Whidbey Airpark Welcome

Welcome to 2017 and some exciting changes at Whidbey Airpark!

As many of you may have heard, Whidbey Airpark is now under new ownership, and we would like to take a moment to introduce ourselves.

As of 12/29/2016 the legal ownership has transferred from Whidbey Airpark LLC to QuickSilver Properties LLC, owned by Sky and Tara Rudolph.

We are Washington natives, originally from the Port Angeles area, moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington where we have settled for the last 22 years.  I (Sky) received a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and pursued a career in aircraft flight test and certification, recently starting my own company helping aftermarket modifiers navigate the aircraft certification and flight test process. Tara received a nursing degree and has moved from trauma surgery at Harborview, to Special Procedures at Overlake, and is now the nurse manager for Bellevue Spine Specialist.  We are community and service minded, volunteering several hundred hours a year in King County Search and Rescue.  We have now moved to the island, and are looking forward to becoming a part of the community here.

We can be reached most hours of most days in person at the old "Porter House" on the NW corner of the field (behind the red shipping containers from the runway side or 5247 Crawford from the road side), by phone at (360) 321-0510, and by e-mail at [email protected].  The mailing address is:
QuickSilver Properties
PO Box 852
Langley, WA 98260
If you are in the area feel free to stop by and say "Hi",  visitors are always welcome!

One of the questions that we get regularly is "why would you buy an airport?"  It is not one that we have a good answer to.  As many of you may understand, decisions to get a pilot's license, or purchase an airplane, or do really anything in aviation fail the usual metrics of business savvy or common sense.  The real reasons are often emotional, spiritual, or otherwise intangible.  Most of us are simply drawn to it for reasons that are difficult to explain.  What we can say though, is that it is a unique opportunity for us to encourage, support, and to help grow the flying community here.  It gives us a little room to expand and grow the flight test business, with room for a shop, and space to tinker.  It makes it convenient to (finally) follow through with life long dreams of flying and owning an airplane.  It is an opportunity to move away from the city (and traffic), and to settle back in to a smaller, quieter community of cool people doing cool things.

And the next most common question is "what are you going to do with it?"  And here again, we have a million ideas but no solid answers.  We have a long and growing list of things that could be done here, but are going to take a slow and measured approach to understand the field and its users before making any big decisions.  In the short term though, there is some overdue maintenance which we will be doing to fix cracks, remove the moss, and seal some areas that need it.  Thankfully, the runway itself is in pretty good condition by most accounts aside from these issues, and with routine maintenance should serve us all well for the foreseeable future.  Also on the short list will be some clearing around the wind sock (leading up to some overall trimming in general of the newer growth encroaching on the runway).  Expect some questionnaires/surveys from us over the next few weeks, so that we can get your ideas and understand your priorities.  We understand that we are not going to make everyone happy with everything that we choose to do, but are very much interested in knowing what it is that you, the users and soul of the airport, want (and don't want) most.  We will also plan for get together later this month (we will try for a Saturday afternoon) that we can get to know each other a bit more in person, and talk about the issues and opportunities here.  More details on that when we have them.

In order to establish some consistency in what has been an inconsistent and often contentious issue, all locally based flyable aircraft will now be paying $100/month airport access fees.  Those in Mark's hangar will pay Mark directly, and those in the Porter hangar or adjacent properties can pay by mail to the PO box, or in person (checks payable to "QuickSilver Properties LLC").  We know that any talk of money can be a sensitive discussion, but we hope you can appreciate our investment, and understand that this is far from being profitable, but the revenue generated helps defray insurance/taxes/maintenance and will be the primary method by which we drive airport improvements.  If access fees present a hardship, come talk to us, and we can discuss some options which allow us all to stay happy and keep flying.

In order to help us with the tall task of getting to know you (and your airplane if you have one), please e-mail back the following information.  It will help us a great deal.

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Name:
Email:
Mailing Address:
Phone #(s):
Aircraft N-Number and Color:
Aircraft Parking Location:
Fun fact about yourself:
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Many of you have already asked how you can help.  There will certainly be requests for specialized equipment and work parties (as the weather gets better) as we dig into some of the physical tasks of maintenance/improvement, so there should be ample opportunities to get your hands dirty.  Paying your dues of course is always greatly appreciated.  But for now, mostly we are looking for your support, and patience.  We cannot do this alone, and look forward to your participation enthusiasm in building the best possible version of this little airport in the woods.

We look forward to this new adventure and we thank you in advanced for your support.

Warmest Regards-
Sky and Tara Rudolph
QuickSilver Properties LLC
360-321-0510