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Mystery grass strip in Virginia...

N

N690RV's Dad

Member
I was driving west on highway 64 in Virginia and ran across a nice looking grass strip. I noticed a couple of Cubs and maybe a Cherokee parked. When I got home to OK, I tried to find what strip it was. It was on the right (north) side of 64 and just west of Fredricksburg road (623). My son and I couldn't find it on a sectional. It looked like a nice well kept strip and was just curious the name of it. Does anybody know of it?
 
You peaked my curiosity so I looked on Google Maps (satellite view) and don't see anything near the intersection of 64 and 623. Can you see it on a satellite view and if so can you add a link? I have friends who live in that area and they may know if I can point to it on a map.
 
Glen,

Its there, just look again. Look approx 1000' NW of the intersection and zoom in. The strip parallels the interstate and is only a hundred or so feet off the highway. You'll see at least four airplanes. I've driven by that before too and wondered the same thing.
 
Yes indeed. Go west about 100 miles, just west of Lexington VA. There's another "623" also called Fredericksburg road.
 
I did a bunch of FAA 5010 searching. It would appear it is an unregistered strip operating solely under a special use permit with the governing county authority. I could have missed its official listing but I'm not surprised by the search results. There are more unregistered grass strips that sprouted on farms than you can shake a stick at.

UPDATE: It also looks like the special use permit periodically expires and the group my re-apply before the county board of supervisors. That's going to get tougher with each passing year.
 
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humptybump said:
I did a bunch of FAA 5010 searching. It would appear it is an unregistered strip operating solely under a special use permit with the governing county authority. I could have missed its official listing but I'm not surprised by the search results. There are more unregistered grass strips that sprouted on farms than you can shake a stick at.
Click to expand...

So, fill me in on this "special use permit" thing and FAA 5010. If I built a strip on my own land/farm, am I required to somehow register it? Just curious.

Greg
 
A special use, or more commonly "conditional use" permit is granted by the local zoning authority. Most places don't include a "landing strip" in any zoning areas (agricultural, residential, industrial) and deal with landing strips by granting a conditional use permit. The FAA 5010 is filed to put you in the National Airspace. This gets you on the charts and maybe grants you a little protection, but not much.
 
For anyone interested to establishing their own airstrip, the AOPA has a comprehensive information package.

Dave pretty much covered things. Just because you have the necessary land, you still need permission from the governing municipality for some "non-typical" uses. The process varies but typically starts with an application to the local zoning office. This may trigger the conditional use / special use process.

The FAA 5010 is the form to register an airport - private or public. This is also used by any state level department of aviation.

The FAA and/or state authority will perform their own evaluation of the application and then decide if it is approved.

All of the above entities may attach restrictions.

Filing and receiving approval of the 5010 no longer guarantees your runway will appear on charts. The FAA now only adds new private "airports" to the charts if it provides some significant or important value.
 
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Greg Arehart said:
So, fill me in on this "special use permit" thing and FAA 5010. If I built a strip on my own land/farm, am I required to somehow register it? Just curious.

Greg
Click to expand...

Greg Arehart said:
So, fill me in on this "special use permit" thing and FAA 5010. If I built a strip on my own land/farm, am I required to somehow register it? Just curious.

Greg
Click to expand...

Greg,
The answer can vary greatly depending on your state, county, and city. For me, I contacted my county zoning group. They said an airstrip is nothing more than a driveway to them. No requirements unless I wanted to attach it to the road:). I contacted my state Department of Aviation and they also, had no requirement. Lastly, I contacted the FAA and they also did not care as long as I operated as Privately Owned, Prior Permission required. If I were to operate as Privately Owned, Public Use then they had requirements for gradients and clearances. Also, the Form 5010 is used to verify your strip will not interfer with other airstrips, schools and, churches. The Form 5010 allows the option of having your airstrip charted on the sectional, but in trade you must allow its use for public safety such as emergencies, forest fires, etc...

I had my county draft a letter stating I had inquired and that they had no criteria or objections. I had my State Department of Aviation do likewise. I submitted the Form 5010 to the FAA and choose the option of being charted as Privately Owned, Prior Permission Required. That reduced my liability, but unfortunantly scares a lot of potential friends from landing. Most people assume they are unwelcome because of the "R" on the chart. If you choose to land be advised I may hand you a bucking bar:)
 
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