In slump, hangar adds little lift to big home

A short drive from Chattanooga lies a Collegedale community where the whir of plane propellers is merely ambient noise.

"The sound of the planes is kind of like music," said homeowner Don Kuebler as a neighbor taxied down the runway and took off into the early afternoon sky.

Mr. Kuebler's wife, Ruth Ann, said of the noise, "To me it isn't any different than cars going down the street."

The Kueblers aren't alone. Along the McDonald Terrace neighborhood, hangar lots connect some of the residences to the Collegedale Municipal Airport.

"The homeowners have to apply and pay for access to the airport for a few hundred dollars a year," said Chris Swain, the airport manager.

Homeowners are able to connect to the airport's runway through the taxiway on their respective property and communicate with other traffic in the area through an aviation radio, Mr. Swain said.

The Kueblers' 7,362-square-foot residence is complete with a hangar in which their Cessna is parked. After having lived there four years, the couple said they are looking to downsize.

The home with an asking price of $1.36 million has been on the market for almost six months.

However, the Kueblers, who have been in the home building business since the late 1970s, said they are not nervous about the prospects for a sale in a tough economy.

Lyle Spiva, Re/Max agent for the Kueblers' property, focuses on selling large specialty houses and said the coming months should help stir interest in hangar lots.

Mr. Spiva said houses in the neighborhood sell for between $800,000 and $1.5 million.

"As we get into the spring, people start thinking about flying and moving around a little more, so we're hoping things will pick up a little bit," he said.

Throughout the house are silent odes to aviation, from the red and blue ceiling fan resembling plane propellers mounted on a wall in the game room to a framed T-shirt from Mr. Kuebler's first solo flight in 2001.

Mr. Kuebler said the decision for him and his sons to obtain pilot's licenses came out of convenience.

"With our own plane a two- or three-day trip becomes a one-day trip," Mr. Kuebler said, adding that less time in transit allows his sons to spend more time with their families.

"We like to fly so it makes sense to build a house at the airport," he said. "The plane is there, you just have to go out the back door, get in and leave."

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