Hidden Gems in Downers Grove

BROOKERIDGE AIRPARK FLIES UNDER THE RADAR

HISTORY VAULT:

THE TIVOLI HOTEL

HOME & DESIGN:

THE GLASS HOUSE

PUBLISHER PROFILE:

KOHA

Birdseye view

Downers Grove’s Brookeridge neighborhood flies under the radar

If you’re looking for Rick Sparke, try looking up. Rick, a seasoned Southwest Airlines pilot, and his family are residents of Brookeridge, Downers Grove’s fly-in community. Walk through his garage/hangar, past his airplane, and you’ll find yourself on the runway— literally.

As I sat down to interview Sparke on his deck, a yellow Aeronca Champion landed and taxied 60 yards behind us. In clear weather, one may expect eight or ten takeoffs and landings a day.

The airstrip, initially owned and operated by an air cargo business, was here before the fly-in community. By the mid-1960s, increasing air traffic and noise from the cargo flying was becoming a community concern. A group of 16 residents approached the business owner and acquired the land, forming the Brookeridge Homeowner’s Association. By the mid-1970s, the airport and fly-in community were established. The neighborhood is closeknit, annually holding an Easter egg hunt, summer picnics, a Halloween party and Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Neighbors often congregate in a hangar for Friday night happy hours.

The Brookeridge Airport Association (BAA)—separate from the homeowner’s association—allows members access to the airstrip. There are 26 shareholders, most of whom live in the community. Membership fees include upkeep, i.e. sealcoating, paving, snow-plowing and law-mowing of the runway, in addition to access to the fuel-pump. Most of the houses with runway access are owned by pilots, but you need not fly to live here. Surprisingly, only a handful of residents are active airline pilots, with a few retired ones as well. Most fly for a hobby; a few are cargo pilots.

This area is unique to Downers Grove. Actually, it’s unique to anywhere.

“There are fly-in communities around the U.S.,” Sparke said, “but they’re mostly in much less populated areas. It’s uncommon to find something like this so relatively close to a couple of major airports.”

PHOTO BY CAROLINA MENAPACE

“I always wanted to be a pilot,” he said. “As a kid, I loved Superman, because he could fly.”

Growing up, Sparke’s family mostly drove. His first time on an airplane was at 11 years old, when his family flew to a wedding in Texas.

“When we touched down, I told my

“Today, the winds are out of the east, so everyone is using runway No. 9.”

-RICK SPARKE

mom I wanted to fly,” he said. “She said it would be over her dead body. But I never got over that flight.”

The realization of his childhood dream began as a flight instructor after graduating from Comair Aviation Academy in Florida. From there, Sparke worked a few years for Delta connection Comair, before being hired by Southwest more than a decade ago.

While Brookeridge seems an obvious choice for the Sparke family home, he said he “honestly didn’t know this neighborhood was here when we moved to Downers Grove.”

“Pilots are required to have a physical every six months,” Sparke said. “Shortly after moving to town, I found Dr. Robert Burns, a retired Naval flight surgeon. He had an office right in his hangar. It’s how I discovered this area.”

The neighborhood wasn’t a tough sell for Sparke’s wife Michele either. Every September, Brookeridge hosts a fly-in: a chance for small-aircraft pilots to visit the community for a “$100 burger.” Guest pilots fly their planes here and stay for a barbeque at a homeowner’s hangar.

“The donation is usually around $100, which covers the cost of refueling your airplane,” Sparke said.

A random postcard sent to all the pilots in Illinois led to the Sparkes’ attendance at the 2015 fly-in.

“My wife loved the neighborhood,” he said. “An off-duty realtor showed us a couple houses that day. By December, we were moving in. So, it’s not a place we went looking for, but it’s a place we love.”

Acquisition of the Piper Cherokee, Sparke’s airplane, followed the next year. It’s a six-seater, six-cylinder that he calls “the mini-van of the air.” In nice weather, the family is up in the air at least once a week. Sunday afternoons often find the Sparkes flying to Lake Geneva or Bloomington for lunch, or going for hundred-dollar-burgers in Rochelle. The Sparke “flight crew”— Emily, Andy and Charlotte—love flying

to see relatives as close as Peoria and as far as Birmingham, Ala. The plane cruises at about 150 m.p.h, so flights typically take about 35 to 40 percent of the time it would take to reach the same destination if driving.

Like Brookeridge, most flyin communities are classified as uncontrolled airports, meaning there is no airport building or control tower. Safety is maintained solely amongst pilots themselves to coordinate takeoffs and landings, using a system called Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). Pilots start broadcasting their intentions for landing about five miles out on the frequency by identifying the airplane tail number and where they intend to land. Other flying aircrafts in the area then make their intentions and locations known over CTAF.

All runways, even ones at major airports, are numbered based on magnetic north, which is 360 degrees. The zero is omitted from the number of degrees, starting with 360, to determine the runway number. Brookeridge Airport is runway No. 9 to the east and No. 27 to the west, indicating it is 90 degrees to the east and 270 degrees to the west.

“You usually want to take off and land into the wind,” Sparke said. “Today, the winds are out of the east, so everyone is using runway No. 9.”

For safety reasons, the BAA approves residents’ planes, mindfully considering proposals from the standpoints of safety and noise level. In general, the size of the airstrip dictates the type of aircraft allowed. Obviously, you won’t see any Airbus A380s here. Currently, the biggest plane in the community is a turbine-powered Piper Mirage 350. A monthly fee provides residents a key to the fuel tank at one end of the airstrip.

“Most of the planes you see here have engines like a car,” Sparke said. “My plane runs on 100-octane unleaded fuel.”

The primary runway is 2,813 feet long, with paved parallel taxiways on either side. It is illuminated at night, so pilots can come and go as they like. It’s an instrument approach, meaning the pilot gets electronic lateral and vertical signals, so he or she knows when to start the descent. The signals keep the plane above any obstacles and terrain, and center it above the midline of the runway for a safe landing.

“If you’re in contact with air-traffic control, they can vector you onto the approach,” Sparke said. “Weather and conditions don’t play a huge role in whether or not a flight happens.”

The public is welcome to attend the annual fly-in to see some airplanes up close, and spend an afternoon in this niche community. Unfortunately, this September’s fly-in has been canceled. It usually takes place on the Saturday after Labor Day, so next year’s event will likely be held on Sept. 11. Watch the BAA website for details, http://www.ll22.org/fly-in/.

Brookeridge by the Numbers

• 2,813 feet – the length of

Brookeridge runway 9/27 • 80 – number of houses in the community • 75 – percentage of run way-access houses owned by pilots • 14 – number of years Rick has flown for Southwest • 30 to 40 – number of nonresidents that usually attend the annual fly-in • 6 – number of cylinders (and seats) in Rick’s Piper

Cherokee • 100 – number of octanes the Piper Cherokee runs on • 747 – an airplane you’ll never see on this runway