[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')ocated in Ocala, Florida, Jumbolair is probably the best known fly-in community in the world. One of the first purchasers in the development was actor John Travolta who keeps his own Boeing 707 in his garage. Jumbolair contains America's largest private airstrip, but it’s not the only airpark in the country. According to the "Living With Your Plane" Association, there are about 430 airparks with a total of 22,000 home sites in the United States.

[Valdemar]

Yes, much in the same way SUVs and Falcon Interceptor (with turbo) will be common as muck in a scarce oil world.

[drew]

Sadly before I became enlightened by PO I dreamt of owning my own plane. This was also before the realization that I am a man of modest means! As Airplane Pilot will tell you aviation is a wealthy person's game. I somehow thought I could go the homebuilt route and afford to fly. It is not the cost of the aircraft that is the major outlay, it is the insurance, fuel, hangarage, and ongoing maintenance. A local guy put an rv6 together in his basement for 70k and flew it from our local airport. He told me his annual cost for the above mentioned items ranged from 12k to 18k for 100 to 150 hours flight time per year. He sold the plane to make way for a Harmon rocket (homebuilt too) which is about 50 knots faster. It has a 540 cubic inch six instead of the meagre 360 cubic inch four in the rv6. These planes cruise at 200 mph+. The airpark thing is the plane equivalent of estate homes built onto a private golf course.

Drew

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('drew', 'S')adly before I became enlightened by PO I dreamt of owning my own plane. This was also before the realization that I am a man of modest means! As Airplane Pilot will tell you aviation is a wealthy person's game.

Drew

[drew]

You're right of course, but in my case planes have been a part of my life since I was a kid. My desire to fly is an old dream that's all. I have never thought of it as a greed thing. There have only been two things I'd ever wanted to do since childhood, race motorcycles professionally, and fly airplanes. I guess I can blame my dad to a degree, he was in the airforce breifly as a officer/pilot candidate, attempted years later to get his P. license (gets airsick), and still to this day volunteers at a local warbird museum. I can't tell you how many times I have been to airshows and museums in my life. I did road race, so that has been checked off the list of things to do, and I suspect my desire to fly is related to my need for a rush, which is just part of who I am. Like I said previously, at burn rates approaching 7 or 8 gallons per hour (of very expensive avaition gasoline) it isn't likely I or anyone of ordinary means will be able to afford private aviation. I have handled the controls of a cessna 150 and 172 though; it was a very fun thing to do.

Drew