...i moved around a lot as a kid and frequently lived near small airfields; i occasionally browse this site to identify old places which no longer exist, trace their evolution, and try to sense...
...i moved around a lot as a kid and frequently lived near small airfields; i occasionally browse this site to identify old places which no longer exist, trace their evolution, and try to sense remnant footprints in the substrate of modern development...
I love this site. Came across it a few years ago when I heard that a local theme park used to have/be an airport. Turns out, absolutely true The maintainer does a great job in gathering whatever...
I love this site. Came across it a few years ago when I heard that a local theme park used to have/be an airport. Turns out, absolutely true The maintainer does a great job in gathering whatever information they can.
The US is still one of the best places from General Aviation from what I've heard. Fairly lenient on when/where you're not allowed to go places and, except for larger airports, most services are free to the user.
The boom in the 50s from all the WWII aviators and the explosion of the middle class lead to a large flying culture that's still hanging on even as, like everything else, it gets ever more prohibitively expensive. In the 50s-70s you could get a new small plane for roughly the price of a new nice car. Now they're 3x or more that, starting in the $300+k range. There's a thriving used market and "kit planes" that are cheaper. But nothing approaching the heyday.
A lot of little towns still have wee municipal airports all over the country. You can fly into the little one near the Grand Coulee Dam for example and there's an old police cruiser as a 'courtesy car' that is first-come-first-served and you're just asked to fill with gas on your way back. Vaguely hoping the up-and-coming electric planes and newer engines that use car gas and other revamps with the FAA will push for GA growth again. People have been trying for a long time, but the general economic trajectory and wealth concentration aren't exactly helping.
...there was a period of time when residential developers marketed general aviation airstrip neighborhoods as the next big amenity of suburban affluence in similar fashion to golf course...
...there was a period of time when residential developers marketed general aviation airstrip neighborhoods as the next big amenity of suburban affluence in similar fashion to golf course developments; i think the trend died out by the early eighties but you can still find a few operating in older neighborhoods, usually hidden-away, largely forgotten, subsisting on HOA fees akin to neighborhood parks, pools, or tennis courts...
...i moved around a lot as a kid and frequently lived near small airfields; i occasionally browse this site to identify old places which no longer exist, trace their evolution, and try to sense remnant footprints in the substrate of modern development...
I love this site. Came across it a few years ago when I heard that a local theme park used to have/be an airport. Turns out, absolutely true The maintainer does a great job in gathering whatever information they can.
The US is still one of the best places from General Aviation from what I've heard. Fairly lenient on when/where you're not allowed to go places and, except for larger airports, most services are free to the user.
The boom in the 50s from all the WWII aviators and the explosion of the middle class lead to a large flying culture that's still hanging on even as, like everything else, it gets ever more prohibitively expensive. In the 50s-70s you could get a new small plane for roughly the price of a new nice car. Now they're 3x or more that, starting in the $300+k range. There's a thriving used market and "kit planes" that are cheaper. But nothing approaching the heyday.
A lot of little towns still have wee municipal airports all over the country. You can fly into the little one near the Grand Coulee Dam for example and there's an old police cruiser as a 'courtesy car' that is first-come-first-served and you're just asked to fill with gas on your way back. Vaguely hoping the up-and-coming electric planes and newer engines that use car gas and other revamps with the FAA will push for GA growth again. People have been trying for a long time, but the general economic trajectory and wealth concentration aren't exactly helping.
...there was a period of time when residential developers marketed general aviation airstrip neighborhoods as the next big amenity of suburban affluence in similar fashion to golf course developments; i think the trend died out by the early eighties but you can still find a few operating in older neighborhoods, usually hidden-away, largely forgotten, subsisting on HOA fees akin to neighborhood parks, pools, or tennis courts...