What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

New Air Park Airpark South Austin

That would be awesome! I have been looking at land or potential locations just across the Travis County line out on Hwy 290 (heading towards Dripping Springs area). I definitely think Austin needs an airport or airpark in the SW sector of town. Spicewood is too far out west and Lakeway is fine if you can get a spot (but it will cost you)....we need reasonable priced options SW of town imo.

I would be willing to commit to anything SW of town as long as it is outside of Travis County (and Travis County taxation). ;)
 
If you have an interest in living in an Air Park Airpark in South Austin , Kyle, Buda area, give me a call / or email.

Hi David, this is Jason Sills (son of Caroline Sills, Sills Realty). We spoke about the potential for an Air Park W or SW of Austin early this year. I haven't had much time to devote to the prospect beside glancing at the logistics of a few tracts big enough along the far end of 1826.

Have you had any progress or further interest on your end?

I hope all is well you and your family.

Cheers,

Jason
 
Keep talking...

...'cause I'm listening. I'm retiring from the USAF in June, and am targeting the San Antonio/Austin/DFW I-35 corridor. I have a lot of reasons to make Austin home. You have my attention...:cool:
 
That is great that there is some interest on this board and in the rest of the GA community. It seems that the prospect of an air park in the Hill Country gets tricky because of... well the hills. I have looked into some available tracts that do seem like they could support a midsize field with a small residential area.

While I am a real estate agent in the area, I have to admit the finer points obtaining approval for and installing an air field are not my areas of expertise. If David, as the OP, doesn't have any objections, I may reach out to some that have gone through the air park development process in the past to discuss some of the major trip points. If I obtain fruitful information, I'll feed it back to David and the group.

Cheers,

Jason
 
???

If the good people of Austin can get an F1 circuit with an unprecedented 10 year Moto GP contract I am thinking a new airport should be manageable.
 
The idea of an air park out west still calls to me. With land getting more expensive, particularly in the last few years, the prospect will only become more difficult. If anyone has come across resources that may be useful in finding suitable sites, I would appreciate the heading!
 
Fentress Airpark, approximately 8nm southeast of KHYI. (San Marcos) XS90 in Airnav.

3000'+ hard surface, lit runway. Airnav says it's gravel but that's incorrect. Water and power are already in. Lots for sale all line the East side of the runway and are about 1 acre each.

Myself and another friend with an RV-8 own 2 lots each and there are 14 total in the development. Finalizing my hangar design and will start construction very soon.

PM me if you want more info.

Rob

Former 88R hangar owner

i-n6BzsNT-M.jpg


IMG_20190922_131028-M.jpg


IMG_20190903_101919-M.jpg


IMG_20190903_124735-M.jpg
 
Last edited:
Fentress Airpark, approximately 8nm southeast of KHYI. (San Marcos) XS90 in Airnav.

3000'+ hard surface, lit runway. Airnav says it's gravel but that's incorrect. Water and power are already in. Lots for sale all line the East side of the runway and are about 1 acre each.

Myself and another friend with an RV-8 own 2 lots each and there are 14 total in the development. Finalizing my hangar design and will start construction very soon.

PM me if you want more info.

Rob

Former 88R hangar owner

Hi Rob, it looks like we're neighbors. We closed yesterday on Lot 10. Is your lot the one that recently had the water meter installed?

We won't be building for a while but I'm very interested in what types of homes people are considering.
 
Hi Rob, it looks like we're neighbors. We closed yesterday on Lot 10. Is your lot the one that recently had the water meter installed?

We won't be building for a while but I'm very interested in what types of homes people are considering.

Congrats on the close! Glad to have neighbors!! I own lots 6 & 7, my buddy owns 8 & 9.

Contact me privately at aggies78 AT gmail dot com and we can discuss hangar stuff in more detail.

I am looking at proposals for a hangar with some living space built in-i.e.- a couple of bedrooms, kitchen, living area. Something to hang out in when we come down to visit the daughter living close by...

Landing there as an eventual retirement place (next 2-4 yrs) is possible, if the place develops nicely.

Again, congrats and I look forward to meeting you!

PS-I'm pretty sure I didn't have a water meter installed yet...but could be wrong. I'll give the lady at the water works a call....
 
Last edited:
A quick update (or lack thereof) to keep this thread alive... I?ve kept the idea of a Hill Country Air Park / Community on a simmer but have not come across the partners/expertise and land opportunity to make progress. I do keep an eye out for appropriate land opportunities so please bring those to the table if you hear of them. Also, successful air park development expertise is needed so if you have these contacts as well, that will point is the right way also.

If progress is made, I?ll feed that back to the community. Cheers.

- Jason Sills
 
Austin land

... I?ve kept the idea of a Hill Country Air Park / Community on a simmer but have not come across the partners/expertise and land opportunity to make progress. I do keep an eye out for appropriate land opportunities so please bring those to the table if you hear of them. ...
Jason, plenty of flat land out to the East and South East of Austin. :)
 
Jason, plenty of flat land out to the East and South East of Austin. :)

Valid point and with that flat land are a couple airfields and a fly-in community. Unfortunately, that is out of the convenient range for many of us in the Hill Country meaning what might be a short flying morning becomes a non-flying day entirely. The lack of an options close by is largely what took me out of flying for many years. I?d like to solve this problem before reinvesting myself a way that I can?t maintain when life gets busy. With the recent growth out west, I have to think an airfield would have more supporters now than ever.
 
