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Public, or Private?

TXFlyGuy

Well Known Member
We currently manage a private airport, 3TX2. It was brought to my attention that by going public, there would be a substantial savings on property taxes.

What are the pitfalls in having a public airport? More liability, perhaps?

Is there any reason not to convert to public use?
 
Public airports have stricter requirements on things like obstructions, safety zones, security, etc. if you already meet those then I don?t think there is a downside - other than liability. You will pick up gas sales and be opening opportunities to others.
 
You probably need to define 'going public'. Privately owned, public use, or publicly owned (turning it over to a government entity)?

You may get liability protection through your state's recreational use laws (if they exist there). Worth researching, but be sure to find out if those laws still protect if there are commercial operations on the field.

http://theraf.org/about-us
 
Pvt vs Public

A few of the high points have already been hit on. There are quite a few things to consider, but it really depends what your goals are for the field. As the AOPA rep for your area, I work a lot of airport issues in the region. I'd be happy to help you sort it out and point you to some good resources. PM me if you'd like to talk.
 
You said "airport" so my "airpark" comments probably don't apply...

I used to own a home at a "privately owned, public use" airpark.

We had no requirements to adhere to, the property owners paid for everything (runway, taxiway, lighting, all roads (auto-airplane drives), signage, etc.). We tried to obtain some state aviation funding but no way considering it was privately owned.

We had a credit card, self-serve fuel operation and several commercial businesses. In general, it worked ok (in my opinion). However; there were always issues with getting the commercial operations to pay their fair share. Every time there was a theft, most everyone wanted to shut down the "public use" portion and gate the airpark entries/exits (secure the airpark).

The "undesireables" driving thru the airpark and occasionally on the taxiway and runway was a problem.

The ideal, in my mind, is a gated, public use airport/airpark - I'm not sure if that is the right term. The goal being an airport/airpark that is secure/gated and available for the public to access via aircraft (but not on foot or by automobile). Not sure how that would apply to the tax situation.

Also, going public use may increase your insurance rates (off-setting some of the tax savings).
 
We would be "privately owned, public use". I contacted the FAA about this. It is fairly simple, fill out a few forms online and submit these for review.

The runway south end does have a couple trees (40') that are right past the runway threshold. They normally are not an issue with the prevailing wind out of the south.

We currently have 6 tenants renting hangar space. The option to build up to six more hangars is being seriously investigated as there is a shortage of hangar space in the Dallas / Ft. Worth / Denton area. Many people have been on waiting lists for over 4 years.

Just wondering...if you are a public use airport, and a pilot lands his plane on your runway and has a tire failure, then proceeds to damage his aircraft, how much liability might the airport owner have?

The runway is 2700' X 150', manicured turf in near perfect condition. Watch this RV8 pilot make a perfect landing in 30 knot winds:
https://www.facebook.com/texastoye51/videos/1800798610200525/

Looking south: https://www.facebook.com/texastoye5...799238900464/1791029207844132/?type=3&theater

Looking north: https://www.facebook.com/texastoye5...799238900464/1791029177844135/?type=3&theater

Aerial view (Mayfest Fly In): https://www.facebook.com/texastoye5...799238900464/1791029721177414/?type=3&theater

Trees at south end: https://www.facebook.com/texastoye5...799238900464/1791028401177546/?type=3&theater
 
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What a beautiful strip. Looks really smooth judging by the 8 roll out.

Thanks. We work real hard at maintaining it in good condition. That RV8 was one of our tenants.

BTW, we are building up to 6 new hangars if anyone needs space in the DFW area.
 
Just a single data point for you - Louise and I have lived at two airparks - one was “private owned, private use”, and the current one is “private owned, public use”. Teh first was a short, narrow runway emmnbedded in the middle of a suburb, and we controlled users (invite only, no touch and goes) to keep peace with the surrounding neighbors. Private/Private seemed appropriate, but we ran the risk of neighbors and/or utility companies erecting trees or obstacles in our approach path.

Our current runway is huge by comparison - a mile long and 75’ wide - and we’re surrounded by desert. We have no issues at all with public use, and we have the occasional flight school user from nearby Carson City, as well s low approaches by Navy rotorheads from Fallon. We are protected from encroachment by obstacles erected by power or cell companies, and our county likes to feel like they have a resource that can be used for emergencies. We have one or two residents who occasionally express the though that they “live on a private airport, so why are others allowed to use it”.....but it works just fine, we are lucky if we average ten operations a day, and we enjoy the occasional landing out by sailplanes, or visits by friends who don’t have to call ahead for permission.

I don’t know how much we pay for liability insurance, but it doesn’t seem to be a significant factor.

In short, we’re happy to be Private/Public - it works fine for us.
 
If you make it Private/Public you may be able to get funding for RNAV approach(es). The fee for approaches into a Private/Private airport are very high (around $20,000 we were told).

Here at TS36 (Silverwings, Fredericksburg,TX) we decided to stay Private/Private and suffer the rare diversion to T82.
 
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