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Kestrel Airpark Construction Photos

Updated 8 March 2000

There following are some photos I took of Kestrel Airpark, an airport community in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio, Texas. The photos begin during its construction in the spring of 1998, and continue to the spring of 1999. (Note: All the photos in this site are small, "thumbnail" versions. Click on the thumbnails to see the full-size photos.)

More photos are planned soon.

(Note: This site is in no way sponsored by Kestrel Airpark, the Homeowner's Association, or the owners/management of the community. If you'd like more information on Kestrel Airpark, please visit the official Kestrel Web site.)
 

Click on one of the links below to see pictures from the selected dates:

Photos from May / June 1998:

The Kestrel Airpark development is located approximately 25 miles north of San Antonio, TX, in the rolling Hill Country.  It is approximately a half mile from the highway, but has a very secluded feeling thanks to several small hills between it and the road.  Here's a view from the highway of the entrance in early summer 1998.  A security gate will eventually be located here.

Once past the security gate, you drive over and around the first hill, catching your first glimpse of the runway through this pleasant, park-like area.

To the right of the road, in this field, there will be a Flight School, rental hangars, and several large aviation businesses.  Behind the Flight School site is a pond and large horse pasture. (Sure hope the horses like airplanes...)

The focus of Kestrel Airpark will undoubtedly be the 3100-foot long by 40-foot wide runway, which will accomodate most small general aviation airplanes. At its western end, the runway was painstakingly cut into a notch between two hills, and has an distictive upslope, like a launching ramp. There is a parallel taxiway on each side of the runway. In this photo, the Flightline Drive (left) passes very close to the eastern end of the east-west runway (partially visible on the right).

Next, the road curves up and to the right to parallel the runway. It is here that the one-acre-plus homesites will begin on both sides of the road. The ones on the right side of the road (like mine) will have their front yards next to the road, and their back yards bordering the south taxiway.

Here's a view from the road, looking north across my lot. The horizon is about 40 miles away. The lot has quite a few interesting trees, mostly Live Oaks, Mesquite trees, and scrub pines. My driveway will probably start just offscreen to the left.

Abeam the west end of the runway, the road curves left and begins an almost vertical ascent of a large hill.  At the top of the hill are several large lots with magnificent views and further on, the back entrance to the airpark. This back entrance will not be used by the general public. The road to the right (Stealth Drive) leads to the lots on the north side of the runway.

The north taxiway, on which I'm standing, will run along the top of a hill through which the runway was cut. At this location there is a 20-foot difference between the elevations of the taxiway and the runway down below.

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Photos from July / August 1998:

By the middle of July, landscaping at the entrance had begun in earnest. Trees were moved around, and the areas on either side of the entry road had been graded.

A large drainage culvert was dug underneath the runway.

In August, installation of fire hydrants and water lines began throughout the subdivision.

Also in late August, curbs were poured along the entrance street, and an underground sprinkler system was installed in each of the decorative entrance planters.

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Photos from September 1998:

The first week of September, the first 500 feet of the entry road was given a preliminary layer of asphalt, and more landscaping was accomplished on either side.

Here's the view on Sept. 9th from halfway down the runway, looking northwest. The runway and taxiways had been rolled and had received their initial coat of sealant, in preparation for paving.

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Photos from October 1998:

A lovely carved-stone entry sign was put in place early in October. Progress like this is very exciting to the future residents!

At the gated entrance, the guard shack is being built to look like a Control Tower.

Here, the rail which will support the entry gate is being installed in the road surface.

Here's an aerial view of Kestrel Airpark, looking northwest (straight up Runway 30.)

Another aerial view, this one looking south.

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Photos from November 1998:

The foundations for the first of the aircraft hangars will soon be poured on the northeast side of the runway.

Here's the progress on the hangars, one week later.

The first of the commercial businesses to be based at Kestrel, Schwartz Engineering Company, has begun construction of their 10,000 square foot office building. Built to resemble an airplane, the building has two swept-back "wings," and will look great in its aviation-intensive surroundings.

Some beautiful landscaping work is being done at the entrance. Here, stone pillars for the security fence are being built. Notice that the fence will pass right through the tree.

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Photos from December 1998:

Construction on the Schwartz Engineering building is coming along well.

The foundations and floor slabs for the first eight hangars has been poured.

By the second week of December, curbs had been installed on all the streets.

In preparation for paving, one of the streets gets a coat of fresh oil.

It's the third week of December, and a major milestone has been reached: The paving of the streets has begun!

Even better, the runway has now been paved. It looks great, even without its markings and stripes. The taxiways are next. Several airplanes have been seen doing low approaches to the runway in the last month. Local pilots are obviously aware of the place, and many are coming by to check it out a little more closely.

At the entrance, the decorative stone control tower replica is almost complete. It now awaits its glass control cab. Also at the entrance, the power poles and wires have been removed, now that all utilities have been installed underground.

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Photos from January 1999:

Construction of the first eight hangars is well underway. One recent weekend, a couple of future residents brought their airplanes in and gave the hangars a "test-fit."

Final paving of all the streets was complete by the middle of January.

The taxiways have also been paved. In the background is the Shwartz Engineering building (left) and the rental hangars (right).

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Photos from February 1999:

The entryway, with its "Control Tower," is done. The tinted-glass control cab looks great, and would make any Air Traffic Controller drool with envy.

Street signs have been installed. This is the corner of Flightline Drive and Ramjet Drive (since renamed Fanjet Drive.)

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