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AIR PARK OFFERS A NEW RUNWAY MODEL.


Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations:

In Mexico:
  • Agua Dulce, Veracruz
In the United States:
  • Agua Dulce, California
  • Agua Dulce, El Paso County, Texas
  • Agua Dulce, Nueces County, Texas
 - If Barry Kirshner has his way, Agua Dulce will be known for more than its rural atmosphere, splendid rock formations or occasional movie backdrops.

It also will be on the map as a fly-in community, a place where houses have hangars, where pilots stop off for a bite to eat and maybe a game of pool.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., man has a five-phase plan to promote the sleepy Agua Dulce Air Park Ranch and surrounding property he bought about two years ago as a neighborhood for pilots, their planes and their families.

Since he purchased the property, Kirshner has rebuilt the runway and taxiway taxiway: see airport. , installed a self-service fuel station and set up a pilots lounge with pool tables and a big screen television.

Blending the rural airport with the surrounding equestrian community, he started hosting horseback rides through the airport. He also has hired a management team.

``When I moved here, the first thing I wanted to do was to make the air park part of the community,'' Kirshner said. ``I want it to be a place where the community can come and enjoy together.''

On weekends, he hosts fly-in barbecues where pilots can stop and rest, refuel re·fu·el  
v. re·fu·eled also re·fu·elled, re·fu·el·ing also re·fu·el·ling, re·fu·els also re·fu·els

v.tr.
To supply again with fuel.

v.intr.
 and enjoy lunch while taking in the parklike surrounding with its picnic tables A picnic table (or sometimes a picnic bench) is a modified table with benches expressly for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors (picnicking). In the past, picnic tables were typically made of wood, but modern tables can be made out of anything from recycled plastic to  and lush green lawn. The pilots lounge is being converted into a sports bar.

Residents are welcome to bring their families for picnics and watch the planes land and take off.

``The whole idea is to base the air park with the community,'' Kirshner said. ``My plan is to get this airport back on the map within the aviation world. I want to make it desirable not only for the pilots but for the community.''

By June, Kirshner plans to have a community swimming pool, a basketball court, sand volleyball court and a spa. Other plans include a sandy beach Sandy Beach (location ) is on the South Shore of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. It is known for its shorebreak for bodyboarding and bodysurfing. The area is also known for its strong current and dangerous shorebreak.  and a 20-room motel that would open in about a year. He also plans homes with hangars, ready for sale in early 2004.

``It's part of every pilot's dream to taxi their plane right into their garage,'' said Hank Landman, 39, of El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and .``He's doing a good thing here. He's brought back a lot of vitality.''

Landman, a professional pilot working for a charter aircraft company transporting celebrities, typically flies out of Pacoima and is impressed with the changes at the old air park.

``He's done more for the airport than anyone has,'' Landman said. ``It makes the whole experience more pleasurable.''

Also hoping to take advantage of the fly-in community is Pat Pollock, 44, of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. .

``I've always wanted a home with a hangar,'' Pollock said during a recent weekend visit to the air park.

Pollock works for Boeing and might be transferring to Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . A fly-in community would serve him perfectly, he said.

In the 1960s, the air park was bustling with activity, with more than 100 airplanes lined up and a busy restaurant where it often was standing-room-only.

But in later years, the Years, The

the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109]

See : Time
 air park was not well-maintained, and the owners catered more to the film industry than pilots.

Now Kirshner said he's dedicated to his project.

In June, he plans a sports and aviation camp for youngsters interested in sharing in his flying.

``There's a demand for it,'' Kirshner said. ``Right now, there's no place for kids to go. We want them to come here.''

Kirshner is hoping to work with the Civil Air Patrol
The U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was created on 1 December, 1941 by Administrative Order 9, with Maj. Gen. John F.
, a nationwide youth program that teaches youngsters about aviation.

``It will probably be the way we get around in 20 years,'' Kirshner said. ``It gives you the freedom to work in one place and live in another.''

Kirshner should know. He commutes from Scottsdale, where he works as a developer. But the air park is his dream come true.

``This one is it for me,'' Kirshner said. ``This is where I plan on spending the rest of my days.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film"
color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour
 SAC edition only -- ran in SAC and AV editions only) Barry Kirshner is in the process of making Agua Dulce Air Park Ranch a community for pilots.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(2 -- ran in SAC and AV editions only) Daniel Tuit, 8, of Saugus, left, plays video games See video game console.  at Agua Dulce Air Park Ranch.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer
COPYRIGHT 2002 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Dec 30, 2002
Words:727
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