When Joe Sobczak was trying to find a brand-new house in Groveland, California, his concern was distinct: he required a home that might house his aircrafts.
That’s when the 69- year-old test pilot discovered a property airpark at the Pine Mountain LakeAirport In 2017, Sobczak purchased a 3-bedroom, 7-bathroom, 5,000- square-foot house with a 3,600- square-foot garage for $698,000 He has a home loan of $4,000 a month.
“It’s a phenomenal social environment because you have an immediate group of people who have common interests,” Sobczak informs CNBC MakeIt “The services are rather minimal, however the compromise is quickly balanced out by the tranquility and serenity of [the community].”
There have to do with 90 houses with garages that have actually deeded access to utilize the taxiways and runway at the Tuolumne County airport in the property airpark. In his garage, Sobczak keeps a Beechcraft T-34 Mentor airplane he purchased with another pilot for $175,000
Sobczak purchased your home for $698,000 and has a month-to-month home loan of $4,000
KatieTarasov Photo by CNBC Make It
The 2 of them divided the expense of preserving the airplane. They conserve cash on repair work since Sobczak is an FAA-certified A&P mechanic, so he frequently does the work himself.
As a test pilot, Sobczak works mainly out of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Instead of doing the three-hour drive, he leaps in among his aircrafts and takes a 45- minute flight to neighboring San Carlos Airport and drives 15 minutes to SFO.
“The reason I feel safer in the airplane is because I have total control of my environment, as opposed to driving a car where it’s me and the 5,000 other cars that pass me by on the way to the Bay Area,” he states. “In the airplane, it’s all under my control.”
Sobczak normally flies down to operate at the San Francisco International Airport in his Beechcraft T-34 Mentor airplane.
ErinBlack Photo by CNBC Make It
Fueling the airplane costs about $1 more per gallon than a cars and truck, he states. He pays around $120 roundtrip for jet fuel, so the expense is similar to what he would invest driving his cars and truck to and from work.
Because the Tuolumne County airport has no control tower, locals of the airpark utilize a typical traffic advisory frequency so pilots can relay their position and desired flight course.
“I don’t really have to tell anybody if I’m going flying. All I have to do is taxi out and take off,” Sobczak states. “It’s never loud …. It’s so quiet that it’s noisy.”
Part of Sobczak’s deed consists of access to the Tuolumne County airport.
