In article ,
Larry Dighera wrote:

http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.d...S/311021090/10
10/REALESTATE
High-flying
A lot of neighborhoods don't allow the owners to park Boeing 707s
outside their homes, which is why actor John Travolta moved to
Jumbolair, near Ocala.


BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD N.Y. TIMES REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS

OCALA -- It's not just another housing development, as you can tell by
the 1.4-mile airstrip and the Boeing 707 parked next to one of the
houses.

Located in the Central Florida town of Anthony, just north of Ocala,
it's called Jumbolair, and it's the new home of John Travolta -- '70s
TV phenom, film superstar, Oscar-nominated actor, sex symbol,
accomplished pilot, doting husband and father.

After several years of whispers about his building a house here, the
49-year-old actor has taken up residence in his nearly completed
mansion. Travolta is flying daily from Ocala to Tampa to shoot "The
Punisher," an action movie based on the comic book, set to be released
next summer.

A lifelong love of aviation holds the key to Travolta's decision to
build at Jumbolair.

During much of the 1980s, elephants used to roam Jumbolair's rolling
woodlands, safe from poachers and reckless intruders, thanks to Arthur
Jones, creator of the Nautilus line of exercise equipment, and his
then-wife Terri, who used to bring in African elephants and other
endangered creatures via the 1.4-mile airstrip.

Terri Jones-Thayer, who divorced Jones and married Jeremy Thayer, is
turning Jumbolair into an exclusive fly-in community. Although
Travolta is the only big-name customer to buy in so far, other
celebrities are said to have an interest, including NASCAR star Ricky
Rudd.

Cleared for takeoff: The center of Travolta's home resembles an
air-control tower.

Travolta owns at least two jets, a Gulfstream and a huge Boeing 707B.
Simply put, there aren't very many non-commercial airstrips where
planes of that size can take off and land. Jumbolair, with its long
landing strip and massive jet wash berms at either end, is one of
them.

Be careful flying in there! There is a 1500 ft TV tower 2 miles east and
a 600 ft radio tower about a mile south (right under the straight-in for
36).



About a decade ago, Travolta had a home in a fly-in community near
Daytona, but was sued by neighbors who claimed his jet airplanes were
too big and noisy for their facility.


I live in that community. It seems that the wrong people got control of
our Property Owners' Assn. at the time and did some really stupid things.


The very layout of his new house is testament to Travolta's love of
flying. It's located immediately off the main airstrip, and is
designed so his jets can taxi right up to two outbuildings connected
to the main structure, which is shaped like a squat air-control tower.
Travolta literally can walk out his door, under a canopied walkway and
into the cockpit, open the long mechanized gate and be airborne in a
matter of minutes.

I've seen the 707 but haven't seen the house yet, but will (at least
from the outside) when Linda and I go there for Sunday brunch.

Jumbolair has a great Sunday brunch the first Sunday of the month --
$25/head. We were going to go there last Sunday but just figured that it
is too much food!