Jumbolair Airport is a private-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. It is located in the unincorporated community of

Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...

, which is northeast of

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, United States. Frank Merschman owned and operated Jumbolair until 2019 when it was sold to Jumbolair Development LLC, managed by Robert and Debra Bull. The airport has two

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s: 18/36 with an

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

pavement measuring and 9/27 with a

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

surface measuring , which is now closed indefinitely. According to FAA documents, 9/27 ""Greystone"" grass airstrip was once so degraded that only the smallest aircraft could use it.

Jumbolair

Jumbolair Aviation & Equestrian Estates is an aviation-related

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

and

airpark A residential airpark (also spelled air park) is a "fly-in community" specifically designed around an airport where the residents own their privately owned airplanes which they park in their hangars, usually attached to the home or integrated i ...

situated alongside the airport's runway, the largest private paved airfield in the United States. A horse ranch built by

Muriel Vanderbilt Muriel Vanderbilt (November 23, 1900 – February 3, 1972) was an American socialite and a thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. Early life Muriel was born on November 23, 1900, in New York City ...

, which was purchased by Arthur Jones (inventor of the Nautilus cam) in 1980, sits at the community's center. The development contains multiple lots connected by taxiways which lead to the runways.

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

and his wife

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including '' Mischief'' (1985), ''Twins'' (1988), ' ...

were some of the first land purchasers. The runway length allowed Travolta, a pilot, to operate his ex-

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Airlines

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

jetliner. Travolta announced in May 2017 that the aircraft had been donated to the

Historical Aircraft Restoration Society The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, often referred to by its acronym, HARS, is an Australian based aircraft restoration group. The group has two museums, at Shellharbour Airport in New South Wales, Australia, and Parkes, New South Wale ...

near

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, Australia. In January 2007, litigation prevented all property owners in the subdivision from accessing the runway with their aircraft. The access issue was resolved when Jumbolair purchased the adjacent land and remaining airport rights.

Accidents and incidents

On August 26, 1985, a Luscombe 8, Luscombe 8E Silvaire, registration number ''N47BM'', was observed to make two steep turns and enter a Spin (aerodynamics), spin at an altitude of about Altitude above ground level, AGL immediately after takeoff from Runway 9 at Greystone; the ensuing crash killed the pilot and passenger and destroyed the airplane. Witnesses reported to investigators that the pilot had previously exhibited a lack of Coordinated flight, control coordination in the aircraft and had engaged in reckless flying on previous occasions. The accident is attributed to the pilot's loss of control and his subsequent Stall (fluid mechanics), stall/spin and uncontrolled descent. The pilot's "ostentatious display", "improper use of procedure", "overconfidence in [his] personal ability", and "overconfidence in [the] aircraft's ability" are noted in the report.

References

External links

Jumbolair
* {{Florida airports Airports in Florida Residential airparks Transportation buildings and structures in Marion County, Florida

Jumbolair

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links