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, numbering over 700 worldwide with most in the U.S., offer aviation enthusiasts a unique lifestyle where flying is integrated into daily life with convenient access to a runway and a strong sense of community among like-minded neighbors.
These communities provide numerous benefits, including shared passion, mutual assistance for aircraft maintenance, and the convenience of having one's plane at home.
Airparks vary greatly in size and amenities, ranging from expansive, amenity-rich developments like Spruce Creek (the world's largest) and Pecan Plantation to smaller, more secluded communities offering specific environmental advantages like mountain access, riverfront living, or proximity to lakes.
Many airparks emphasize a tight-knit community feel, with residents actively participating in social events and supporting each other's aviation interests.

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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.”