Entry No. 24 — the Anchorage file — filed under: aviation
Flying Crown Airpark
“Most neighborhoods have streets. Flying Crown has a runway.”
Most neighborhoods have streets. Flying Crown has a runway. Built in the 1950s and quietly swallowed by the city as Anchorage grew up around it, this FAA-registered private airpark (AK12) in South Anchorage is a fully operational residential subdivision where a 1,078-foot turf strip doubles as the main thoroughfare — and the 40-plus homes lining it have airplane hangars instead of car garages, with taxiways serving as driveways. Pilots literally roll out of their houses and onto the runway. It sits wedged between Old Seward Highway and the Alaska Railroad tracks near Huffman Road, totally invisible unless you're looking straight down at it — or you live there.
The story
If you drive down Old Seward Highway near Huffman Road, you'd swear you're passing ordinary South Anchorage suburban housing. You aren't. Hidden behind a line of trees and squeezed directly against the active Alaska Railroad tracks sits Flying Crown Airpark—a 1950s residential neighborhood where the main thoroughfare is actually a 1,078-foot grass runway registered with the FAA as AK12. When Anchorage expanded outward decades ago, it didn't replace this private flight strip; the city simply grew up around it, trapping an operational bush-pilot enclave inside a modern suburban grid.
Instead of standard two-car garages, the 40-plus homes lining Nora Drive feature full-sized airplane hangars. Paved and dirt taxiways do the work of residential driveways. Homeowners don't warm up a station wagon to start their evening—they roll light aircraft like Cessnas straight out of their attached hangars, taxi past front yards, and take off parallel to the train tracks. It’s a quiet piece of living history from an era when light planes functioned as Alaska's primary commuter vehicles and backyard aviation predated municipal zoning.
What it's like
Visiting Flying Crown isn't like pulling into a municipal airport or a public park—this is a working private subdivision, so treat it accordingly. Nora Drive, the taxiways, and the turf runway itself are strictly private property. The move is to pull over at a public spot along the Old Seward Highway corridor where the treeline opens up and gives you a clear line of sight down the grass strip. Aim for a long, clear summer evening between May and August when local pilots roll back their hangar doors; in the dead of winter, the turf goes snow-quiet. If you're patient, you'll catch a light plane backtracking down what looks like a manicured suburban lawn before lifting off over the treetops—no gate fee, no crowd, just forty neighbors who happen to park planes in their garages.
The move: Drive south on Old Seward toward Huffman and pull over wherever the turf strip comes into view; visit on a clear Alaska evening and watch a Cessna backtrack down what looks exactly like a neighborhood street, then disappear over the treeline — no ticket required, no crowds, just you and forty homeowners who park planes in their garages.
📍 Before you go This is a working private neighborhood, not an attraction, so treat it that way: Nora Drive, the taxiways, and the turf strip itself are all private property. The runway hides off Old Seward Highway near Huffman Road, wedged against the Alaska Railroad tracks — easiest to glimpse from a public pull-off where the strip lines up in view, rather than nosing into the residential streets or blocking driveways. Aim for a long, clear summer evening (roughly May through August), when Alaska daylight lingers and light planes are most active; the turf goes snow-quiet in winter. You're already on the Seward Highway corridor, so keep driving south toward Turnagain Arm afterward.
- 📍 South Anchorage
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 12820 Nora Dr, Anchorage, AK 99515
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Sky Harbor Airpark — Compare South Anchorage's two hidden neighborhood flight strips by driving less than two miles north to Sky Harbor Airpark.
- Anchorage re:MADE — Head less than a mile up Old Seward Highway after plane-spotting to browse upcycled Alaskan goods and salvaged materials at this local reuse shop.
- Gravity Hill — Pair one South Anchorage physical oddity with another by heading east up Huffman Road to test the local optical illusion on Gravity Hill.
Good to know
Can I drive down Nora Drive or walk on the turf runway?
No. Nora Drive, the grass runway, and the connected taxiways are private residential property. Watch the airstrip from public pull-offs along Old Seward Highway instead of entering the subdivision.
When is the best time to see planes operating at Flying Crown?
Clear summer evenings from May through August bring the most flight activity thanks to extended daylight. Winter operations are minimal and turf maintenance is unmonitored.
What kind of planes operate out of Flying Crown Airpark?
The airpark caters to small, light general aviation aircraft—most notably Cessnas—owned by the residents living in the surrounding homes.
Where exactly is the airpark located?
It sits at 12820 Nora Dr in South Anchorage, wedged tightly between Old Seward Highway and the Alaska Railroad tracks near Huffman Road.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: airnav.com · digital.akbizmag.com · skyvector.com · aopa.org
last checked: 2026-06-09