Tailwind Traveler
FALMOUTH AIRPARK
It seems one of the best-kept secrets in New England aviation circles is the existence of a residential airpark community on Cape Cod. Falmouth Airpark, just south of the Otis AFB, was established in the mid-1980's. Developed from an airport established by the late William Gallagher in the late 1940's, presently there are some 59 homes arrayed around a park-like setting amongst pine and oak trees. Well manicured grass taxiways lead to a paved runway. The families living here enjoy a lifestyle centered around easy access to the air.
I have lived on the Falmouth Airpark about nine years. I was actually attracted here due to a number of factors that did not necessarily involve the Cape Cod location. Years ago I got involved in the restoration and maintenance of a variety of mostly antique aircraft. At that time I was living in California, and had a nice hangar about 12 minutes from my home. However, what I found was that I was rarely at home for my family. Whether working, or at the hangar, I was not "home".
As the father of two wonderful little girls, I realized that I did not want to miss out on enjoying their childhood years. What to do? I wanted to be able to pursue my airplane passion, and be home at the same time. Hmm……….how can I put my plane in my garage? The pursuit of an airport home was on.
Soon it became apparent that finding the right situation to fit the needs of everyone in the family, on an airport, is a very tough thing to do. My wife, Kathleen, and I looked at airport properties literally from one end of the country to the other. From Puget Sound to Florida, California to Cape Cod. In our case, the needs of our children were paramount: good schools and a safe environment. Many other issues arose specific to airport property and airparks.
Although one of my early ideas was to try to get enough land to have my own runway, problems with that idea soon came up. While some have made the concept work, the availability of land in anything other than remote areas was quite difficult. And, I came to see that even if the right situation was obtained, there would be the matter of maintenance of the property. I found upon investigation that the level of work necessary to maintain your own runway is rather challenging.
So, residential airpark communities seemed to make sense. The expense of the land for the runway and taxiways were shared, along with the maintenance burden. Soon we found other issues to be concerned about, principal amongst which are the ownership of an airpark's runway, taxiways, and roads. Often a developer retains ownership of those areas, with a promise to maintain the airport. What if he changes his mind? Or, more often, the developer passes away and the heirs have different ideas about what that land might be used for. This scenario has adversely affected two friends of mine living in different communities. It is a serious bummer to have a hangar home that no longer is connected to a runway!
So, some kind of joint ownership seemed important. There are a myriad of schemes to give a measure of comfort to the homeowners. One of the more creative means is at an airpark in Oregon, where each lot owner was deeded a square yard somewhere in the middle of the runway!
More commonly, some kind of homeowners association is formed to own the common areas, with each homeowner holding a share in the association. With accepted and binding covenants and articles of organization, serious differences on the uses of the common property are minimized.
So, what's it like to live on an airport? I recently had the opportunity to give a ride to a distinguished gentleman and his wife around the Cape and Islands. Bob had been a general officer in the USAF, and had an incredible flying resume. While they had not flown in quite awhile, the couple looked forward to the ride. I met them at the fueling area at the Airpark, and we took off to see all of the area, from Nantucket to Race Point to Plymouth. After landing, I taxied directly to my "garage". From the reaction of my passengers, I realized I had been taking the wonder of this lifestyle too casually. Bob simply could not get over how incredible it was to have this kind of access to the air!
Our residents can decide to take wing and be in the air within minutes. A thought to fly to the Islands for lunch? Let's go. We can be at Katama sitting on the veranda at Whoosie's in ten minutes. If the mood hits to go shoot a few landings, you can jump out and take advantage of a fine evening.
If homebuilding or aircraft restoration is your thing, how wonderful it is to walk out your kitchen door directly to the hangar. Not only is it possible to be home while working on your aircraft, you can walk out to tinker for a few free minutes anytime you want. If a half hour was free, let's say, could you get in your car to drive to your hangar on a municipal airport and do something productive?
For the serious airplane nut, the situation is ideal. But what about the rest of the family? The Cape is well known for our beaches and boating. Both are available within five minutes of the Airpark, as is a golf course. Falmouth is a wonderful town, unique and picturesque. Our children have received wonderful educations thanks to the dedicated teachers and administrators in the Falmouth public school system. Shopping is close at hand, both in Falmouth and in nearby Mashpee. On the Airpark, there are social opportunities for the retired set, and we have a safe, family-friendly environment as well.
While the original developer sold out their lots a few years ago, some re-sales are available from time to time, of both lots and homes. As previously mentioned, 59 homes are completed at the Airpark, and another 34 lots remain undeveloped. An interesting phenomena should be mentioned here. Most residential airparks are developed as a subdivision of lots, and rarely are there developments that offer completed homes. As a consequence, initially a prospective buyer has to have a great deal of faith, and/or vision, in what the completed development will look like. Sometimes that can be quite difficult. After enough homes have been completed, then the character of the community is more easily discerned. Falmouth Airpark was initially inadequately marketed, in my opinion, and the developer poorly understood their potential customers. While it was initially thought to be a vacation-home development, the majority of the houses here are upscale year-round residences. Today the development speaks for itself.
If this lifestyle sounds appealing to you, come on down and take a look around. Falmouth Airpark (5B6) has a lighted, hard-surface, 2300' runway that should be more than adequate for a proficient pilot. Be aware that the airport is restricted to aircraft under 5000 pound MTOGW, and there are no night transient operations. We are also easily reached off of highways 151 and 28.
For further information you can reach me at (508) 274-1128, or burnmcc@aol.com.
By Bill McClure