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Building a landing strip in Pa

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donaho1(at)verizon.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 10:35 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

A friend of mine, and I are looking for land, to put in our own 

landing strip. There is NO hanger space where I fly from now and I am 

getting too old to drag my FSII up onto my trailer each time I fly. ( 

not to mention we feel the land would be a good investment). Has 

anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying 

the land? This would NOT be open to the general public, and only he 

and I would take off and land there. Thanks in advance for any 

guidance you can offer. Lanny N598LF

Mike Welch

Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Posts: 272

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:15 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

 	  Quote: 	
		   Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying the land?  Lanny N598LF

	


Lanny,



  Yes.  But call me.  Too much to go into via email.

  

Mike Welch

573-480-9802



PS.  Don't give out my phone number to anyone.  Up until now, only you and I know it.



 [quote][b]

neilsenrm(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:54 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

Lanny/All



I already owned the land so I just took the stand that it was better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. I build a 1400 ft one way grass strip in Michigan that I flew out of for 20 years with no problems. I did make the rounds to neighbors every few years or so to talk about any issues. This seemed to be the key and not too much traffic. Never had a minutes problem with neighbors or any government. At one point I looked into making it a class D airstrip which would have given me tax exempt status on the runway but didn't have enough length for the required approaches/and length.

 



The runway was plenty for my kolb and very convenient as it was next to my house and hanger. Not much better than being less than 20 minutes form your living room to in the air including a good preflight.

 



By the way, the house, 19 acres, hanger and strip  is 10 miles west of Lansing MI and is for sale if anyone is interested. Contact me off the list if you are interested.

Rick Neilsen

 1st Redrive VW Powered MKIIIC



On Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Lanny Fetterman <donaho1(at)verizon.net (donaho1(at)verizon.net)> wrote:

 [quote]--> Kolb-List message posted by: Lanny Fetterman <donaho1(at)verizon.net (donaho1(at)verizon.net)>

  

 A friend of mine, and I are looking for land, to put in our own landing strip. There is NO hanger space where I fly from now and I am getting too old to drag my FSII up onto my trailer each time I fly. ( not to mention we feel the land would be a good investment). Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying the land? This would NOT be open to the general public, and only he and I would take off and land there. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer. Lanny N598LF

  

 

 

 ====================================

 om" target="_blank">www.aeroelectric.com

 ooks.com" target="_blank">www.buildersbooks.com

 et="_blank">www.homebuilthelp.com

 ="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/contribution

 le, List Admin.

 ====================================

 arget="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List

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 http://forums.matronics.com

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 [b]

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:00 pm Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

  Never had a minutes problem with neighbors or any government.  



 



Rick Neilsen

 	  Quote: 	
		     Rick N/Folks: Good idea to stay on the good side of your neighbors by visiting with them to see if there are any issues. I've been flying out of a cow pasture for 27 years.  Never had a complaint from my neighbors.  To keep on their good side, I occasionally take aerial photos of their houses and acreage.  Putting them in a nice 8 X 10 inexpensive picture frame also adds a little bit to the personal side of this gift. john h 	
0 	  Quote: 	
		   	
1 	  Quote: 	
		   	
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  [quote][b]

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

Tinman

Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Posts: 2

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:36 pm Post subject: Re: Building a landing strip in Pa

I live in northeast Pa and am doing the same thing. Went to the Township building and spoke with the local officials and they told me there are no zoning laws in the township that would prohibit me from doing this.  Every township is different you should check with they first.

Dana

Joined: 13 Dec 2007
Posts: 1047
Location: Connecticut, USA

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:59 pm Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

At 01:30 PM 11/8/2011, Lanny Fetterman wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> Kolb-List message posted by: Lanny Fetterman <donaho1(at)verizon.net>



 A friend of mine, and I are looking for land, to put in our own landing strip. There is NO hanger space where I fly from now and I am getting too old to drag my FSII up onto my trailer each time I fly. ( not to mention we feel the land would be a good investment). Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying the land? This would NOT be open to the general public, and only he and I would take off and land there. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer. 	


