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:

Airparks are residential communities designed for aviation enthusiasts, where flying is integrated into daily life with homes having direct access to shared airstrips and fostering strong camaraderie among neighbors.
Globally, there are over 700 cataloged airparks, predominantly in the United States, showcasing a wide range of sizes, amenities, and unique geographical settings.
Featured airparks like Florida's Spruce Creek (the world's largest), Wyoming's Refuge AirRanch, and Texas's Pecan Plantation exemplify the diverse lifestyle offerings, from amenity-rich communities to secluded havens combining aviation with outdoor recreation opportunities like boating, hiking, or skiing.

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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.”