He passed down his passion for flying to younger members of the family, and both he and his teenage son began flight training at the same time. His next youngest son has recently started training for his private certificate, and there are three other sons who could also follow the same path. 

In only a few short years since returning to the skies, Manda has purchased an aircraft of his own and an asphalt airstrip in Missouri. But having an airstrip wasn’t the reason he purchased the property.

• READ MORE: Oregon Airpark Development Aims to Create Access to ‘Outdoor Playground of the West’

“My wife and I own a landscape company up here in Kansas City [Missouri] and as part of that company, we grow sod,” Manda said. “Three years ago or so, we bought 130 acres from a guy…and developed a sod farm. We were looking to expand our operation further and…[the guy] was looking to sell more of his property. We ended up buying the house and the airstrip along with 75 more acres.” 

The airport has been around since 1979 and sports a new name following the transition, Blue Cedar Landing Airport (43MO). Manda said that maintaining the airport requires minimal additional attention to his company’s existing operations on the property. He envisions his privately owned airfield will be a vibrant GA-focused outpost and has plans for future fly-ins.

That’s why Manda is excited for other pilots to come and enjoy the airstrip as much as he and his family. 

“We mow our sod once a week, and when we do, we just mow a little bit more and mow up to the runway,” he said. “So, because I have those fields around me that I will never develop or plant trees on, it will always be a wide-open area. That gave me the thought to have a fly-in where people can just park their airplanes in the grass. We could do flour-bombing competitions, food trucks right next to the airplanes, and other things you may not be able to do at a municipal airport. We will do different things to bring people together and support aviation.”

Manda decided that a large farmhouse that came with the second land purchase would make for a good short-term rental, bringing another option for pilots looking for a place to stay the night alongside their aircraft. 

“We looked at doing something different that not a lot of places can do, so we decided to make this house a Vrbo for really anybody, but I’m definitely going to cater it to the fly-in community,” he said. “It’s a great place for three or four couples to meet up and have something to do. They can fly in and keep their airplane here and rent the house that’s literally 100 yards from the 2,430-foot-long-by-30-foot wide asphalt runway. And we will have a car that they can get on Turo to get around the area.

• READ MORE: Idaho Luxury Fly-In Development Poised for Takeoff

“The house is about a 15-minute drive to downtown Lee’s Summit, where there is tons of stuff to do. There are shops, restaurants, and dining, like a little brewery and a wine bar. It’s situated about 10 minutes away from downtown Pleasant Hill, where there are eclectic shops, restaurants, and Rock Island Trail, which connects to the Katy Trail, which at 240 miles long is the longest developed rail-trail in the country. We have teamed up with a bike shop so people can rent bikes, since it’s hard to fly with a bike.”

The 7,300-square-foot home sleeps up to 20 and rents for an average of $800 per night. Manda is adding a separate one-bedroom option to the property that will be priced more economically, $200 per night on average. He believes that the addition of this smaller rental and an available on-site rental car will entice more aviators to consider flying in.  

“On the property we also have a little pilots lounge that we are currently finishing and will be named ‘The Stables Event Space at Blue Cedar Landing,’” he said. “It will be an event space for rentals up to 150 people. When the space isn’t rented, it will be open for pilots that fly in during the day and want to have a coffee or just get together.”

Blue Cedar Landing is located 11 nm south of Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport (KLXT).

The post New Turf for Blue Cedar Landing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Several years ago, the Martins began considering the purchase of a larger family hauler, which wouldn’t fit in the T-hangar where they had long kept their Cessna 182. Their inability to find adequate hangar space was the inspiration for Spirit Sky Club, an in-development luxury 28 hangar facility at the northern portion of the field—near Runway 26R. 

“Being around Spirit, we got to know the directors, John Bales [director of aviation] and Dave Schubert [deputy director of aviation], very well and that was the first place we looked for hangar space,” said Alex Martin. “We were talking to them one day, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, the waitlist is a little bit long here. We’re happy to put you on it, but if you want to get that plane within the next couple of years, I would look elsewhere.’ We called up nearby airports and found the same problem at each of them. That was kind of the first green light that went up in our heads.”

Martin said he and his father, Douglas, both enjoy solving problems. They started diligently researching ways to meet the apparent demand back in January. 

