A landmark AOPA survey reveals that 71% of general aviation airports across the United States are experiencing a critical shortage of individual hangars — and the waiting lists are only growing longer.
The numbers are stark, and they come directly from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA): 71% of general aviation airports across the United States are experiencing a shortage of individual GA hangars. At the same time, 55% of airport managers surveyed report having land available to build more hangars — but lack the funding to do so.
This isn't a temporary blip. It is a structural, deepening crisis that has been quietly building for decades, and it is one of the most powerful demand drivers behind the rise of private aviation communities like Shepard's Landing.
The Scale of the Problem
The AOPA Airport Support Network survey, first published in 2021 and confirmed by Aviation Week in December 2023, found that hangars are responsible for approximately 45% of an airport's gross revenue — making the shortage not just an inconvenience for pilots, but a financial sustainability problem for the airports themselves. Despite this, the Federal Aviation Administration has ranked hangars 31st out of 32 eligible airport funding project types under FAA Order 5090.5 (September 3, 2019), meaning federal relief is essentially non-existent.
The waiting lists tell the real story. At some airports, pilots are waiting two to five years for a hangar. At DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near Atlanta, the wait once stretched to 15 years. In Pennsylvania, a state-level study found that airports would need to build 38% more hangars just to meet current demand. Only 8% of existing hangars were rated in "excellent" condition; 36% need "some" or "major" repair.
Why This Matters for Investors
When 71% of airports cannot accommodate the aircraft that pilots already own, the demand for private hangar solutions becomes overwhelming. This is precisely the market that Shepard's Landing is designed to serve. Our community on 122.39 acres in DeSoto County, Florida, includes 28 dedicated aircraft hangars and 17 hangar homes that are shovel-ready within six months of closing — all served by a private, non-FAA FL-20 designated airstrip that eliminates over $1 million in regulatory costs.
The scarcity is not theoretical. It is documented, measured, and growing. For pilots who have spent years on waiting lists at public airports, a private hangar home represents the only reliable path to guaranteed, permanent aircraft storage. That is a buyer who is motivated, financially capable, and ready to act.
Florida's Unique Position
Florida is estimated to have 52 residential airparks — more than any other state in the country, according to the Living With Your Plane Association. Yet even with this concentration, the demand for new aviation communities continues to outpace supply. The state's year-round flying weather, absence of state income tax, and growing population of high-net-worth retirees and entrepreneurs make it the most competitive market in the nation for aviation real estate.
Shepard's Landing is positioned at the intersection of this unmet demand and an exceptional piece of Florida land — 122.39 acres under contract in DeSoto County, with an existing private runway and a community design that integrates residential living with aviation infrastructure in a way that simply does not exist anywhere else in Southwest Florida.
To learn more about the investment opportunity, view our full executive summary or explore the site plan.
Sources: AOPA Airport Support Network Survey (2021); Aviation Week, "Hangar Headache: The Waitlist For Space Is Growing," December 2023; FAA Order 5090.5, September 3, 2019; Living With Your Plane Association estimate via Wikipedia.