The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Heflin wrote:Here's mine sporting a new growth of wheat.

Wow.

You guys make me so envious when I spot your airfields below. Please tell me how awful it is mowing, maintaining equipment and paying taxes on your field.

I've always wanted a strip, but I'm thinking that window may have closed for me. Going forward maintaining it might one day be beyond my capabilities. Thanks Bruce for giving me a few outs.

This is my dream too. I would want it to be at least 1500' long with good approaches on both ends. I would want to open it up for people to come visit, and possibly allow a few small hangars to be built on the property. I imagine that insurance and liability might be an issue with opening it up to the public.

For you folks with your own strips, what do the rest of us need to know about the legal aspects of having such a strip?

With all the airports that are closing it would be nice to see a few new ones open up!

Couple pictures of VA99. Located on the Northern Neck of Virginia. Bordered by The Chesapeake to the East, Potomac River to the North, and The Little Wicomico River to the South. 2nd pic on final in the Stinson. 3rd pic taxing to South end for departure.
Mike Roe

C170U2 wrote:With all the airports that are closing it would be nice to see a few new ones open up!

Check out The Recreational Aviation Foundation http://theraf.org. They've been doing great work the past few years, working with public land managers to keep backcountry runways open and getting recreational use statute laws passed to indemnify private runway owners, allowing them to open the runways for more people to use.

C170U2 wrote:This is my dream too. I would want it to be at least 1500' long with good approaches on both ends. I would want to open it up for people to come visit, and possibly allow a few small hangars to be built on the property. I imagine that insurance and liability might be an issue with opening it up to the public.

For you folks with your own strips, what do the rest of us need to know about the legal aspects of having such a strip?

With all the airports that are closing it would be nice to see a few new ones open up!

Mine is a long narrow pasture for long narrow cows....what? an airstrip?

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote:
Wow.

You guys make me so envious when I spot your airfields below. Please tell me how awful it is mowing, maintaining equipment and paying taxes on your field.

Bruce,

Economically owning your own strip makes no sense. When you look at the costs off building the runway, a hanger, equipment, etc... you can pay A LOT of hanger rent. I've run the numbers, and it just doesn't work out. But when has owning an airplane ever made economic sense?!

I grew up on a grass strip and put up with all the maintenance, work, etc... and I can tell you firsthand it is absolutely worth it. Reasons include, but are not limited too, the following:

1. You fly more. The airport may be right down the road, but that's still 2 car trips, and that's a mental stopper. When you live there, you think nothing of pushing out and buzzing around for 20 minutes.
2. It's so much easier on your family. Where's Dad? In the hanger. Need him? Go get him. No cell phones, no driving there or home. The kids can come hang out, your wife knows where you are, all your tools are there when you need to fix something, etc.... No guilt about leaving to work on the plane or go flying because you aren't going anywhere.
3. It totally warps your children....in a good way. It freaked out our friends, but we didn't think anything of coming home and finding an airplane in the front yard undergoing a wash job.
4. Peace of mind. I have a great hanger at a great airport with low rent...today. But I am only 1 or 2 idiot airport board members away from that all going to heck. If a couple people get on there and decide that they can get 4x the rent that they "heard" the airport in town is getting, or if they cave to nimbys and severely restrict the airport, now what? Sounds a little far fetched but similar problems are cropping up at the airport I work at (NOT where I keep my plane).
5. Airplanes like the 170 just fly better off grass. It's what they were designed for.

It's not for everyone, for sure, but if you can do it I'd highly recommend it. You won't regret it.

DEM

DEM-
Very well said!

We don't have any kids but if I did, that would be the main reaon for having the plane at home, to pass-on the love of flying to the next generation. Everything else would be secondary.

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote:

Heflin wrote:Here's mine sporting a new growth of wheat.

Wow.

You guys make me so envious when I spot your airfields below. Please tell me how awful it is mowing, maintaining equipment and paying taxes on your field.

Bruce
Just all depends on on what you want. Our place in Texas (TA66) I will have less than 250k invested in our hangar/home. It's modest but very doable 2bd/2bath apt inside the hangar. The runway is in a "Trust" and I pay all of $150.00 (thats the whole bill) in taxes per year. Yes I have to mow the runway which takes me 1 hour per time, 20 times a year at the very most at $100/hour is $2000 a year. So it can be done rather in expensively but just depends on where you want to live and your standards of living. We looked long and hard to find the spot that we liked....ask Richard and Ina
By the way... I think I'm gonna sell your barrel of oil up here in MinneSOta ..... I really don't want to move it to Texas

W.

Willie-
You forgot the pictures! Luckily I have some from our recent Anchorage to Florida trip in the Maule.

Thanks Richard for the PICS
Can't wait to see you guys again

Can we go raise hell with George again someday?


W.

I always wanted a runway out my back door. I had the opportunity to live about 400 yrds from a 2000 ft grass strip so I oped to pay monthly rent rather than do my own strip. I assisted the owner by mowing the runway and doing other chores. I soon realized that I was much better off paying hangar rent than making the investment in equipment, bldgs, (hangars) and upkeep. Of course I was too close to not do this. Although I still think living in a residential airpark "can" be ideal if its the right one. Its fun to have your neighbors be airplane people and having friends to visit with and help each other. Nothing like walking out the back door to that hangar. I am now at a municipal airport and fortunately my plane is less than 3 miles from my house. While it would be nice to have that hangar in my back yard, I am happy to let the city maintain all of the required bldgs, fuel supply, runway, etc.

My home airport used to be 3 miles away and I loved it.
Small strip surrounded by corn fields in the middle of the Washington DC madness.
We moved to Virginia and the closest airport is Leesbugh, a 4,000 foot regional jet alternative to Dulles...25 miles away.
I greatly underestimated how much I'd miss having easy access to a little airport

I was 3.7 miles from W88 at my parents', and I'm 3.8 miles now. I'm very lucky that the airport is so close to the house.

I could do 4 miles but I'd rather not base out of Dulles