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Surviving on a wing and prayer

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published November 27, 2006

LAND O'LAKES - Here's the story of a man who loves to fly, now 77 years old and stricken with cancer, whose one wish was to grow the tiny airport he owned for 10 years.

That was before Dewey Gallops found out how ill he was, before all the family troubles that led him in April to finally sell the Pilot Country Estates airport on State Road 52 and U.S. 41.

With a quiet handshake, he sold it to Venkat Boyanapalli, the president of an Odessa high-tech manufacturer, and Gogi Ramappa, a longstanding west Pasco and Spring Hill pediatrician.

The pair didn't fly and didn't know much about flying, but in Gallops they saw a kindred dream and business opportunity: They would make the 32-acre airport bigger and better, bring in more planes and more money.

A break-even operation that survives on fuel sales and "tie-downs" - parking rent for planes - the aging airport with rust-spotted hangars must have a longer runway if it wants to attract bigger clients.

Just before he bought the airport, Boyanapalli struck a deal with Mary Fletcher, who owns and lives on 100 acres to the north, to buy her pasture and join it with Pilot Country.

For a while, Gallops' dream looked like it would almost come to pass.

Then Fletcher's son, Bert Fletcher, stepped into the picture.

The deal was in jeopardy.

* * *

In Pilot Country's main hangar, a fire-engine red Aerostar twin-propeller plane sits, the words Red Baron painted on its side.

It belongs to Gallops, who found out in July that he had cancer of the eustachian tube, an ear passage whose main job is to keep the eardrum intact.

Gallops is now so weak from radiation therapy that his wife, Myrle Gallops, said he can barely manage a few words at a time.

"He intends to fly it again," she said. "I hope so. I really think he will."

An Air Force veteran who flew tours in Vietnam, Gallops has loved aviation all his life, Myrle said.

He didn't run Pilot Country Estates for the money.

Pilot Country Estates is home to 74 lots and about 46 houses. The homes are large and stately, many with outsize garages that - not surprisingly - store a plane or two.

But the airport itself looks like it's seen better days. The operation mostly breaks even, and at most makes $1,000 a month, Myrle said. The Gallopses live in Tampa's Town 'N Country neighborhood.

With 16 planes squeezed under two sheds, an ancient gas dispenser and not much left of open-air storage, the airport is already at full capacity, which underscores how badly it needs to upgrade.

Jeremy Wojdac, who helps the Gallopses run the place, points despondently at the rusting hangars above the planes, and worries the airport will fall apart if it isn't fixed soon.

"I think it needs to be straightened up and better taken care of," he said. "But without a top dog around, it's hard."

* * *

Last year, some members of Gallops' family had begun pressuring him to take the airport apart and sell it off, Myrle said.

Gallops hated the idea almost as much as the realization that he may have to do it.

"It almost split the family up," she said. "I think most people living here want to keep it. We could have sold it piecemeal. But we kept it."

They found Boyanapalli in September last year and liked him. He and Ramappa agreed to pay $1.5-million and would keep the property whole. (Ramappa told the St. Petersburg Times he is a silent partner.)

"They had a handshake, and the deal was done," Myrle said. "He has never come out and demanded anything of Dewey."

Boyanapalli also agreed to let the ailing man run the airport for another three years, Myrle said.

Before the deal closed, Boyanapalli sought out Mary Fletcher, and got an oral agreement to buy her 100 acres just to the north.

He needed it.

At 3,700 feet, Pilot Country Estates' north-south runway can only take light turboprop aircraft. If heavier business planes are to be accommodated, Boyanapalli needs a longer runway. He also wants to add homes and hangars to the estate.

But the second time he went to see Mary Fletcher he found her son instead.

Bert Fletcher, who has a Homosassa address, threw the deal out.

"There was no understanding that was anything concrete," Bert Fletcher told the St. Petersburg Times. "These people reneged on their spoken word. They changed the amount of money."

Fletcher refused to disclose the offer amount.

Boyanapalli said Fletcher wanted $5-million, after he had offered Mary Fletcher $4-million.

"I didn't change anything," he said. "His mom is very nice. She was ready to do something. But this guy ... " His voice trailed off.

* * *

Boyanapalli still hopes Fletcher will change his mind. Otherwise he has no choice. There are no other available properties to the north.

"He's hog-tied," Myrle said of Boyanapalli.

Some residents at Pilot Country quietly hope Boyanapalli wins the day.

"I'd like to see them buy the northern property, close (the access off) State Road 52, have access from 41, and move the airport to the north," said Ken Roberts, a resident and pilot. "I personally would like it to be a gated community."

But if the airport cannot hold itself together, it is questionable if Pilot Country Estates can survive as a pilot community.

Even when he bought the business in 1996, Gallops told the Times about his hopes of adding hangars and homes there.

If the airport goes, Gallops might never again be able to fly out from the airport he once owned and still loves.

"It's a wonderful little airport," Myrle said. "But it's got to expand. It can't support itself the way it is."

An ailing man's dream hangs in the balance.

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at (813)909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 27, 2006, 07:21:06]