Kelly Air Park

What is it?

A private residential aviation community in Elbert County, Colorado, with both airplane and glider operations, identifier CO15.

Public or private?

Private. Access is limited to residents and invited guests. Visiting aircraft must be invited by a lot owner and briefed by a resident.

The runway

Runway 17/35, 3,800 feet by 44 feet, asphalt, plus a secondary gravel Runway 9/27 at 1,700 feet by 50 feet. Day VFR only: no tower, no runway or taxiway lighting, no public fuel.

How access works

Airport rights come with lot ownership and are governed by community documents and Elbert County land-use approvals. Guests arrive by invitation and resident briefing; there is no public transient FBO.

The largest buyer risk

Falling for the house before confirming that the aircraft, schedule and mission fit a high-elevation, day-VFR, unfueled field with active gliders and a nearby aerobatic practice area.

Current listings

Kelly Air Park homes and lots come to market unpredictably. See listings

Kelly Air Park is a private residential aviation community in Elbert County with both airplane and glider operations. Its operating environment is different from a municipal airport and different from a private airpark centered only on powered aircraft.

Kelly is a day-VFR airfield without a control tower, runway lighting, public fuel, or a public FBO. Visiting aircraft must be invited by a property owner and briefed by a resident. The community also has active glider operations and a published aerobatic practice area east of the airfield.

That combination creates a clear ownership question: does the buyer's aircraft, schedule, operating experience, and expected use align with the airfield that actually exists? Kelly can be an exceptional fit for the right owner. It is less aligned with a buyer who requires routine night operations, public fuel, unrestricted visitor access, public transient parking, or the service structure of a municipal airport. A buyer who needs lights or public fuel on the field may be better served by the broader Colorado airpark homes guide.

Kelly Air Park at a glance

The distinction that matters: Kelly is a mission-specific airpark

Aviation-property buyers sometimes begin with the house and ask about the airport later. At Kelly, the order should be reversed. The airport must fit the aircraft and mission before the buyer becomes attached to the residence.

The questions below are not a list of defects. They are defining characteristics, and a buyer should be able to answer each one before touring homes.

Runway 17/35

FAA airport data identifies Kelly's primary Runway 17/35 as 3,800 feet by 44 feet with an asphalt surface. The runway should be evaluated using current condition, width, slope, wind, temperature, density altitude, aircraft loading, obstacles, traffic, glider activity, pilot experience, and the desired performance margin.

A buyer should not compare the runway with a lower-elevation airport using runway length alone.

Runway 9/27

FAA airport data identifies the secondary Runway 9/27 as 1,700 feet by 50 feet with a gravel surface. Current FAA remarks and community procedures should be reviewed carefully before relying on this runway for any mission.

For a property buyer, the relevant question is not simply whether a second runway exists. The relevant questions are: which runway directions are currently recommended, what surface condition should be expected, which aircraft are suitable, which winds make it useful, how it interacts with glider operations, how often it is maintained, and what limitations apply.

Day-VFR ownership

Kelly's official operating information identifies the airport as a day-VFR field without runway or taxiway lighting. This affects more than nighttime recreational flying.

It can affect winter arrival planning, late-afternoon departures, business travel, weather delays, seasonal daylight, unexpected diversions, passenger coordination, alternate-airport planning, and aircraft retrieval after dark. A buyer should decide whether the restriction aligns with the actual travel schedule rather than an idealized flying pattern.

Glider operations

Kelly supports both powered-aircraft and glider operations. Its official community information specifically identifies glider activity and recognizes Black Forest Soaring Society student glider and tow-pilot instruction as an exception to the community's restriction on non-owner flight-school use.

Glider operations can involve tow aircraft, gliders, staging areas, ground crews, launch activity, aircraft with different performance profiles, aircraft unable to go around in the same manner as powered aircraft, and additional situational-awareness requirements. FAA non-towered airport guidance addresses integration among airplanes, gliders, rotorcraft, parachutes, and other operations.

A buyer should observe the airfield during active soaring operations and understand the published community procedures before making a decision.

Visiting aircraft and guest access

Visitors arriving by aircraft must be invited by a Kelly lot owner and briefed by an airpark resident. The community also states that Kelly should not be used as a destination for flight schools or non-owner instruction, apart from its stated glider and tow-pilot exception.

A buyer who expects regular business visitors by air should resolve the following questions before purchase.

Airport governance and Elbert County land use

Kelly Air Park is governed not only by its community documents but also through Elbert County land-use controls. Elbert County records identify Kelly Air Park through a planned-unit-development framework.

In 2024, the County approved an amendment to the Kelly Air Park PUD written guide for a portion of community property. The approval included conditions concerning disturbed soil, erosion, weeds, and onsite wastewater permitting if future restrooms were installed. That decision does not describe every residential lot. It demonstrates why buyers should research the current PUD written guide, recorded plat, County zoning, approved uses, association documents, lot-specific permits, future construction, water and wastewater, common property, and airport improvements.

The airpark name does not replace County approval.

Property and hangar due diligence

A Kelly property is a residence, a hangar, a taxi route and a lot, and each has its own list. Verified measurements and permit records matter more than the description in a listing.

Buying at Kelly Air Park: a practical mission test

A Kelly buyer should be able to answer yes to each of the statements below. A no answer does not make Kelly an inferior community. It means another aviation setting may fit the mission better.

Selling a Kelly Air Park property

A qualified buyer will want facts before lifestyle language. Prepare airport-rights documentation, taxi-easement information, association documents, current fees and assessments, runway information, visitor procedures, glider procedures, hangar dimensions, door dimensions, building permits, utility records, well and septic information where applicable, insurance requirements, equipment inclusions, road information, current airport-resource links, and the date of verification.

The listing should explain clearly that Kelly is private, day VFR, non-towered, not publicly fueled, home to airplane and glider operations, and subject to invited-guest procedures. That transparency helps reach buyers whose aviation mission actually fits the property.