 It depends on the state and local laws.  For private use, it may be that nothing is required.  Here in Connecticut the state only gets involved if more than 35 takeoffs and landings per year or 10 per day are done, then you need a state airport license.  I know that in NJ _all_ flying must be from a state licensed airport.  Local zoning may apply.  We built a strip here in CT and first the zoning people told us we couldn't fly because zoning regulations didn't list it as a permitted use.  We requested special permission and they changed their mind and declared that the zoning regulations didn't actually prohibit it, either... subject to not annoying anybody, we could go ahead and fly.  They didn't want to set a precedent by giving us formal permission.



 -Dana



 

 --

 The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that 

 heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, 

 'hmm.... that's funny...'

 --Isaac Asimov

    [quote][b]

donaho1(at)verizon.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:41 pm Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

Mike, I just found the listing for the land today. I will give you a 

call if we move forward. We are going to go look at it tomorrow. 

Lanny  At 02:10 PM 11/8/2011, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  >  Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before 

> buying the land?  Lanny N598LF

Lanny,

   Yes.  But call me.  Too much to go into via email.

Mike Welch

573-480-9802

PS.  Don't give out my phone number to anyone.  Up until now, only 

you and I know it.

Mike Welch

Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Posts: 272

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:55 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

Lanny,



  A fews years ago, I helped a guy do what you suggested regarding buying some land, and putting in

a runway.  With a background in being a contractor, a real estate agent, and land development, I have some 

experience in these matters.  ( I ended up buying the Caterpillar road grader a couple of years after the landing strip

was put in, to go along with several other pieces of heavy equipment I had)



  As suggested by a couple of list members so far....the absolute FIRST thing you should do is call your local

Planning & Zoning Dept.  They will be able to tell you the specific zone category the land you are interested in, and whether

you can 'legally' build and use a landing strip.



  One thing I wouldn't do is; buy the land, build the runway and THEN ask if it's okay.  Hellava lot of time/money/risk if it all 

doesn't work out.  Just like every other real estate investment, there is a proper order for things!!  To go about it backwards

may be an expensive lesson.



  A couple of 'obvious' suggestions to consider regarding picking out that piece of property.  A) Slope, if any. B) Length of 'usable'

runway you can actually build. C) Direction of prevailing wind. D) Proximity to power lines, neighboring homes, tall trees, etc.

E) Is the property so secluded that someone can break in and steal parts off your plane?  (This happened to my friend, someone broke

into his metal-siding hangar and stole his 503 motor from Quicksilver)



  Just a couple of thoughts to consider.....



  BTW.  Just kidding about the ix-nay on the phone number.  My anemic attempt at humor, which evidently is on life-support.



Mike Welch



  



  

On Nov 8, 2011, at 12:30 PM, Lanny Fetterman wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 A friend of mine, and I are looking for land, to put in our own landing strip. There is NO hanger space where I fly from now and I am getting too old to drag my FSII up onto my trailer each time I fly. ( not to mention we feel the land would be a good investment). Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying the land? This would NOT be open to the general public, and only he and I would take off and land there. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer. Lanny N598LF

slyck(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:14 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

Including mine there are four grass strips within 2 miles.  Not much fear of collisions as I'm the only one

who flies with any regularity.  We are fortunate to be in an agricultural district which usually is aviation friendly.

None of us ever attempted to comply with any local regs or zoning. -but we have all been established for over thirty years.

Despite that, it is obviously important to maintain friendly relationships with neighbors.  I make a practice of NEVER

flying over a house, nice guy or not.  One comment someone offered that aerial photos of homes make a big impact.

I put them on CD and give them to the owners.

