The houses, planes and toys can be nice but the biggest upside to airparks is living and flying with friends that share the same interests. Tom

http://buckinghamairpark.tripod.com/
 
Come to Charlotte,NC

Great cosmopolitan city. City feel with small town charm. Thriving economy.
LOW taxes, Moderate climate. Affordable housing. Escape the heat/hurricanes of FL, and cold of the north.
Beach is 3 hours away, mountains are 2 hours away.
Lots of area airparks. Very active EAA chapter 309.
Charlotte birthplace of Nascar and Nascar hall of fame. HQ to several banks.
The country's only 4 lane professional drag strip. Z-max raceway.
Charlotte home of NFL team Carolina Panthers.
Lots of college and professional sports.
Lots of cultural venues and museums.
Very active and awesome downtown
USairways hub. Direct flights to 400 destinations.
Very manageable traffic, low crime, low gas price, southern hospitality, Best BBQ and fried chicken in the world.
Friendly people. Lake living nearby. 2 airparks on lake.
you will love it.

check out.
www.eaa309.org

Check out site below. Real estate info just for airparks.
www.nc-airparks.com.
 
one more way

One additional way is to do an advanced search on your MLS type websites and use Airpark as a keyword.

In texas you use HAR.com
In west coast you can use MLSlistings.com
I am sure Florida has there own MLS type of search engine.

A few airparks I like are
Cameron Park near sacramento, CA - Hey it's CA, the weather is great and the bugs are low
Polly ranch here in Houston - good RV range to fly to anywhere in the US and no income tax.

I am sure I would have a much bigger list if I could afford to retire and live in an airpark.
 
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