As any pilot can attest, one’s relationship with an airplane can be a complex matter. Unconditional love for one’s plane can quickly yield to desire and lust for a hotter, sleeker model, while loyalty and devotion can be challenged by the next AD in the mailbox or an annual equal to the national debt of Argentina.

Thus, we were intrigued to come across a website entitled “Living With Your Airplane.” No doubt about it, if the self help section of Borders can provide you with books offering tips on how to live with your spouse, dealing with your 12 year olds’ desire for a Maori tattoo, and ministering to the emotional needs of a ferret, then why not some help on bonding with an A 36?

In a recent article in The New York Times, much was made of the pleasures and angst of living in an airpark located in Ocala, Florida called “Jumbolair”. With a 7,550’ long, 250’ wide runway, there’s nothing subtle about “Jumbo”. Indeed, if your feckless heart is about to ditch that faithful piston for the temptations of kerosene, then this is the place you may want to be. According to The Times, Jumbo is the only residential airpark actually built with the intention of attracting jets - and with John Travolta hunkered down in a 15,540 square foot house and his Gulfstream II and 707 tucked in right next to him for a quick nuzzle, the developers of this airplane nirvana appear to be having some success. Still, John is somewhat of a refugee having fled his previous Florida fly –in residence as his

Whatever the case, the future for Jumbo is apparently looking good. Which of course gets us thinking; what about the Empire State? Why shouldn’t New York - and Long Island in particular - have its own first class airpark? Why should the Sunshine State, a place that couldn’t even count ballots in the last presidential election, be trusted with matters of square footage and runway width and length? Shouldn’t we view mathematical calculations and Florida with just a touch of skepticism? So here’s a proposal, let’s urge the town of Riverhead to turn Peconic into a residential aviation community! Forget about Jumbolair, with Peconic’s lengthy runways, onsite VOR, hangers, and empty buildings ready for condoing, only a name like “Garganulair” would suffice. Entice a few aviation minded Hampton’s celebrities to settle into the digs, toss out an endorsement or two, and the Long Island airpark business is on the way! While of course the field is not exactly on the water, it does offer an unobstructed view of Splish Splash, making a water view sales point definitely in the cards.

So here’s to Long Island, a land with wonderful towns and great people, but where the need to snuggle with one’s airplane remains an unrequited dream.

Albin Cofone

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