One fellow microlighter has a second home at Verchocq Airpark, to spend the weekends. A fine arrangement, and he told me he is quite happy with it.
Some European countries are simply too densely occupied, thinking of Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands. But why there’s so few in Germany and Italy is indeed a bit of a mistery, and a real shame.
For myself I’d be much interested to spend my retirement at an airpark, perhaps in Portugal or Romania or so. I am sure this is a “market” or “product” not yet fully discovered by real estate developers.
Inspired by another thread here, I would like to try to compile a list of airparks, airpark projects and their current status.
I recall that the folks from Rerik-Zweedorf had a stand at Aero a couple of years ago, and even though it caught my interest I couldn’t imagine there to be a lot of interest:
http://www.ostsee-airpark.com/
Then there was one French project of which I had a folder somewhere, but can’t find it any more. But it was this website:
Green Airpark
I also found Vendée Air Park. But when I try to download their aerodrome chart or PPR request form from here, the links lead nowhere, so I wonder if this is even an existing airpark?
I have been to Vandee Air Park. Hard runway and the roads are also the taxi ways. Nice houses but in the middle of no where, I think that the nearest town is about 35min drive away.
Here is the one I mentioned in the other thread. As far as I can gather there is a restaurant on-site but otherwise it must be more or less at the end of civilisation, I’m afraid. Mind you, that’s not a negative to everybody.
But we have a resident specialist, who’ll turn up soon enough I reckon, if not on holidays or such. To tell us at least of the one in Sweden – Siljansnäs Airpark ESVS
Also, I remember there were some kind of cottages under trees very near Biscarrosse-Parentis LFBS airfield, that was called an airpark too. But we learned in another thread that the aerodrome is not always very enjoyable. See here
ps @Ben: check your keyboard, especially the accented characters 
Siljan Airpark and Himmelslätta Airpark in Sweden.
Prague Regional Air Park is claimed to exist, but all the hangars built to date have no houses attached, and are mostly used by the flight school and the FBO.
Under Articles is a detailed writeup on European air parks.
Regarding the one in Rerik, Northern Germany, they seem to have had legal/administrative issues, no idea about the current situation.
Peter wrote:
Under Articles is a detailed writeup on European air parks.
You mean the 199 page thesis from 2011?
This thread is also meant as a reality check as to what has really become of the announced projects. It seems to be easy to get brochures and optimistic statements from developers, but much harder to get information on how many lots have been sold, how many houses built, how prices have evolved etc. in different places.
And it would also be nice to know what has worked in the US.
If I ever bought into an airpark, either to live there or as a holiday home, it should have:
I’ve been a few times in Spruce Creek airpark in florida to get lunch (or dinner) at the downwind café.
That a true airpark nice runway day/night lots of houses and airplane.
I think air parks are difficult in Europe because of the extreme difficulty of setting up a completely new runway. The last fresh development in the UK is probably Popham, in 1978 or so. Obviously you need full Planning; the UK 28 day rule is useless for this because there is no security of tenure.
And ultimately most people, even keen pilots, want to live somewhere nice, and useful in the usual ways, not just because there is a runway close.
So eg the Murcia air park, which has been on the go for many years in various incarnations, starting with a 700 house proposal, has sold almost nothing – maybe 1% last time I looked. It is a dump in the middle of nowhere. It was one of a huge number of dodgy Spanish developments… I looked at it closely years ago.
Also most people don’t want to live next to a noisy runway. Consequently most US airparks are variously exclusive. I did my FAA IR near one and we were not allowed to even fly near it. That rules out flight training.
The successful air parks are in nice areas and have top priced houses. The runway is almost incidental.