BB

MkIII, suzuki

still nice here today

On 9, Nov 2011, at 10:52 AM, Michael Welch wrote:

 	  Quote: 	

 Lanny,

  A fews years ago, I helped a guy do what you suggested regarding buying some land, and putting in

 a runway.  With a background in being a contractor, a real estate agent, and land development, I have some 

 experience in these matters.  ( I ended up buying the Caterpillar road grader a couple of years after the landing strip

 was put in, to go along with several other pieces of heavy equipment I had)

  As suggested by a couple of list members so far....the absolute FIRST thing you should do is call your local

 Planning & Zoning Dept.  They will be able to tell you the specific zone category the land you are interested in, and whether

 you can 'legally' build and use a landing strip.

  One thing I wouldn't do is; buy the land, build the runway and THEN ask if it's okay.  Hellava lot of time/money/risk if it all 

 doesn't work out.  Just like every other real estate investment, there is a proper order for things!!  To go about it backwards

 may be an expensive lesson.

  A couple of 'obvious' suggestions to consider regarding picking out that piece of property.  A) Slope, if any. B) Length of 'usable'

 runway you can actually build. C) Direction of prevailing wind. D) Proximity to power lines, neighboring homes, tall trees, etc.

 E) Is the property so secluded that someone can break in and steal parts off your plane?  (This happened to my friend, someone broke

 into his metal-siding hangar and stole his 503 motor from Quicksilver)

  Just a couple of thoughts to consider.....

  BTW.  Just kidding about the ix-nay on the phone number.  My anemic attempt at humor, which evidently is on life-support.

 Mike Welch

 On Nov 8, 2011, at 12:30 PM, Lanny Fetterman wrote:

> 

> 

> A friend of mine, and I are looking for land, to put in our own landing strip. There is NO hanger space where I fly from now and I am getting too old to drag my FSII up onto my trailer each time I fly. ( not to mention we feel the land would be a good investment). Has anyone done this, and what hoops must you jump through before buying the land? This would NOT be open to the general public, and only he and I would take off and land there. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer. Lanny N598LF

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

>

Mike Welch

Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Posts: 272

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:46 am Post subject: Building a landing strip in Pa

 	  Quote: 	
		   Including mine there are four grass strips within 2 miles.  Not much fear of collisions as I'm the only one

 who flies with any regularity.  We are fortunate to be in an agricultural district which usually is aviation friendly.

 None of us ever attempted to comply with any local regs or zoning. -but we have all been established for over thirty years.

 

 Despite that, it is obviously important to maintain friendly relationships with neighbors.  I make a practice of NEVER

 flying over a house, nice guy or not.  One comment someone offered that aerial photos of homes make a big impact.

 I put them on CD and give them to the owners.

 BB

 MkIII, suzuki

 still nice here today


	




Mornin' Mr. Bob,



  Important to maintain friendly relations, I agree.  John's idea of photos is a nice touch.  But you can never bet the farm on 

that one anal butthead that just can't keep their nose out of everyone else's business.  I seem to recall a story about someone 

complaining about  "those dangerous ultralights" flying out of Sandpoint Airport, N. Idaho.  The airport manager kicked ALL 

ultralights out of the airport.



  IF a guy 'already' owns the land, then putting in a landing strip isn't that much of a gamble, because you already own the land

and the most someone can say is "no, you can't do that".  What I'm cautioning is, 'buying' the land first, and then expecting to do 

whatever you want.  Maybe you can....and maybe you can't.  Too much risk, when it was easier to ask P & Z  first.  Then, if that

butthead complains, you know you don't have anything to fear if the 'regs' say it's ok.



  My friend that put in his landing strip and hangar, put it out way past any houses.  That was also far enough out that when someone

broke into his hangar, they knew there'd be no one around to catch them.   Be sure to include some kind of security precautions

in your hangar (motion lights, alarms, fake or real cameras, signs threatening they are being video'd, etc)



  There definitely are parts of the country that are more 'lightplane" friendly than others.  There's also lots of places with

old farts with NOTHING better to do than to cause trouble.  I lived next door to one, three years ago!!!!!



Mike

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