But what about the flying part?

For what seems like years now I've been mulling over a dillema.

I love aviation, I know the kind of basic 'around the patch, low and slow' kind of flying I'm most attracted to, I know Sport Pilot fits that mission well with the kind of flying and type of aircraft that ticket allows. I know I can't afford a new LSA and probably very few of the very used ones. I'm very mechanically oriented, good with tools and have always wanted to build and fly my own airplane. I live in a city but have a big enough garage to build in. I even know an affordable home built that I will most likely build (Hummel H5).

So, get a Sport Pilot license (I would love to go through the EAA Sport Pilot Academy), ok, build an airplane, ok..........then what? How and where to fly? Here lies the dilemma. The design of the home built I'm interested in allows for removal of the wings, so every time I want to fly I could tow it to an airport, however, I've been told doing so gets old fast and soon becomes a hassle. A hanger, or even tie down fees at my closest airports are very prohibitively expensive and the airspace and surrounding area leaves very little in the way of around the patch flying in a small aircraft I want to do. So, back to, got a license, got a little airplane, now what?

I could find a small airport within a few hours drive and see if I could keep the aircraft there, but I would imagine that drive would become very, very long after awhile. I could join a flying club or rent every time I want to fly, around the city, but that doesn't sound attractive at all.

I've even been contemplating trying to find the combination of a rural, out in the sticks property that also has clear uncontrolled airspace to fly in. Clear a small airstrip, erect a cheap structure to keep the airplane in and drive out to the property for a week at a time while living in my camper (yes, I'm that desperate).

I'm retired, but before I invest the time and money into getting my SPL and building an airplane I would like to find an answer to the third question.

Any ideas?

Move out of California? :rollseyes:

There's a current thread over on the homebuiltairplanes.com forums about building a private airstrip in CA. Suffice to say it's a nightmare.

A plane that has easy (10 minute) wing folding like a Kolb or Kitfox isn't a big deal to do it every time. If you have to actually remove the wings, then you probably won't fly much. When I had my Kolb, I stored it with the wings folded in an enclosed trailer at the airport, paying the $65 outside tiedown fee, and I flew a lot (several times a week in the good weather). But if I had to trailer it to the airport every time, that would be a different story. I did trailer it home for the winter to save on tiedown fees, and trailered it on the occasional nice day in the winter.

Or consider a PPG, which you can carry around in the trunk of your car and fly from nearly any field.

Hi Dana, thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Ya, removable, not folding wings. I'd also like to build a Sonex Onex one reason being the folding wings, but it's cost prohibitive.

Thought about a PPG or even an Ultralight.

And yes, leaving California is a possibility.

Come on over to Arizona where land is available and the airspace is wide open.

http://www.azairparks.com

http://azpilots.org/pilot-info/airparks-of-arizona

A bit unclear. Is your 3rd question "what flying can I do where I am" or "how can I find a remote piece of land on which to build a runway"?

If the first, I kind of had the same experience back in the early '80's. I obtained my PPL, but then just let the flying drop off. No place to go, no one to see, and while just flying around burning dead dinosaurs, it didn't meet my needs. Let it drop. Family, obligations drove the nail in the coffin.

Fast forward to 2002. Neighbor took me flying and got me current. He had a bunch of friends, and we'd all go on burger joints, pancake fly-ins, etc. Then I joined EAA. Camaraderie is the best thing to get you in the air. Go places, even if they're only 50 miles away. The gentle nag of a "oh, c'mon, join us up at XYZ field in the morning..." makes it hard to resist.

If your question is more along the lines of where to find a strip of land, I'd advise against it. Personally, I'd love to do the same thing. However, after I built my Sonex, the only airport with decent hangars was 31 miles away, with no easy way to get there other than interstate. And, in DFW, any interstate at rush hour is a 1 hr trip for 31 miles. Quickly became a pain to get there and hang out / fiddle without bumping into rush hour. Staying on your property for a week may work, but, again, flying around by yourself with no camaraderie gets lonely after weeks of doing the same ol' same ol'.....

