‘To live is to fly!’

Gonzales County’s first airpark development moved one step closer to becoming a reality after the Gonzales County Commissioners Court approved the preliminary plat for the WT Airpark in Waelder at their regular meeting Monday, Feb. 12.

WT Airpark is also known as The Whiskey Tango, which comes from the International Radio-Telephony Spelling Alphabet call signs for WT, which also stands for Waelder, Texas, and is located two miles east of Waelder at the intersection of US 90 and I-10, with access to the property from County Road 15 and Farm-to-Market Road 1618.

“WT Airpark was dreamed up by three landowners (all pilots) here in Waelder, Texas, who wanted a runway in their backyards,” said airpark manager and developer Brittany Oligney. “We're excited to be able to share this dream with other pilots by creating a subdivision.

“Our vision is to build a place where pilots want to be … to attract those who want to be in the air and to share that love of aviation with the community. Waelder is an ideal location for an airpark — there is room to build and grow and dream here, surrounded by an incredibly supportive and welcoming local community.”

The nearly 200-acre complex, which will have the airport identifier 90TT, will start Phase I with 12 two-acre residential lots as well as a 4,000-foot communal Bermuda grass runway that will eventually be paved and include lights and an approach. There will also be a community gathering area where residents can have bonfires and cookouts, along with a pond, walking trail and other amenities. Additional phases will add up to 30 more lots as well as a second, 5,000-foot runway that could handle light jet traffic and there is an additional 100 acres of land where the airpark can expand in the future.

Oligney, a 2007 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, has experience with military and general civilian aviation and first got her private pilot certificate and instrument rating while in high school. She has a great deal of varied flight experience including military pilot training, and co-founded a military-to-airlines transition company after leaving the Air Force.

The concept for WT Airpark was born during a visit with Oligney’s family, who owns a tree farm in the area.

“I was visiting family in Waelder and heard pilots discussing a great tract of land for a runway and the potential to create a subdivision; as a pilot since high school who has always wanted to live at an airpark, I quickly caught the vision and jumped at the opportunity to make WT Airpark a reality when offered the project,” Oligney said.

County Emergency Management and Permitting Director Jimmy Harless was effusive in his praise of the project when it was presented to commissioners on Monday.

“They’ve been working on it a long time.,” Harless said. “They did a hydrology study and we've got a very detailed water plan, and a letter of acceptance from our underground water district. And we talked a little bit about fire suppression side, because they are going to have some fuel there on site. Everything we've talked about, everything we've asked, they've agreed to do. I think this is a very nice community, going to be very nice, it's going to grow.

“This is the kind of stuff that I hope we will see in the future. They did their homework on this and I think it's gonna be a big asset to Gonzales County.”

For more information about the Whiskey Tango (WT Airpark), go to wtairpark.com.