Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine December 2022/January 2023 Digital Issue
FAIRFAX, MINN. – Fredericksburg, Texas, in the Hill Country west of Austin and north of San Antonio, might be the next best thing to crossing the Atlantic. The region is lush, colorful and, unlike much of the pancake-flat state, dotted with beautiful green hills that are evocative of Tuscany or the south of France. Towns like Fredericksburg offer a taste of the Old World, with German-style biergartens, schnitzelhauser and a lot of wineries.
That may have been the exact thoughts of Bill Lucy, who recently chose to move to Fredericksburg from Horseshoe Bay, Texas, to build his new home after he built a hangar and an adjacent 1600-foot grass airstrip.
Lucy said he made his decision to purchase a Schweiss bifold liftstrap door after reading a story on the Schweiss Doors website, about old-timer pilot Gene Fuchs of Morgan, Minn., who owns three Schweiss doors.
Once the door arrived, Lucy found the ‘yellow book’ (instruction manual), and erecting the door went exceptionally well. In fact, it became a frequent phrase when he had a question: ‘It’s in the book!’”
The bifold liftstrap door on Lucy’s hangar measures 40 feet by 14 feet clear, more than adequate to hangar his WWII-vintage Boeing Stearman Model 75 biplane. The bifold door opens and closes quickly and quietly with four strong liftstraps and locks weathertight with the patented auto latch strap system that Schweiss bifold doors are known for.
Lucy’s love of flying, which began 43 years ago at Horseshoe Bay, has led him to a career flying mid-size cabin, eight-passenger Citation Sovereign jets for NetJets.
“A college friend gave me his collection of flying magazines and I read every one, cover to cover,” Lucy says. “Many of my dates with soon-to-be-wife, Cheron, included watching planes land at KHOU (William P. Hobby Airport). After college, we had the privilege to start flying lessons together. Cheron and I both received our private licenses in 1971. All of our flying was for business and pleasure until I started with NetJets in 2001.”
Lucy’s new 85 by 40 ft steel red and white hangar stands out like the colorful wildflowers that emblazon the hills around Fredericksburg. Their adjacent ranch home was designed and built by his son, Travis, who is an architect with Bercy Chen Architects of Austin, Texas. The home is contemporary and complements the ranch setting.
“The design for the hangar started with our desire for it to include a bunkhouse for grandkids, office and workshop,” Lucy says. “Cheron picked the color, the red barn-look for our ranch.”
Lucy’s 1,600-ft grass airstrip breaks at about 800 feet and slopes downhill, he says. “It is fenced to keep the Red Angus cows we raise off the runway when we are flying. When my landings go past 800 feet, they are really going downhill fast. I can leap tall buildings in a single landing.”
Schweiss Doors is the premier manufacturer of hydraulic and bifold liftstrap doors (www.bifold.com).
