Kestrel Landing Strip

Transcription

1 Kestrel Landing Strip Kestrel Estates Planned Plans are underway to build an upscale neighborhood on the south side hilltop of Flightline Drive. Talks have been underway for more than a year between Dr. Larry Miller, owner of those 18 acres and Kestrel s Architecture Control Committee (ACC), Kestrel s Unit 1 Board of Directors (BOD), and the City of Bulverde. Dr. Miller wants to divide that property into 5 large lots to accommodate 5 multimillion dollar homes. This upscale enclave might even be gated. It s anticipated this addition will add value to our homes and the entire Kestrel neighborhood. The property became part of Kestrel in 2010 with a 5 th Amendment to the old Master Plan. The area was called New Properties and was envisioned as 5 lots, with a road into the property. Dr. Miller bought the property in 2014 and began work to get the track officially platted with the county. Once an understanding was reached with the above parties concerning the standards the road would have to meet, the approval process for the road s name (Jet Stream) began. In the meantime, Dr. Miller has been working closely with the above parties and his civil engineer to draw up specifications on the new community. The BOD First Estate under Construction approved his proposed plat in September of Underground utilities including GVTC fiber optics and Pedernales Electric have been completed. The first home is under construction and nearing completion. Whether this new community will be gated or not is still up for debate. Dr. Miller offered to pay up to $5,000 for POA attorneys opinions on how a gate could be incorporated with no risk or cost to Unit 1. With no gate, the road is open to visitors and Unit 1 pays for its maintenance. With a gate, the owners of the 5 lots pay for installation and maintenance of the gate as well as maintenance of the new road. In either case, these new lot owners will continue their membership in Unit 1 and pay dues for use of Unit 1 common areas. Spring 2017 Volume 6, Issue 1 Reporter: Emily Sutter Design: Joyce Allen Inside this issue: Kestrel Estates Planned 1-2 New Resident Spotlight 2 Neighborhood News Calendar of Events 5 The Planes of Kestrel 6 Have suggestions or items for the newsletter? Contact Emily Sutter Page 1

2 Kestrel Estates Planned (cont.) Dr. Miller has contributed actively to the Kestrel community for many years, including KAPRA Board membership. In addition, he is the founder of our local EMS agency and was their volunteer medical director for 32 years. Now, once again, he is helping to make Kestrel a better place to live. He invites residents to drive up and see the new property. Proposed Plat Dr. Larry Miller New Resident Spotlight Connie and Ramiro Gonzalez We watched for months as the D e s i g n Te c h residence took shape on Flightline. Then like an early holiday treat for Kestrel, the owners arrived. Connie and Ramiro Gonzalez are the most recent additions to our neighborhood. Ramiro was looking to build a home outside the city limits of San Antonio, and being a pilot he sought out Kestrel Air Park. Not content to take on one major endeavor at a time, they proceeded to leave for Cabo, Mexico, to get married with family and friends attending. It was some 18 months ago that Connie and Ramiro met standing in line at the airport, each ready to get on a connecting flight to Cabo, Connie for vacation and Ramiro for business purposes. Now, 18 months later, they are beginning a new life in Kestrel. Ramiro, a widower, is not new to Texas. Although he grew up in Guadalajara, MX, and lived in California for many years, he has lived in San Antonio for the past 13 years. His company, Vertical Aviation, is located at the airport. Its main business is charter and organ transplant flights. Ramiro fell in love with aviation in 8th grade. While his family was living in San Diego, Ramiro s dad would take him to watch the military practice taking off and landing helicopters at Camp Pendleton. After graduating from high school, he moved back to his hometown in Guadalajara, attended the University of UAG for 4 years, then in 1986 moved to Long Beach, CA to obtain his helicopter license. For Connie, this is a whole new life. She is leaving the family and friends where she was raised in Omaha, NE. Imagine living in Omaha, then experiencing San Antonio in August! An account executive in sales and marketing for years prior to moving, Connie is currently taking some time off before reentering the work force. Connie has 2 daughters and 1 son. Her son is currently in the Special Ops Division in the military. She has 6 grandchildren and another one due in May. Combined, the couple has 6 daughters, 1 son, and 8 grandchildren with 1 on the way. Connie and Ramiro love to travel and spend time with their large combined family. We hope they bring them all to Kestrel s annual summer and Halloween parties. Page 2

