Airparks, and the Death of Jumbolair?

Isn't it weird that there are people rich enough to own their own plane? Like aviation buff and celebrity "carbon criminal," John Travolta, for instance -- he's got his own Boeing 707! It's unreal to think how much money it would cost for an individual to buy one, let alone keep it maintained, fueled, and staffed. Honestly, I'm surprised even John Travolta has enough money.

Apparently owning a plane is more popular than I imagined. Maybe not everyone has a 707, but according to the "Living with Your Plane" Association (there's an association for everything!), there are over 400 Airparks housing 22,000 homes in the United States alone. An Airpark is essentially a neighborhood built around an airstrip, and houses within the community are often fabricated with garages large enough to fit small personal planes.

John Travolta houses his jumbo jet in the ultra-luxurious, two runway airpark, Jumbolair, in Marion County, Florida. According to their website, "Jumbolair, once home to three thousand crocodile, ninety eight elephants, three white rhinos and a four hundred pound gorilla named Mickey is on its way towards becoming the nation's largest and most exclusive fly-in community." Call me crazy, but I don't know that the displacement of wild animals for extravagant toys like private runways for the ultra-rich is something you want to brag about on your website.

It turns out that the main runway at Jumbolair is in serious need of repairs, and a recent FAA report found it in such a degraded state that "it is virtually unusable by anything but the smallest aircraft," according to Wikipedia.

Always truthful Wikipedia also mentions that "as of January 2007 litigation is preventing all property owners in the subdivision, except John Travolta, from accessing the runway with their aircraft," but fails to cite this claim. So let's pretend it's only half true until a more reputable source picks up on it, okay?

• Previously on Gadling: Traveling Travolta