My XS90 (Fentress Airpark) Build

Jason,

Just an FYI...I finished my build out inside a 65x65 hangar on the runway at Fentress and it's currently listed as a FSBO.

Email me privately if you'd like more info.

Best,

Rob Schroer
 
Jason,

Just an FYI...I finished my build out inside a 65x65 hangar on the runway at Fentress and it's currently listed as a FSBO.

Email me privately if you'd like more info.

Best,

Rob Schroer

Hi Rob, Fentress caught my eye so am curious, Is this airpark used as a skydiving facility? Google earth shows a twin turbine jump plane and the runway is labeled Skydive? Thanks for the info
 
Hi Rob, Fentress caught my eye so am curious, Is this airpark used as a skydiving facility? Google earth shows a twin turbine jump plane and the runway is labeled Skydive? Thanks for the info


Hi Larry,

Yep, Skydive Spaceland has a facility at the north end of the property and own/maintain the runway.

The airpark property owners have permanent access to the runway granted by them and memorialized in the closing docs.

My partner and I have the first 2 buildouts on the 14 one acre airpark lots and so I'm sure there will be a learning curve as we grow and the rest of the lots get developed. I have initiated a relationship with their manager to make sure we avoid problems-good guy and I think we are addressing each other's concerns.

Mainly, good comm with them via a phone call (if outbound) or on the radio to their ops freq (if inbound) and that has worked well.

Hope that answered your question.

Rob

ps-I edited my post on page 1 of this thread to post up a few updated photos for folks of what's out there now...
 
Last edited:
Keeping an eye on this

I?m following intently. Not ready to make an investment just yet, but it?s on my short list. As is KDZB (Horsehoe Bay). Any have information/comments/knowledge of that airpark?
 
I?m following intently. Not ready to make an investment just yet, but it?s on my short list. As is KDZB (Horsehoe Bay). Any have information/comments/knowledge of that airpark?

I have a buddy that has a hangar/home at DZB, good guy...

His place is for sale, but be ready to part with $750k plus...he can probably discuss the local gouge with you though.

PM me and I?ll give you his contact info..
 
50 Acre Tract Off of HWY 290 Near Dripping Springs

Good Afternoon All,

I have found a potential land tract of interest. It is a 50 Acre Tract for sale with a North South orientation. It is located just south of Highway 290 and a few miles EAST of Dripping Springs. If you know where the new Headwaters Community is, this is just on the south side of HWY 290 from that neighborhood in the "Hays Country Acres" vicinity.

Highlights of this potential property:
- ~50 Acres
- North/South Orientation almost 3000' (~325' width on North end)
- Topography appear to have gentle elevation change (North to South elevation change needs to be verified)
- Potential High Voltage utilities traversing the property to be verified. If this exists the expense to move this, if even possible, may be a deal killer. Visual inspection required. I will try to get eyes on it soon.
- Existing structures can be torn down (land value only) if necessary. ~2500' available if avoiding existing structures.
- Newly listed this past week at $2.6M + (Ag Exemption Tax Rollback TBC)
- Currently has an agricultural tax exemption with 5 year "rollback" likely if ag purposes are remove. Ag Rollbox appears it would have a $250k property tax impact based on back of the napkin calc (to be verified).

Attached is an overview with approximate boundaries of the property drawn. I am a licensed broker and have access to the posted survey but I can not share it here on a public forum. As such, I have drawn in the subject using Google Earth. I can share the survey with individual interested parties if you would like to see the survey.

Overview of Site Location

Approximate Site Dimensions


Let me know what you gentleman think (good or bad).
 
Last edited:
Let me know what you gentleman think (good or bad).

Just an observation from someone that lived in the aviation world in Texas for over thirty years.....airparks or fly-in communities seem to be extremely hard to bring to fruition. I can think of only a couple that actually came about (after years of work) in those decades, despite the many, many ideas and proposals that people made. And some of those that were proposed but never happened were proposed by serious developers who knew the ropes, and had significant funding available.

I can?t tell you why they fail - some I know came up against brick walls when it came to local government approval, others fell part because of conflicts within eh community of potential buyers/investors. If you can succeed, you?ll have to be a master of local politics, real estate development, and have outstanding skills in dealing with people.

You asked for ?good or bad?....best of luck if you can make it happen!
 
Paul, thank you for this informed feedback. That is the general feedback I have been receiving from others as well. I suspect that this attempt may require investment as a private field shared amongst a small group.

I joined a couple members from the AUSTIN EAA chapter this past week and this was a topic of conversation. Their suggestion was to purchase as a private field and lease to a small select group. This approach still carries many challenges on its own, doesn’t quite achieve the engagement of the aviation community objective, and requires a single entity to be able to stand up a field on their own which is not within the means of most.
 
watching with interest

I'm watching with interest. We have to retire somewhere and something like this sounds right up our alley. I'm sure it takes a lot of time, effort, and not a small amount of money, but if you gain some momentum, I suspect you'll find a small group of people that are interested in being part of it.

Good luck,
 
Back
Top