But here's the most important fact in the fine print - of the nearly 18,900 landing facilities in this country, fewer than 5,100, or about 27 percent, are available for use by the public. The vast majority of airports in this country are set aside for private use. Technically, if an airport is designated as private use, it means that - if you don't own the airport or are not an authorized user - you have to obtain prior permission to land or take off.
Sectional and terminal area aeronautical charts show "(Pvt)" appearing above a private-use airport's name. If the chart depicts a private-use airport with an open circle, meaning it does not have a hard-surface runway, the letter "R" will appear inside the circle. Many private-use airports have one or more hard-surface runways, and thus the charting symbol is a solid magenta circle. A few even have a solid blue circle, meaning an air traffic control tower is in service at the airport.
Lots of private-use airports are just that - strictly for the use of certain people, and no one else. Other private-use airports are not quite so exclusionary. The airport may officially be designated and charted as private-use, but in fact it welcomes strangers to stop in for a visit.
One example in my neck of the woods, Florida, is Tampa Bay Executive, located north of the city of Tampa. The privately-owned airport was open to the public, but in January the designation changed to private use. The owners made the switch so they could control itinerant touch and go operations at the small airstrip. It is open to owners who base their aircraft there and transients who stop to refuel or do business with the paint or maintenance shop. The airport even has a flight school. It's just that now, if you're not from Tampa Bay Exec and you want to do some touch-and-goes, you won't receive permission to do so.
Then there's the Leeward Air Ranch southeast of Ocala, and Spruce Creek Airpark near Daytona Beach. Both are privately owned, private-use airports, although they certainly don't fit the stereotypical image of the private strip - a rustic, undulating grass swath carved out of a cornfield by an enterprising flying farmer.
Leeward Air Ranch's 6,200-foot-long "stabilized sod" (the sod has been mixed with clay and rolled to a pavement-like smoothness) runway serves some 120 fly-in homes. The house-hangars at Leeward contain premium hardware - warbirds, homebuilts, antiques, and classics, along with some very nice transportation aircraft.
Spruce Creek is similar to Leeward in that it is an upscale residential airpark. It's different in that its 4,000-foot runway is paved, and the airport even has its own FBO.
You can land at Leeward or Spruce Creek if you're invited by a property owner, or the airport operator, in which case you're probably going there to look at buying a lot on the airpark. However, if your mission is nothing more than airport hopping to see what there is to see and you land without authorization, you could be cited for trespassing.
Leeward Air Ranch and Spruce Creek are fine airports by any standards, but that can't be said about all privately owned, private-use airports. In fact, you can't be sure of just what you'll encounter at a private-use airport. Federal standards for public-use airports that receive FAA funding - such things as clear zones on the approaches, and runway and taxiway markings and lighting - do not apply to private-use airports. The airport owner may have to heed some local, county, and/or state standards regarding condition of the runway, but standards differ from state to state, or may not exist at all. And don't expect to call flight service to get a weather observation or NOTAMs for a private-use airport.
Suppose you'd like to fly to a private-use airport for whatever reason. How do you obtain prior permission from the owner or operator? You can try to locate the airport on a road map, drive there, and talk to someone in charge. Or, you can telephone. AOPA's Airport Directory lists the city location, airport name, identifier, and telephone number for 1,800 private-use landing facilities in the U.S. Each airport voluntarily submitted the information for inclusion in the directory, so you can safely assume that most will grant permission to land if asked.
Another source is a state airport directory. The Florida Department of Transportation's Aviation Office recently issued a 1998 Florida Airport Directory that contains a comprehensive listing, by city, of all landing facilities in the state including private-use airports. It's a great resource. Check with your state aviation authorities to see if they have such a directory.
Failing a directory listing, you can try calling a public-use airport near the private-use airport you wish to fly to. Chances are good someone there will know the owner/operator of the private strip, and can give you a telephone number to call.
Be aware that without the protection of NOTAM reporting for private-use airports, it's up to you to find out whether the strip is safe for flight operations. Ask the owner detailed questions about runway condition, approaches, and any special procedures you should follow to ensure a safe arrival and departure.
If the private-use airport has a Unicom frequency listed on the chart, use it to ask about conditions and for permission to land.
There is one way you can dispense with the prior-permission requirement for landing at a private-use airport, but I hope you don't have occasion to use it. If you have an in-flight emergency that demands an unplanned and hasty landing, a cleared and maintained private-use runway sure beats any off-airport alternative. If you damage the runway or airport while executing an emergency or precautionary landing you may be liable for repairs. But that's something you can deal with later, after breathing a big sigh of relief that all aboard are safe.
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