Residents of Residential Airparks(?)

Man, I think I got lucky. Our air park is a mix of aviation enthusiasts, who all have runway-abutting hangar homes, and lake-loving lake view homes. Everyone is bought into the lifestyle. Yes, most are older than me, but only by 10 years or so. There’s a mix of full-time residents and weekend warriors. All of the full time folks are on the runway, and all actively fly. Our paved runway is only 1900’, so we all fly the relatively same types of planes (experimental, Cessnas, Mooney… no turboprops). Homes are actively being built now, so it’s fun to meet the new folks as they come in.
 
mandm said:
At time of purchase or what? Sounds like an attempt at a wannabe Ken (Karen’s husband).
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It was my response to the observation from another poster that a requirement for a medical certificate excludes Sport Pilots.

It’s a good idea, though. Airparks are first and foremost airports. If non-pilots become the majority, or even a sizable enough and vocal minority, that could lead to closure of the runway. If a resident loses their medical or otherwise gives up flying, they should be able to stay. But new buyers should be active pilots.
 
30 days ago I purchased a home with hangar at Belair Estates C77, its always been a life long dream. C77 is a great community with lots of activity, sometimes I feel like it’s barn storming days around here. The home I purchased was indeed dated but I’m a handy guy willing to take the challenge. I know some here got older, lost medical and sold the plane but they are still welcome living in their home and active with the flying community and museum. Every day after I wake I ask my wife to pinch me just to make sure I’m not dreaming. It’s truly amazing to come back from a trip and taxi to your house or wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and walk out your back door and into my hangar….
 
We've had pretty good relations with the non-airpark neighbors at NC26. We generally open up our social stuff to the community. People come hang out on our runway and watch the fireworks shot off from across the lake. Kids ride their bikes on our private roads, etc...

The only kerfuffle I can recall in the time I was here was someone who claimed airplanes were flying low over them on the lake well removed from our airpark. I had to point out that there are several airports right on the lake and lots very close by and there's no guarantee that the plane was one of our residents. I told them I would put out an email to our residents asking people to be considerate and that if they had anything approaching positive ID (N number or a picture or something), I'd help trace down who it was. Never heard back.

We have a few non-aviation residents (though one of them has two adult children that have moved into the airpark subsequently and both of those fly) and he's taken to keeping our runway in good condition. The other holds out that maybe he'd fly someday but currently, he's a car guy (nad two of his daughters are race car drivers which is why they moved to our area).
 
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