“We’re a family of entrepreneurs, and we started doing research on the hangar landscape across the country to really put it in perspective,” Martin said. “Is this just a St. Louis problem, or is this a national problem? There were two major things that stuck out. One is that plane ownership struck a chord over COVID. Private air travel is up anywhere from 10 to 20 percent relative to pre-pandemic levels. Then on the supply side, COVID backed up supply chains everywhere. Hangar development as well stopped during this time and has really yet to fully come back. These two signals, mixed with our personal experience of needing a hangar, were the catalyst for Spirit Sky Club.” 

These box hangars will be quite a bit different from those at airports in the greater metro area. 

“The model we’re really after here is more of a country club type of model—a community of enthusiasts around a certain hobby,” Martin said. “With how many aviators reside in St. Louis, you would think that there would be more of a natural community element at many hangars, but there’s not. With weekend events, charity galas, and world-class amenities, we aim to change that.

“This is built for the owner/operators. If you’re hiring a pilot, not passionate about aviation, or simply using your plane as just a line item on your company’s budget, this probably isn’t for you. It’s more for the people that really, really care about the community around aviation, being around other pilots, and enjoy talking about aviation. This whole development is designed by pilots, for pilots. We went after the development with a design first approach, accounting for things that are important to aviators.”

The Martins are joined in this development by the Alms, another father-son duo who are also residents of the area with long-standing roots in aviation. Kevin Alm is a business executive and his son Griffin is a recently minted instrument pilot working on his commercial certificate. Martin said that the foursome leaned on their own experiences as existing hangar tenants of the airport and were mindful of what others would want in new spaces. That included elements such as adequate and convenient electrical outlets, high-speed internet, insulation and heat, air conditioning, 24/7 security, remote-controlled tugs, and even a private bathroom (depending on the type selected). 

There will be three hangar suite options available for lease— shared, standard , or fully customizable deluxe suites. Each box hangar is 62 feet wide by 56 feet deep but has varying door heights and amenity levels. Self-service fuel will be available on-site, as well as line services through a partner FBO. The group is expecting to break ground in January 2024, with the first phase of development sitting on roughly 7 acres of land. 

Pat McLaughlin, a fellow entrepreneur, has also been an integral part of the development, according to Martin. 

“Pat shares the same vision for us to make St. Louis, even more so Spirit, a general aviation hub in the Midwest throughout the coming decades,” Martin said. “He has been a great advocate for our project and is working here with us to plan a second phase, which would include things like aviation services and additional hangar space.”

McLaughlin explained that his company, Mistwood Aviation, an exclusively Cirrus service and training center, will have space in the tentative second phase. When Mistwood was founded in 2016, McLaughlin had hoped to build a new hangar facility at the airport. But doing so wasn’t financially viable for the fledgling firm, but he kept the thought in the back of his mind ever since. 

“I got real serious [about wanting to build hangars again,] and I started talking to the airport director,” said McLaughlin. “He said, ‘By the way, there is another group that’s looking at doing this. But go ahead and put your project together and see what you can do, because I don’t know if they’re committed or not.’ About two weeks later, I walked into his office with my plan in hand and he goes, ‘These guys are going to move forward, and I’ll introduce you to them.’”

Mistwood Aviation will be a flagship tenant of Spirit Sky Club, where they will have an expanded showroom. This space will not only be a gathering point for potential airplane buyers, but it will also host the company’s aircraft used for pilot training.  

“The other piece of it that I’m hoping to do is there’s a restaurant/brewery idea,” McLaughlin said. “I wouldn’t say that this idea is concrete, but it is more than 50 percent [likelihood of happening]. I’ve been to quite a few different places that I’m modeling this off. The closest one to us is Thaden Field in Bentonville [Arkansas (KVBT)], which is a beautiful facility. If I could draw it up, I would do it exactly like they have where they have the hangar with the clubhouse up top. They have areas for people to come in and see planes take off and land—in addition to the fact that there is a more private members-only space, and it’s all attached to a hangar, so you can use it as an event space.”

The interest in this new offering at the airport has been “phenomenal” thus far, according to Martin. Only four weeks after announcing the project to the public, he said that they had nearly pre-booked every available space in the first phase. 

“The airport has been extremely helpful,” Martin said. “I like to think of them as a partner as well, just because they are as incentivized as we are to make this project a success. From their perspective, they recognize that this is a need and that this would increase the demand for their airport, increase the benefits that they can offer to the city, etc. 

