Some think planes are best way to travel

It was the summer of 2004. My wife and I had just bought our townhome on Lake Norman and now we were looking at private homes for sale for my brother and sister-in-law.

They had asked us to focus on Mooresville, near good transportation.

As we were coming down Interstate-77, I noticed an "airport" sign at Exit 36, the main Mooresville exit. I turned off and headed west to Perth Road, where the sign again said "airport."

I made the right turn, saw no airport and wound up in Troutman.

If I had only been looking more carefully as I drove up Perth Road, I would have seen Catawba Air Road, which leads into the Lake Norman Airpark.

It's easy to miss from the road but rather impressive once you get to the 3,100-foot runway.

Behind the homes and trees lies a neat, well-marked, asphalt airfield that abuts Lake Norman and is surrounded by some 40 acres of aviation buildings and homes.

For aviation enthusiasts who are looking for an airfield to handle small private planes in the Lake Norman area, this is a dream come true.

That dream began in the summer of 1964 , when a group of local businessmen led by John D. Gibson started searching for a site for an airport, not only to allow them to pursue their own aviation interests, but to benefit the town of Mooresville.

They formed the Lake Norman Aviation Club and negotiated leasing arrangements with Duke Power to use the land, which was situated on a peninsula in the newly formed lake.

The club worked with Duke Power to clear timber and the National Guard to grade and prepare the land for the airstrip, which at that time was called "Mooresville Airport."

By 1970, the runway was a 2,400-foot grass strip, 20 feet wide and hangars were envisioned for the field.

However, the next 15 years were dominated by little interest in growth and the club became inactive.

In the mid-1980s, the club was reactivated. In 1990, the late Dr. Tom Wilson purchased the airport property and the surrounding acreage, developing a working agreement with the club so that it could continue. Wilson, who was a club member, died July 18 in a Georgia plane crash.

In May 1994, The Lake Norman Airpark Owners Association was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. It owns and maintains the runway and approximately 40 acres of common area, which includes the associated residential taxi-ways.

During the summer and fall of 2003, the runway was repaved and a new taxi-way was installed. Centerlines and edge marking of the runway were completed, and a new runway lighting system was installed.

Today, the airfield is home to approximately 50 private airplanes, but it also accommodates visiting planes, according to Tug Smith, former president of Lake Norman Airpark.

"The airport primarily serves the residents who live here and store their planes on site, plus friends who may be traveling to and from the Lake Norman area."

Smith says they handle about 10 flights a day, and that they occasionally see business executives from NASCAR teams flying into and out of the airfield.

The pilots are trained to be sensitive to their neighbors.

"Unless we hit extreme weather, our pilots will take off towards the northwest over the Lake to minimize the noise level," he said.

In addition to the planes, Race City Aviation has a crew stationed at the field that provides maintenance services and fuel for the planes.

As of this summer, there are more than 40 residents who live on homes adjacent to the airfield, some of whom store their planes in small hangars where garages holding cars would normally be. That suits them just fine.

"I've been flying for 40 years and have never grown tired of it. I just drove all the way to Indiana and back and I'll tell you this: In my opinion, an airplane is the best personal mode of transportation," said Smith.