Carmel Magazine

casually by transient flyers in the coming decades, while the air park idea waxed and waned. At some point it was paved with asphalt and the hangars were constructed. Then in the early 1990s, a Swedish-born avia- tion enthusiast named Lars de Jounge flew into town with a dream of his own. "The Fords had the right idea," the 86-year old retired engineer says from his Vero Beach, Florida, air park home, "but their timing was off." de Jounge's vision was to transform the Double F into the Carmel Valley Vintage Airfield, intended exclusively for owners of antique aircraft to build homes for themselves and their big-boy toys. "I wanted to build ten hous- es on the northern side of the runway," he says. "I had people interested but no financial help came." None, that is, except for the $10 landing fee that those flying in were requested to deposit in an honor-system box. Although a group of concerned citizens, including airline pilot Jeff Hand, formed the Carmel Valley Historic Airport Society to battle bureaucratic logjams to keeping the airport open, it was closed in 2002, when the yellow "Xs" were painted. "We fought the good fight," he says. "Because the development was so old and so unique, there were no zoning restrictions on its use as an airfield. But it was no use. The owners closed it." Since then, rumors have circulated about future uses of the property, including a hel- 116 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 Although this development never took flight, Byington and Tyrie Ford were ahead of their time. More than 300 airparks are dotted across the nation, where passionate aviators keep their aircraft in hangars not unlike Tyrie's. As in Carmel Valley, automobiles take a backseat to airplanes. Photos: Courtesy Lou Allaire, Carmel Valley/Michael Hemp: Archival and restoration 112-117 Carmel Valley Airpark_152-161 Garcia story 4/25/14 6:05 PM Page 4

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