“They have been doing everything they can to incentivize us to go through with this project, to help us with the permitting of this project, all sorts of stuff. They’ve also been a great partner as we’ve been navigating the actual legalities with the city and the legalities with the FAA of doing this project.”

The St. Louis Airport Authority mirrored his enthusiasm for the development and on-field opportunities. 

“Spirit of St. Louis Airport is a first-class, business-friendly airport that works closely with its tenants,” said John Bales, the authority’s director of aviation. “The airport will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024 continues to grow and is perfectly situated in the prospering west St. Louis County. We are very excited to partner with the developer and welcome the investment. They are going to bring a very exciting and unique hangar complex.”

The post Spirit Sky Club Looks to Establish Community-Focused Hangar Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

No one was hurt in the December 10 incident, according to a spokesperson at Whiteman Air Force Base, which is the only operational base for the heavy bomber fleet.

“A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit experienced an in-flight malfunction during routine operations December 10 and was damaged on the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base after it successfully completed an emergency landing,” MSgt. Beth Del Vecchio, spokesperson for USAF 509th Bomb Wing told FLYING.

“There was a fire associated with the aircraft after landing, and the base fire department extinguished the fire. The incident is under investigation,” Del Vecchio said.

The Air Force introduced the B-2 in 1997 and has 20 bombers in active service and one test aircraft. Each aircraft is estimated to cost $1.2 billion.

• READ MORE: Northrop Grumman Pulls the Cover Off B-21 Raider

The post B-2 Spirit Catches Fire After Emergency Landing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“As a kid, I would go up to where there was a playground at the community center. I remember going there for birthday parties and seeing some of the old taildraggers and all of that stuff that would be flying out of the airport. I remember standing there on the fence and watching them do turns in the pattern all day long; it was great!” Kitchell recalled.

“Now fast forward to a couple of years ago and I finally decided to get my pilot’s license. So after starting flight training (as part of a flying club at a nearby airport), I really got to thinking. If I was going to buy an airplane, I sure would like to be able to house it close by. Well then, I got to checking into it and talking to some pilots who have hangars at Bismarck. They had been doing the best that they could to upkeep the airport over the past few years”

Kitchell saw an opportunity for the airport to reach its true potential and stay at that level. He thought he could be a driving force in those efforts, he explained. 

“The city realistically didn’t have much interest in keeping the airport going for only a few pilots that were based there. As I started flying in and getting to better know the pilots based there, I approached the city. I asked what it would take for me to lease the airport and become its manager. At that time, they were actually thinking about closing it down. You know, there are so many of these small general aviation airports closing across the country, and you just don’t want to see that happen to your town’s. By becoming the Bismarck Memorial’s manager, I could upgrade the airport and keep it going.”

Timing wasn’t appropriate in 2021 when Kitchell first approached the leadership of his city. So, he put his idea on the backburner, in hopes that winds of fortune would later turn in his favor. Only a year later, the opportunity presented itself for Kitchell to re-pitch his third-party airport management concept. 

“Fast forward to a few months ago, they had elections, and the new mayor is really into revitalizing the town, bringing in more businesses, and making everything better. I talked with him about leasing the airport. With me being a pilot, I said that I’d keep it clean and work towards upgrading the facilities there. And the discussion actually came at a perfect time because, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Festus Airport [KFES, 28 nm northeast of H57] is closing. So, it made a lot of sense for me to jump on the opportunity at Bismarck Memorial and give back to the community by keeping the town’s airport going.” 

In mid-September 2022, Kitchell assumed the lease from the city on a five-year, renewable basis. “The city actually keeps control of the airport, as far as ownership, and then they just step away, allowing me to maintain and improve it,” he explained. 

“So I started a company, it’s called Crosswind Aviation Services, that’s basically a property management company to take care of all the hangars, the maintenance, the renovation work, and all the money coming in and coming out. The city doesn’t have to do anything with the airport, but to retain ownership of the property. This can actually work well for you [the lessee] because if it becomes a privately-owned airport, it’s a lot harder to get any kind of federal or state money to improve the airport’s facilities.” 

Having just started his lease, Kitchell already has some big plans for the airport. Although some of these planned improvements are longer term in nature, he has already begun working in earnest towards improving the airport. Prior to outlining some of his goals, he elaborated on the current state of Bismarck Memorial. 

