Does it not seem odd to you that a major feature of free companies REQUIRES housing? Why should somebody be forced to join a particular FC just to participate in content that should be accessible to all? If I'm in an FC with my friends but we can't get a house because they're all taken, why should we be stuck abandoning the FC we've made just to do content?

And no, it is not just airships locked behind housing. Garden crossbreeding is as well, and that can be quite important to crafting. There's no way around it; you need a garden.