The Fabricator
Country singer John Rich continues to attract controversy with plans for his 17-story house on Love Circle.
Residents of the residential enclave just off West End near Vanderbilt have remained divided on whether the performer’s house plans are an attractive addition to the neighborhood or a scenery-blocking eyesore. Now comes word that a rooftop landing strip suitable for jet planes has been added to the plans.
“The original plan called for a rooftop heliport,” says a source at the Metro Planning Commission, “but now that’s been expanded so that planes can land there.”
The rooftop landing strip and runway uses the same technology that allows planes to take off and land from the decks of aircraft carriers at sea: tailhooks that catch and stop the incoming craft.
This would not be the first instance of a private rooftop landing strip in Middle Tennessee. In 2004, restaurateur Miss Daisy King had a landing strip affixed to her Brentwood home.
“Using a tailhook can really shorten the amount of runway needed for landings, and special high-speed jet engines can provide enough acceleration for a quick takeoff,” explains a local aviation buff not associated with the Rich project. “I mean, he’s not going to be bringing in jumbo jets or anything—this is only suitable for small planes.”
Still, some of Rich’s Love Circle neighbors are not pleased. “What about the noise?” fretted one at a recent neighborhood meeting to discuss the latest house plans.A spokesman for Rich responded that noise would likely not be an issue, since the rooftop is 17 stories in the air. “That’s really way up there,” the spokesman pointed out. “Almost no noise will make it down to street level.”