“It is an absolute general aviation, small-town airport. Right now, I have two enclosed hangars, which house just one airplane apiece. And then I have three Quonset huts, which house two airplanes apiece. They are basically shade ports with tiedown spots in them with an asphalt strip inside. The airport has actually been sitting pretty much empty for the past 10 years. Nothing has been done to the main office building or the FBO in that period, so I came into stacks of magazines from the 1990s and early 2000s. My wife and my two kids have been helping me out by cleaning when they can, so we can see where we are before starting renovation work,” he said.

“Years, years, and years ago, the field had fuel and doesn’t right now,” Kitchell said. “But we are currently working with a few fuel suppliers to hopefully get fuel back on the field. And then as far as lighting, it has non-standard runway lighting right now, that’s on from dusk ‘til dawn. We also have a beacon, but that poor old beacon is only half lit, only the green light works—instead of the white and the green. Like I said, it’s your typical airport that hasn’t been touched in 10 or 12 years and only about half the stuff works. So I definitely have my work cut out for me, as far as trying to get it back up to snuff.” 

The airport Kitchell learned to fly at is important in his new venture. Festus Memorial Airport, while a large loss for the general aviation community in the greater St. Louis area, serves as a good asset pool. Kitchell states that he’s planning to acquire several items from there to improve Bismark, such as pilot-controlled lighting controllers and a Unicom radio, among other things. 

“Right now, Bismarck’s current runway sits at 2,050 feet. We would really like to get it up closer to 2,500 or 2,600 feet. We have the space to do that, and a lot of the dirt work has already been done, as there are overrun areas on the north and south end of the runway. I think one is almost 400 feet and the other is around 300 feet. By extending the runway, that makes people a little more comfortable flying in, instead of when it’s shorter. So, we’re looking for that, are going to remodel the FBO, and would eventually like to get all new runway lighting and add better tiedown points for visitors to make it a much better general aviation airport. Maybe eventually even widen the runway, add new taxiways, and then eventually, if I can get the business coming in, build additional hangars and house more airplanes onsite. That’s the ultimate dream—it’s not for me or my company, it’s more or less let’s get Bismarck Memorial Airport back on the map. Back to where it was during its heyday, where everybody and their brother wants to fly in.” 

Kitchell reports that the City of Bismarck is excited about the partnership that was forged. All parties involved envision benefitting from the airport’s revitalization.  

“The camaraderie of the aviation community is fantastic and when you have something that hasn’t been used much in 10 years, it’s kind of upsetting. So you want to get it back up to snuff and then having those fly-ins, those festivals, and that kind of stuff. We intend to start doing those things again, probably starting spring next year, once we get the grounds cleaned up. We are going to try and do two or three fly-ins and festivals a year. The city is excited about us taking this airport over and trying to revitalize it. They are really interested in doing festivals together, that way we can hold a fly-in at the same time they have an event. We just want to see the airport get used more. Right now, there are probably 2,000 enplanements a year here, people coming in and landing, but I’m hoping to get at least 20 to 30 percent more in the next year.” 

For updates on Bismarck Memorial Airport’s progression and future event dates, follow their Facebook page. 

The post Getting Bismarck Memorial Airport Back on the Map appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For much of the time since, Stateler has been a part-time fly-in community resident alongside his wife, Chan, son, Logan, and their dog, Joey. At present, the family splits their time between a typical subdivision residence in Fort Worth, Texas, and a runway-adjacent home at Lost Mine Airpark (MO56) in Theodosia, Missouri.

Their choosing of this airpark over others in the country was the byproduct of a simple flight planning calculation, as well as an initial bout of hangar home heartbreak. 

“It’s a good story. I grew up in Pennsylvania on a windy lake in a mountain environment and kind of wanted to reproduce that with our child, who at the time was 1 [year old]. So, I took a sectional chart and made a two-hour circle around it,” Stateler recalled. 

“Then I said to myself, ‘Where in two hours can I find mountains, as well as a clear water lake that had airpark abilities.’” 

Out toward the upper portion of this range circle, the Missouri Ozarks were an option that Stateler thought could satisfy his wishes. After some searching, the couple found a property that they felt would be perfect. 