3 Neighborhood News POA Board Awards Check Charity. This fall a donation in the amount of $2,000 was made to the Bulverde Food Bank. This gift was authorized by members of Unit 1 s Property Owners Association (POA) and came from POA funds budgeted for such purposes. The check represents one of the largest individual donations the Food Bank has received. Holding an enlargement of the check is Steven Salberta, Board President. With Steve from left to right are Board members Coy Armstrong and Connie White. To Steve s left is Barbara McFarlane, a volunteer at the Bulverde Food Bank, Gail Digman, Kestrel Board member and Secretary of the Association. and Cliff McFarlane, Treasurer of the Association and the person who issued the check. This gift helped bring some of the bounty of the holidays to those in need. Christmas Present. Tim and Gail Digman were presented with a new grandson during the holidays. Jason Timothy Crawley (nicknamed JT ) was born 12/5/16 with a hefty birth weight just shy of 9 lbs. JT is the first child born to the Digmans daughter, Brittaney and her husband Bill. The Crawleys live in Kerrville but are in the process of moving to San Antonio where Bill has accepted a new job with a real estate investment firm. Brittaney works full time so Gail has baby duty every day till JT enters daycare in March. According to Gail, JT is an exceptionally good baby who already sleeps through the night. A real Christmas blessing! Gail with new Grandson JT Page 3

4 Neighborhood News (cont.) Drones. The favorite gift to receive this Christmas was apparently a drone. These unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can be seen flying around Kestrel yards, operated remotely for fun just like model airplanes. But avoidance of our airstrip is critical because contact between a drone and a plane could be fatal. The FAA has special rules (particularly Part 107) that apply to drone operation. Because of the evolving nature of drone structure and use, the FAA rules do change. To see what FAA rules currently apply to your drone and whether you must register your drone, the following sites are most helpful: federaldroneregistration.com/ and getting_started. Halloween Party. The Social Committee outdid t h e m s e l v e s a t K e s t r e l s Halloween party this fall in the Navigator cul-de-sac. A special new contest challenged children to eat doughnuts hanging from a string hung above them no use of hands allowed. Some 45 residents and relatives (especially children) enjoyed a delicious spread of food with sides from Sandra s and Kestrel neighbors. The Bounce House was available for the little ones as was the trailer hayride to homes in the neighborhood to collect trick or treat booty. Winners of the costume contest were: Jake Pannell (Cutest), Hayden Landacre (Scariest), and Presley Schumann (Most Original a pineapple). Costume winnershayden Landacre, Jake Pannell, Presley Schumann Doughnut eating fun Page 4

