KEY POINTS:
The idea of living with your aeroplane is taking off in rural Auckland where an American-style air park is proposed for a little-used private airstrip.
"People who are into light aviation are similar in an emotional sense to boaties whose ultimate is to step from their waterways home on to their boat," said Tiger Moth owner Jim Schmidt, of Warkworth.
His company wants to develop eight house sites alongside Kaipara Flats Airfield runway. Rodney District already has the 70-lot Dairy Flat Aero Park at busy North Shore Airfield.
The lure for aviators is to taxi their planes into their home's own hangar - like driving a car into the garage.
The residential air park concept is big in the United States where there are more than 400 - the most famous being Jumbolair in Florida where film star and pilot John Travolta built a $9 million home, with room to park his Gulfstream jet and Boeing 707.
Such expensive aircraft are not expected on Kaipara Flat's grass runway, which is 822m long compared with Jumbolair's 2300m sealed strip.
Mr Schmidt, who flew for an American airline before coming to live in New Zealand in the 1970s, said: "Our goal is to keep it a quiet country airstrip for that lifestyle.
"You will roll out the front door and be on the airstrip. You won't be waiting 20 to 30 minutes in the queue to take off, you won't have to talk on the radio, you just have the freedom of use - it's a pilot's dream having something like that on your doorstep."
Sites of between 2500 sq m and 6000 sq m would allow room for a house, hangar, tennis court and pool.
Rodney Aero Club members built the airfield more than 40 years ago when it was part of a farm.
The farm was later subdivided and the airfield portion is now owned by Mr Schmidt, club chief instructor Rod Millar and fellow aviation enthusiast Steve Bignell.
"We wanted to save the airfield from becoming a lot of houses and no aeroplanes.
"If it were lost to housing it would be impossible to get resource consent to start another airstrip.
"We are doing something to get it to where it's self-sustaining by selling just eight residential sites. A body corporate and the club will keep it going for aviation access."
The club's Cessna 172n is one of seven light aircraft based there and Mr Schmidt said an air park would not greatly increase the field's activity of 1000 movements a year.
The proposal requires Rodney District Council consent for a change to the District Plan's special zone for the airfield. The developer must prove that additional flights will not breach the noise limits set by the District Plan and satisfy drainage concerns.
Mr Schmidt said if it were declined the airfield would have to consider setting up maintenance and flying training facilities.
