by Engineer Designer on February 15, 2014
Hidden Valley Airpark is located just north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in northern Texas. It sports a 2650’ x 35’ asphalt runway and has a 500 foot overrun on the south and. The CTAF is 122.9 and this frequency also acts as the switch to turn on the runway lighting. In case of IFR weather the airport is only 8 miles West- Northwest of the Denton municipal Airport which has a full IFR landing system.
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The community has 125+ sites of which, as of this writing in early 2014, 17 are currently available for sale. It is a gated community with over 100 acres of common area. It's 25 minutes north of the Dallas Fort Worth airport in near Denton Texas. This community is actually in the town of Shady Shores and given its country location has property taxes lower than surrounding cities. It’s near restaurants and shopping and within 2 miles of a 27,000 acre lake called Lake Lewisville.
All lots are one acre plus and many have trees. The neighborhood has been here for about 40 years and has construction dating from as recently as one year ago. For those with horses, there is a 25 acre horse pasture and a set of stables on the property.
As is common in many many flying communities, the airplanes and cars share the same roads/taxiways. This is easy to manage with a simple rule that airplanes always have right-of-way. The runway is centrally located to the neighborhood and is buffered from the various homes.
I have looked at many of the homes in the area and can tell you that this is a neighborhood of diverse architecture which is a definite plus point for any looking to get away from the typical boxy homes. Homes range in style from stone two-story, to contemporary, to very simple one-story structures. According to their website, hangers may be on the property with the home or may be placed in common areas.
This community has been around since 1965 - one of the the more mature communities of its kind in the county. It began with a 600 foot above sea level grass strip which was used by an individual in his aerial photography business. Since then, the neighborhood has grown to some 90 families and only 2 of the original founders are still associated with the property. While starting out with approximately 10 acres today there are over 300 acres that are owned by the Hidden Valley Airpark Association.
All in all, this is an excellent community which has matured into a well designed, well managed Airpark. It is uniquely located near the fast-paced metropolis of Dallas-Fort Worth but is far enough away to have the advantages of a small town.
Fly-in communities are unique, when compared with any other kinds of neighborhoods in the country, with a shared camaraderie and a shared love for a single passion of aviation. Even the most divergent set of people find common ground and common interests and friendship aligned around this common interest.
If you are considering where to set up house with your airplane, you should check out Hidden Valley. Their website is
www.hiddenvalleyairpark.org.
by Engineer Designer on February 8, 2014
Piney Creek Airpark is a residential aviation community located in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. It is located in the largest remaining forest and plateau in the continental United States.
It consists of a 303 acre residential development, surrounded by a hardwood forest, centered around a 3000’ x 50’ wide paved, private runway with an additional thousand feet of cleared area on either end. There’s a three-quarter mile private road which meanders to the property. The home sites are naturally wooded and range in size from 2 to 6 acres.
It is near South Cumberland State Recreation Area and one is in the midst of the activities and excitement that can only be found in this part of the United States. The area surrounding the Piney Creek Airpark is rich with history and tradition. There are dozens of waterfalls, hundreds of miles of hiking and backtracking trails (70 miles of which are in the South Cumberland State Recreation Area), caves, historic towns and even is near a quaint English village and one of the best liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Lots each will have their own well sporting clean, cool mountain water. Electric and phone lines (including high-speed Internet) are all underground.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the website:
http://pineycreekairpark.com/ and by contacting the developer at 877-835-9722.
As one who loves the mountains in the Tennessee and North Carolina area, I was struck by the beauty of this Airpark. It is nestled among the hills and the beautiful settings of the Appalachian Mountains and if you have a hankering to live in that area, this would be a beautiful choice.
by Engineer Designer on February 8, 2014
Ridge Landing Airpark sits near Frostproof, Florida about an hour’s drive from both Tampa and Orlando. It consists of 99 sites, running from 1 to 2 acres each, with grass taxiways and a 3000 foot long by 60 foot wide paved runway. It is a gated community and is unique in the fact that an attempt has been made to separate airplane and ground vehicle traffic. communities allow the aircraft and cars to share the same taxiways working out a right-of-way system as needed. This generally works well but it could be argued that there is an advantage to separating the two functions. At Ridge Landing they have worked this out.
It is a well-planned community with covenants requiring that the hangers and homes be of the same material to maintain the look and feel of the nice residential neighborhood. Home sizes must be a minimum of 2500 ft.² with 3000 ft.² minimum under roof.
Ridge Landing not only serves as a residential community but also supports general aviation by offering flight lessons, airplane rentals and even rentals and vacation property. For those who have an interest in flying to Florida in their airplane and parking it in a vacation home and then taking in many of the Florida attractions, this can be an excellent opportunity.
The property is near Crooked Lake which serves as an excellent platform for amphibious aircraft. There’s even a small one bedroom, one bath cottage on the lake with storage facilities for airplanes and floats.
They have an excellent website you can visit at
www.ridgelandingairpark.com. For questions on the phone you can reach them at 800-701-0781 extension 8000.
From my perspective this appears to be an extremely well-planned and well executed community which is actively promoting its own existence and functions which, I believe, helps lend to an active and exuberant community. The aviation lifestyle of living in an airpark community is not only unique in the fact that pilots can live with their airplanes, but is unique in the camaraderie and the friendship that develops among the entire group of residents. Before moving to my own residential community I lived in many neighborhoods. All of them pale, when it comes to community spirit and community activities, to those factors that one will experience living in a fly in community.
If you are looking for a place to share residence with your airplane and want to be in Florida, you should take a look at Ridge Landing.