5 Neighborhood News (cont.) Floyd Wilkes Nominations. The Unit 1 Board of Directors has one open position to fill. Floyd Wilkes chairs the Nominating Committee, consisting of Mari Brown, Brian Lloyd and himself (all former Board members). Floyd asks Unit 1 residents to contact him, or any member of the committee if they are interested in being a candidate for this position. Board members serve a 3-year term. Normally they meet every other month to fulfill duties outlined in the Master Plan, making decisions on such matters as road maintenance, landscaping, complaint reviews, Kestrel event planning, etc. Taking care of the administrative duties are the officers, who are not Board members and do not vote. Ask any member of the current Board or the Nominating Committee if you have questions. With such a small community, it helps if everyone takes a turn at serving on our Boards and committees. More Hangars. Those posts sticking out of the ground in the Unit 2 Hangar Lot will soon be replaced by slab. Doug Hooker, owner of the Hangar lot, says he plans to build 8 new hangars in that area. They will look exactly like the other green hangars. There are some 51 hangars on Doug s lot at present all occupied. While Kestrel residents occupy about 10 of the hangars, the other owners/renters mostly come from surrounding areas such as River Crossing or Bulverde. Doug says the demand for hangars is strong and growing as more people move into this area. He expects the new hangars to be finished probably by April. Then it s possible he may add another 4 or 5 hangars to the same row later. Kestrel is clearly becoming an increasingly busy air park. New Hangar Location Calendar of Events Date/Time Description Location Tues. Feb. 21, 6:30 PM KAPRA BOD Meeting BSB Library Mon. Feb. 29, 5:00 PM Unit 1 Dues Due Barbara s Bookkeeping Sun. Mar. 5, 5:00 PM Unit 1 BOD Meeting 497 Navigator Sun. Mar. 12, 2:00 AM Daylight Saving begins spring forward Mon. Mar. 13-Fri. Mar 17 Spring Break Comal ISD Sat. April 8, 10:30 AM Unit 1 POA Meeting BSB Library Sat. May 6, 10:30 AM KAPRA Meeting BSB Library Page 5

6 The Planes of Kestrel This issue begins a new series featuring Kestrel-based planes that fly in and out of our airstrip and identify us as an Air Park. The majority of Kestrel residents are not pilots but enjoy watching the aircraft and often have questions about them. Of the many types of planes hangared at Kestrel, one of the most popular and perhaps the most basic is the kit plane, so this series begins there. Unlike planes that come fully built from a manufacturer, like Beechcraft or Piper, a kit plane comes in pieces and is home-built from scratch. Of the kit planes, most Kestrel pilots are flying RV s, some 5 pilots at last count. The initials stand for the designer s name, Richard VanGrunsven. Most popular of the kit planes, there are some 10,000 RVs flying worldwide. Each model has a different number, with the lower numbers being older. Wade Lively s RV 8 was noted in the Fall 2012 newsletter and Doug Hooker s in the Fall 2013 issue (see at Why build a kit plane when it s so much easier to buy a manufactured plane ready to fly? Cost, mainly, says Gus. Building kit planes can run anywhere from $60,000 to $200,000 depending upon the parts selected. For a kit plane costing $100,000 a comparably equipped commercial plane would cost $250,000. Then, too, builders of kit planes can select parts to fit their needs and they know exactly the quality of workmanship going into the plane. Also, once completed, the FAA approves the air-worthiness of the plane and then grants each builder a license to maintain only that plane himself, again saving costs. However, time is money and the time involved in building a kit plane is substantial. It took Gus and Peggy about 3,000 hours, from 1993 to 1999 to complete the plane after the parts arrived by crate from Oregon (first the tail, then the wings, then the fuselage, etc.). It was definitely a two-person job. They recall working on either side of panels drilling some 12,500 rivets in place. The Aguirres (both pilots) have flown their plane all over the United States. It cruises at 200 mph, with a range of 700 miles on a tank of aviation fuel (burning about 9 gallons an hour). You can spot their plane by its registration number. The registration ends with 6US and Gus points out that looks like his nickname Gus. Peggy and Gus Featured here is Augusto (Gus) and Margaret (Peggy) Aguirre s immaculate RV 6A. While all the RVs are single engine, low wing aluminum aircraft, the 8 and 6A differ in their seating and landing gear arrangements. The RV 8 has tandem seating and is a tail-dragger with two main wheels below the wings and a single small wheel below the tail. The 6A has side-by-side seating and a tricycle landing gear arrangement, doing away with the small tail wheel in favor of a larger nose wheel assembly at the front of the plane. Gus believes the tricycle arrangement allows for more control when landing the plane in windy conditions. RV 6A These kit airplanes flying over Kestrel s runway represent investments of time, money, and attention to detail. It s like building a model airplane on a hugely larger scale. Ask any pilot - constructing a kit airplane is truly a labor of love. Page 6