Actor can store plane at home

Indianapolis Star/July 25, 2002

A 550-acre estate is drawing actor John Travolta and others who want to be able to park their large airplanes outside their front door.

Travolta's new $2.5 million getaway in central Florida's Marion County will be constructed in "Jumbolair," an aviation community of 125 homes, each with its own taxiway, owner and developer Terri Thayer said recently.

Unlike a few other aviation-oriented Florida communities, this one will allow large jets. Travolta paid $550,000 for 9 acres, Thayer said.

In all, nine lots have been purchased.

The actor's 6,400-square-foot residence resembles a small airport with its long, rambling floor plan topped with what looks like a watchtower. It has eight bedrooms, including quarters for the flight crew, a swimming pool and two airplane hangars, Thayer said.

Travolta, an accomplished pilot, flies into St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport every few months, coming to the area for services at the Church of Scientology's spiritual center in downtown Clearwater.