Saving local airports of all sizes
Keep the runway.
Build the community.
Airport Rescue acquires underutilized city and county airports, places them in private ownership that must stay open to the public, and develops them into thriving places to fly, work, and live.
When a local airport closes, it never comes back.
Small airports are lifelines — for flight training, emergency services, agriculture, business travel, and the pilots who keep general aviation alive. Yet many sit underused on public balance sheets, one budget cycle away from being sold off for something else.
Our plan is simple: save the airport by giving it a reason to grow. Private stewardship, a permanent public-use commitment, and a real estate model that funds the field for the long haul.
The plan
Four steps from overlooked to unstoppable
- 01
Acquire
We partner with cities and counties to acquire underutilized public airports that cost more to maintain than they return.
- 02
Protect
Ownership moves to a private entity that is contractually obligated to keep the airport open to the public — permanently.
- 03
Develop
The airport becomes a multiuse facility where private owners can hold property right on the field.
- 04
Build & Sell
As developer, we build and sell airplane hangars — with and without living quarters — creating an active aviation community.
First example
Salado Airport & Aerovista Estates
Salado is where the Airport Rescue model takes flight. The airport stays open to every pilot, while Aerovista Estates brings new hangars and hangar homes to the field — showing how a small airport can become the heart of a community instead of a line item.
Ask about Aerovista Estates
Own on the airport
Hangars built to fly from — or live in
As the developer, we build and sell airplane hangars on the field. Your property, your airplane, direct access to the runway.
Aircraft Hangar
Secure, owned storage with taxiway access — room for your airplane, tools, and projects.
Hangar Home
A hangar with living quarters attached. Live where you fly, with the airplane just steps away.
Who we work with
Cities & Counties
Turn an airport budget line into a protected community asset — still public, still serving your residents, no longer a drain.
Pilots & Owners
Own your hangar outright, or live with your airplane. Step out of the kitchen and onto the taxiway.
Partners
Help us bring the model to the next airport. We are building a repeatable approach for fields of every size.
Contact
Have an airport worth saving?
Whether you manage a public airfield, want a hangar at Salado, or want to help us rescue the next one — we'd like to hear from you.
- Phone
- 512-633-6877
- dbarthlow@yahoo.com