Jumbolair Airport facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jumbolair
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Private | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Jumbolair Development LLC | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Robert Bull | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Ocala, Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Anthony, Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 100 ft / 30 m | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.jumbolair.com | ||||||||||||||
| Runway | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Jumbolair Airport (FAA LID: 17FL) is a special private airport. It is located in a community called Anthony. This area is about seven miles (11 km) northeast of Ocala, Florida, in the United States.
Frank Merschman used to own and run Jumbolair. In 2019, it was sold to Jumbolair Development LLC. Robert and Debra Bull now manage the airport.
Jumbolair has two runways. One is made of asphalt and is very long, measuring 7,380 feet (2,249 meters). The other runway is made of grass and is 3,457 feet (1,054 meters) long. The grass runway is currently closed.
Contents
What is Jumbolair?
Jumbolair Aviation & Equestrian Estates is a unique neighborhood. It is a gated community and an airpark built right next to the airport's main runway. This runway is the longest private paved airfield in the United States.
The History of the Land
The community is built on what was once a large horse ranch. This ranch was 380-acre (150 ha) big and was built by Muriel Vanderbilt. Later, in 1980, Arthur Jones bought the ranch. He was famous for inventing the Nautilus cam, which is used in exercise machines.
The entire development covers about 550-acre (220 ha). It has many 3-acre (1.2 ha) lots. What makes it special is that these lots are connected by special paths called taxiways. These taxiways lead directly to the airport runways. This means people who live there can keep their planes at home and taxi them right to the runway!
Famous Residents and Their Planes
One of the first people to buy land here was actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston. John Travolta is a pilot. The long runway at Jumbolair allowed him to operate his own large jet. This jet was a Boeing 707 that used to belong to Qantas Airlines.
In May 2017, Travolta announced that he had given his Boeing 707 jet to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society. This group is located near Wollongong, Australia.
For a while in 2007, there was a problem. Property owners in the community could not use the runway with their planes. This issue was fixed when Jumbolair bought the land next to the airport. They also bought the remaining rights to use the airport.
Airport Safety
Airports, even private ones, have safety rules. It's important for pilots to follow these rules.
Past Incident
On August 26, 1985, a small plane called a Luscombe 8E Silvaire crashed after taking off from Jumbolair. The plane was observed to make sharp turns and then lost control. The crash sadly resulted in the deaths of the pilot and a passenger. The accident was caused by the pilot losing control of the aircraft.