Thanks guys.

My original plan was to live on a property with its own runway (like a gazillion other pilot wannabes no doubt). However, after allot of research I think Carl is right, pretty much a pipe dream.

Guns, funny you should mention AZ. Years ago my parents lived in Payson, I love the high desert. I used to love to go the the airport Cafe, have a meal, watch the airplanes and fantasize about living there. They have a number of airpark homes including what looks online to be a new 41 home airpark development in progress. Driving around I once saw an airpark home there for sale. Probably 3500sq. ft. with hanger/garage and road/taxiway to the airport. Back then it was $300k, that's peanuts in So. Cal. real-estate terms, same home and property would have been $1M bucks! Don't what prices are nowadays. I'd also have to consider me being a new pilot in an home built LSA at that airport, if Id be welcomed, dealing with changing weather and density altitude (5100 ft).

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Originally Posted by Mike A

Thanks guys.

My original plan was to live on a property with its own runway (like a gazillion other pilot wannabes no doubt). However, after allot of research I think Carl is right, pretty much a pipe dream.

Guns, funny you should mention AZ. Years ago my parents lived in Payson, I love the high desert. I used to love to go the the airport Cafe, have a meal, watch the airplanes and fantasize about living there. They have a number of airpark homes including what looks online to be a new 41 home airpark development in progress. Driving around I once saw an airpark home there for sale. Probably 3500sq. ft. with hanger/garage and road/taxiway to the airport. Back then it was $300k, that's peanuts in So. Cal. real-estate terms, same home and property would have been $1M bucks! Don't what prices are nowadays. I'd also have to consider me being a new pilot in an home built LSA at that airport, if Id be welcomed, dealing with changing weather and density altitude (5100 ft).

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I'm not in that stage of my life yet, or even close, but if you have the funds and flexibility and flying is a high priority for your retired life I think you can find a solution! Especially if you're willing to move, I think you can absolutely find an option that works. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Eric Cernjar

I'm not in that stage of my life yet, or even close, but if you have the funds and flexibility and flying is a high priority for your retired life I think you can find a solution! Especially if you're willing to move, I think you can absolutely find an option that works. Good luck!

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Hi Eric.

Just trying to set in place some kind of 'flight plan' for the future. I know what level ticket and where I want to get my training (you do to :) ), which LSA I want to home build, now I'd like to determine where I'm going to store and fly it.

it would be nice, but not necessary, to know all three before I get the whole ball rolling. I am considering that during the months of training and building I'll be coming in contact with allot of people and different organizations which may lead to may open up possibilities.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike A

For what seems like years now I've been mulling over a dillema.

I love aviation, I know the kind of basic 'around the patch, low and slow' kind of flying I'm most attracted to, I know Sport Pilot fits that mission well with the kind of flying and type of aircraft that ticket allows. I know I can't afford a new LSA and probably very few of the very used ones. I'm very mechanically oriented, good with tools and have always wanted to build and fly my own airplane. I live in a city but have a big enough garage to build in. I even know an affordable home built that I will most likely build (Hummel H5).

So, get a Sport Pilot license (I would love to go through the EAA Sport Pilot Academy), ok, build an airplane, ok..........then what? How and where to fly? Here lies the dilemma. The design of the home built I'm interested in allows for removal of the wings, so every time I want to fly I could tow it to an airport, however, I've been told doing so gets old fast and soon becomes a hassle. A hanger, or even tie down fees at my closest airports are very prohibitively expensive and the airspace and surrounding area leaves very little in the way of around the patch flying in a small aircraft I want to do. So, back to, got a license, got a little airplane, now what?

I could find a small airport within a few hours drive and see if I could keep the aircraft there, but I would imagine that drive would become very, very long after awhile. I could join a flying club or rent every time I want to fly, around the city, but that doesn't sound attractive at all.

