AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2019 - 35

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BENT WING FLIGHT SERVICES FBO is in a building shaped like an airplane (above). An aerial

view of Fernandina Beach Airport clearly shows the airplane-shaped structure (left).

Beach airport will allow a pilot to land and
within minutes be at home on Crane Island,
an island on the Intracoastal Waterway. The
Healans recently completed the infrastructure portion of the island development and
started construction on the community's
clubhouse. The community is envisioned to
include 113 homesites on the 185-acre island,
each about an acre and most all of them with
a view of the region's iconic marshlands or
the waterway. The first house is a Southern
Living Idea House, a large luxury home
with a commanding view of the waterway-and one that will be featured in the
magazine once it is finished this summer.
It is expected to sell for around $3 million.
Most lots will be about $1 million. Healan
III expects homes to range in price from
$1 million to $3 million.
Healan regularly commutes to the site
in his Piper Comanche from his home in
Atlanta; his father primarily flies a Mooney.
"We've been involved with the Amelia
Island community for decades," he said,
"and we've always eyed Crane Island as a
great place for pilots. The access to the airport means a pilot can be at home and be
just a short ride from his airplane." The
pilots envision a group of new hangars on
the airport's east side, nearest the bridge to
Crane Island.
Meanwhile, the developers are focused
on protecting the trees and environment
that make Crane Island a natural retreat.
Large trees draped in moss abound, providing an almost sanctuary-like feeling.

Mark Paolucci fell in love with the place
immediately. The retired Cessna Aircraft
executive has been a regular visitor to
Amelia Island for decades and has known the
Healans and Saad Wallan, one of their financial backers, for even longer. He was among
the first buyers. He is busy working with
the select group of architects and builders
the Healans are using for this development.
Paolucci expects to start building in early
2020. "I like the whole concept of a maritime
forest-protecting that-and building homes
that reflect the lowlands area. The hangars
would just be a bonus," he said.
Crane Island has a colorful history.
Most notably, it was home to Sarah Alice
Broadbent, whose father, John, built a large
home on the otherwise uninhabited island
around 1886. He died and his other daughter moved away, leaving Sarah Alice the
sole resident. Over the years, she became
a recluse around whom many stories were
told. She was reported to have hidden
money in the house. Locals reported being
shot at for coming close to the island. But
the mystery deepened on November 7, 1952,
when the house burned down and Sarah
Alice disappeared. Investigators insist
that if she had been in the fire, her remains
would have been discovered-but they
weren't. She was never heard from again.
Healan said that as a nod to the history,
the central park area of the island will be
named Alice Park.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2019