“We had originally bought a lot at an airpark that was in development on western Bull Shoals Lake. When we bought into that in 2007, they had dirt movers out, [and] had plowed a 5,000-foot area to build a runway and a fully plotted-out airpark.”

Stateler noted that the runway was never finished, and the airpark’s marketed vision never came to fruition. As a result, the family was flying their airplane into Branson and then driving an hour to get to their on-property cabin. “This was not the plan,” he added, recalling that they did the flight and driving combination for several years. 

Despite his initial airpark choice being a flop, Stateler wasn’t deterred from living alongside his aircraft. Fortunately, he was already familiar with a more than suitable backup option in the area. 

“You know, in 2007, I had also met with the president of the Lost Mine Airpark HOA and flew out there. It seemed good but we were being told a whole bunch of stuff about this new airpark, how much better it was going to be and we kind of bought off on it. And we regret that. During our seven years at the other place, Lost Mine was always in the back of my mind.” 

Since deciding to make the move to Lost Mine Airpark, Stateler has invested a lot of effort in the community’s continued success. He is now president of the HOA and owns several lots that he purchased from “the airpark matriarch,” Mary Newton, when she decided to move on from the community. Newton’s late husband, Grant Finley, was an initial driving force behind the community, which at the time was called the Ozark Country Estates. 

An original brochure (circa 1970s) from the development touted the ability for pilots and others to “get away from it all.” The ability to relax and take life a little slower has been attractive for Stateler and something that initially caught his attention about the community. 

The aforementioned four-page pamphlet for the residential airpark began by noting, “The day is bathed in sunlight filtered through a leafy screen that seems to always be kept in motion by delightful refreshing breezes. The lake is so clear and blue that you doubt at first that it can be real. Thousands of delightful caves await your exploration. The air is so free of pollution that the night sky sparkles with the light from a thousand stars that appear but an arm’s reach away. A home nestled in the quiet woods of these gently rolling Ozark hills can bring to you and your family a remarkable new ‘way of life’ whether for vacations or retirement.”

The name Lost Mine reportedly comes from a mining lease in the area that operated the majority of the 20th century. But there was no record of its owner on file. 

That said, “lost” isn’t such an uncommon phrase in the area, with little known residential treasures nestled along the lake’s hundreds of miles of shoreline and in its wooded areas.

“It’s a great place to be, but you got to want to be there. You’re not going to luck across it or come across it by accident. I kind of did, but through the sectional chart. But you’re not going to drive by it on accident or anything like that. You kind of have to know that it’s there and want to be remote,” Stateler said. 

With Lost Mine Airpark being on Bull Shoals Lake, ease of access to water sports of several kinds is a draw for many residents of the area. 

“I’m not sure where the term Caribbean of the Midwest started, but it has to do with the water here that is so clear. The lake that Lost Mine is on is the last in a chain of four lakes, so water starts in the White River and then goes into Beaver Lake. Then it goes into Table Rock, Taneycomo, and then it goes into Bull Shoals. It gets filtered so much through all of these lakes that Bull Shoals is a super clear water lake. There is a lot of diving there and some places to get certified,” Stateler explained. 

While the corporate pilot’s airpark experience changed course from his initial heading, Lost Mine has become more than a second place of residence. 

“We really fell in love with the area and the locals there. It’s different from one side of the lake to the other. It’s just a completely different class of people who are really friendly and everyone in the neighborhood has always been willing to help out with our transition. I have another ten years flying [for work] yet, but we are planning retirement at Lost Mine. There is a great group of folks, and we love it there.”

Stateler continued, noting that with his job’s schedule and an aircraft ownership transition it may not be until this fall that he flies back to the community, “We’ve been there for five years now and until a few weeks ago, until I sold it, the Twin Comanche has been our primary transport to the airpark. The market is hot right now and I had bought a Seneca last year to redo completely with a new interior and new avionics. I’m currently working on that now with my IA, but it’s a way bigger project than I had envisioned. But I wanted to get out of the Comanche in a high market.”

With an initial hangar home heartbreak, Stateler’s perseverance enabled him to experience the fruits of airpark living, albeit on a part-time basis. As a byproduct, he and his family may experience what original marketing materials for Old Country Estates touted, “When people come to Lost Mine, they come to stay.” 

The post Mountain and Lake Airpark Provides Residential Treasures appeared first on FLYING Magazine.