Airparks: Home Is Where the Hangar Is

Unique spots offer pilots coveted chance to live alongside their planes.

Grant Boyd

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

Pecan Plantation, a master-planned development, covers 4,200 acres and consists of two airparks in Texas. [Credit: Gustav Schmiege Photography/Patten Properties]

Key Takeaways:

Residential airparks offer a unique lifestyle where flying is integrated into daily life, providing direct runway access from homes and fostering strong communities among aviation enthusiasts.
The "Living With Your Plane" directory catalogs 710 airparks globally, primarily in the U.S. (Texas, Florida, and Washington having the most), with only Hawaii currently lacking one.
These communities exhibit significant diversity in size, amenities, and geographical settings, ranging from the world's largest, amenity-rich "cities within cities" like Spruce Creek (FL) and Pecan Plantation (TX), to smaller, scenic retreats and those offering combined aviation and outdoor recreation opportunities (e.g., The Refuge AirRanch in WY, Abel Island in IA, Discovery Bay in MO).

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For many, living at a residential airpark with a plane of their own in the hangar is the ultimate aviation goal. Those who live at a fly-in community integrate flying into their daily lives, sharing the spoils of flight with like-minded neighbors.

Ben Sclair has been documenting airparks for more than three decades and followed in the footsteps of his father Dave, who moved the Sclair family to Shady Acres Airport (3B8) in Spanaway, Washington, shortly before creating the Living With Your Plane (livingwithyourplane.com) directory. This resource maps current and anticipated fly-in communities across the country and defines an airpark as a “runway surrounded by residential property where there’s two or more lots with deeded legal access to that common airstrip.”