5 Residential Airpark Properties With Stunning Waterfront Views

Fly-in communities are no different, and there are a handful of airparks whose locations are their most persuasive selling point. These neighborhoods have what many pilots are looking for, aviation amenities coupled with abundant water views. 

Located in the Florida Keys, Summerland Key Airport (FD51) provides a unique combination of air and sea. The community, which first focused on marine facilities, dates back to the late 1940s with its 2,394-foot-long-by-25-foot-wide paved runway being a later addition. 

One resident, Matt Stettner, previously told FLYING why the community is the perfect place to fit his aerial and pelagic passions. 

“I'm never leaving because I love it here,” Stettner said. “I have a runway in my front yard, a canal in my backyard, and I can shovel money in either direction. The runway is about 120 feet from my driveway, so I just pull out the plane and go fly. It is really nice. 

“I personally think this community is one of the best kept secrets in the Keys. Obviously, you get to fly in and that’s great. But the other part is that my canal is just as far from where I’m standing now as the runway is. Our canals are some of the best in the Keys, because they are flow-through. They are not fed-in canals.”

Sixty-six miles to the north of Summerland Key, Tavernaero Airport Park (FA81) in Islamorada is the second southernmost fly-in community in Florida. 

The community has been around since the 1960s and offers residents the ability to both fly and fish right from their backyard. The community of approximately 50 homes boasts a marina with an equal number of boat slips, in addition to a 2,175-foot-long-by-95-foot-wide turf runway. 

Allen Wood, who has lived in the community for nearly four decades, advised that the community’s most special feature is its “proximity to paradise.” Bahamian islands are a quick flight away, offering limitless exploration opportunities for pilots. The waters surrounding the airpark also offer some of the country’s best deep-sea fishing and other recreational water activities. 

“I’ve lived here for a long time and it’s a great place to live,” Wood said. “My current home is in a nice location. It’s the only lot that’s on the water—as well as the runway. When a property here goes on the market, they go quickly. There was a house recently that went on the market, and it sold in 18 hours. It was a brief bidding war and then it sold. They go fast, for sure.”

 Another Floridian fly-in community, Salty Approach Airport (FL90) sits at the top of North Captiva Island. The neighborhood’s homes are almost perfectly bisected by a sole fenced airstrip. 

Like other idyllic island communities without a bridge to the mainland, there are only two ways to reach the 4-mile-by-half-mile-wide island, via boat or airplane. For those flying in, their journey starts at the 2,000-foot-long-by-100-foot-wide runway, which is capped at both ends by white sand beaches.  

Not every resident in the 300-plus home community are pilots, as there are limited usage rights to the runway. For those that have the ability to fly, they have unparalleled convenience and are able to accomplish a mundane task easier than others: shop for groceries. There are not any stores on the island, so residents must fly to town, with Page Field (KMFY) being a frequent choice.

The extra steps to get bread, milk, and eggs is a welcome chore for its residents, who enjoy the island’s tranquility and distance from in-state destinations. 

“The reason I moved to Upper Captiva was because of the airstrip, and it’s just fantastic,” said Zeke McDonald, a resident since the late 1990s. “From here, it’s about an hour and 10 minutes to Key West, about an hour to Tampa or St. Petersburg, and Miami is about an hour and a half away. You can just go anywhere from here, and it’s a fine feeling of freedom.”

Located in Guttenberg, this northeastern Iowa airpark is adjacent to the mighty Mississippi River and a stone’s throw away from Wisconsin. Residents of GAA Private Airport (IA23) have varied views out of their hangars, from large river barges to J-3 Cubs, to intentionally moving paddle boats. 

Abel Island Airpark is a fly-in, boat-in, and drive-in community with about 95 homes and a 2,600-foot-long-by-160-foot-wide turf runway. The island airport dates back to 1957 and residential lots were added in subsequent years.  

Gary Fisher, an instrument-rated pilot and Cessna Turbo 210 owner, has been a longtime hangar home resident next to the airstrip. He explained that most of those who live on Abel Island fly, used to fly, or appreciate aviation.

The residents’ aerial passions are most evident in August, when the Abel Island Fly-In draws pilots from near and far for camaraderie and good eats. This year, the airpark will host the 25th rendition of the annual event. 

“It’s a potluck barbecue and is something totally different than I’ve encountered elsewhere,” Fisher said. “We average between 50 and 70 planes each year, which includes half a dozen or so floatplanes that dock right onshore to our beach that is on the Mississippi [River]. In total, approximately 200 people show up to the potluck party, which is hosted by my wife and me at our home.”

Anyone is welcome to experience what living at the island is like. It’s a unique experience.

“We invite all of those on the island to join us, and many do,” Fisher said. “But others sit on their driveways facing the runway and watch the planes coming and going. It’s like little O’Hare [International Airport] here at Abel Island Airpark during that time.”

The San Juan Islands in Washington state are a well-regarded place to both visit and live, and there are a handful of public and private airstrips in the picturesque archipelago. One of these airfields is Center Island Airport (78WA), which boasts a laid-back community with a high percentage of pilots. 

“Probably more than half of the people that live here are either pilots, aviation enthusiasts, or past pilots,” said aircraft owner and island resident Jonathan Fay. “As a result, we have a lot of people that fly into the island, and it is very active. Whenever I’m there (on a part-time basis), I will see planes flying in and out and it really just opens up an opportunity for the community that’s not available otherwise, with other modes of transport.”

Several years ago, Fay began thinking about where he would like to retire and decided to purchase an airpark home. But he said that many communities in the area were out of financial reach, or had other challenges associated with them. 

Center Island Airpark, on the other hand, strikes a healthy balance between remote (but not too remote) and quiet (with like-minded neighbors). The community’s 1,600-foot-long-by-100-foot-wide grass runway beckons aviators to experience near waterfront airpark living.