I've even been contemplating trying to find the combination of a rural, out in the sticks property that also has clear uncontrolled airspace to fly in. Clear a small airstrip, erect a cheap structure to keep the airplane in and drive out to the property for a week at a time while living in my camper (yes, I'm that desperate).

I'm retired, but before I invest the time and mone.y into getting my SPL and building an airplane I would like to find an answer to the third question.

Any ideas?

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Don't discount any of your options as they are all workable with a little modification.

BTW, I like the Hummel H5 as well and I have the luxury of living 45 min from Bryan, OH. 😀

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Originally Posted by martymayes

Don't discount any of your options as they are all workable with a little modification.

BTW, I like the Hummel H5 as well and I have the luxury of living 45 min from Bryan, OH. 

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Thanks Marty, nice little town Bryan is. Back in 2003 at the end of a week at AirVenture I drove an RV down to Bryan to spend a couple days at the Hummel Aviation factory (I was lucky enough to spend some time with the great Morry Hummel). Great group of guys at Hummel and I've maintained contact with them.

I'm in a similar place with the paucity of rentable LSA's and the rarity and expense of hangars here in Silicon Valley. I have worked out a temporary solution. 1) I stay with my sister in SW Ohio for two or three weeks in the spring and in the fall. This puts me within 20 minutes of the delightful Red Steward airfield where I rent Cubs and Champs ( for peanuts ) and fly every day. 2) This August I also spent two weeks in Columbus flying a Flight Design CTLS while renting lodging through AIRBNB --- to return next spring.

At the Stewart's I can only fly in circles ( they had a problem with a renter who damaged a Cub, returned it and didn't tell anybody about it. ) I do stick and rudder air work, explore the Dayton / Cincinnati / Kentucky region low and slow, and I just never seem to tire of flying around and around the pattern in pursuit of that perfect 3-point greaser.

In Columbus (schedule willing ) I'm free to rent over several nights and at 110+ knots cruise it's possible to explore America's East. The airspace in that region is busy, complicated, and a ton of fun in a high-performance aircraft with all the bells and whistles I could hope for. This year I'm expanding my checked-out airports to Florida and finally found a Champ for rent here in San Jose.

This isn't the ideal deal and I have had a couple out-of-the-box notions. I only have one-two-maybe five more years left to be a pilot. Buying a plane and storing it all winter back in Ohio or Ky, then wandering around the country for a few months is one idea. Many people have suggested getting a partner and passing the plane back an forth every few months. Good luck to you. Want to go in on an LSA for a couple years?
Russ in Mountain View, Ca

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Originally Posted by Mike A

Hi Eric.

Just trying to set in place some kind of 'flight plan' for the future. I know what level ticket and where I want to get my training (you do to :) ), which LSA I want to home build, now I'd like to determine where I'm going to store and fly it.

it would be nice, but not necessary, to know all three before I get the whole ball rolling. I am considering that during the months of training and building I'll be coming in contact with allot of people and different organizations which may lead to may open up possibilities.

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Might be worth talking to a few chapters near you as well, if anyone is dialed into the options for flying/storing locally they would be!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eric Cernjar

Might be worth talking to a few chapters near you as well, if anyone is dialed into the options for flying/storing locally they would be!

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With the area he is in, this is a great bit of advice. So many option in his area, or within a 50 - 75 mile radius.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eric Cernjar

Might be worth talking to a few chapters near you as well, if anyone is dialed into the options for flying/storing locally they would be!

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Thats a great suggestion actually.

I mainly brought this question up because I think it's the hardst part. With some studying you can get your Pilots ticket, with some skill you can build your airplane, but, other than where you built it, there's not always somewhere to store it or a location close enough to fly it. Airport restrictions, hanger and tie down fees can be prohibitive. Hauling your aircraft to a location and putting the wings on every time you want to fly can get old. Just planning solutions.

Look for a hangar mate to share space/costs at an uncontrolled airport.