Saving Big Walker Flying Site

[Aron - Soaring]

Hello fellow pilots,

Not sure if you have heard this but Big Walker is on the chopping block as a flying site.  Partly this is due to low commitment and perhaps some other factors.  It is a great flying site...it would be a terrible loss if we can't come together and save it.

Pilots interested in saving it are adding up but we need more.

The Excel Spreadsheet is on Google Drive at this link: (please add yourself if you are interested or let someone know you want to be added).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1it50-SOUADAoDRkMl8OsY287qF-Ni5pwhIr1wfyYyM0/edit?usp=sharing

If you never got to fly here yet it is an awsome place to fly...the ridge goes miles and miles and the thermals are great!

If you think you could pre-commit financially for a yearly membership please add your name to this spreadsheet.  The annual dues are probably going to be set in the $150 - $200 range if this all works out...  which is really a bargain for camping, firewood provided, flying at an awsome site!

I look at it like this...I'm signing up and booking my vacation now for 2025.  I hope we can get enough participants to make it a go!

It is like a destination to go and camp and fly there at BW, especially at an active fly-in...just so much fun!  Plus on a road trip it would be a trifecta to fly Eagle Rock, Big Walker and Tater Hill all on the same trip!    And maybe even make it a stop for some flying when traveling to the Henson Gap in TN for  us northern pilots.

I don't know what is gonna happen yet but we are working at it!

Hope you enjoy some videos of Big Walker:

https://youtu.be/PdbKxJl_T2c?si=VZsO8ulKZUPGjWpS

https://youtu.be/hM9Fyx90VUs?si=RWkj27_32y4WS42F

https://youtu.be/I7SSnm4W1uI?si=_JIYmz9kUPPuHGgd

https://youtu.be/JSlvCwF33Ww?si=qhns2Sd6Jlg6RHko

Thanks,

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Let's go flying!  www.soaringroadtrip.com

Youtube.com/@soaringroadtrip

Aron

[cwa...@gmail.com]

Is it a 501c3?  If so I’d be open to make a tax deductible donation assuming it’s viable to save. 

 

Charles Allen

e-mail: cwa...@gmail.com

Phone:  (917) - 359-4714

 

From: hyne...@googlegroups.com <hyne...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Pat
Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 3:09 PM
To: hyne...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Upstate NY Free Flyers <upstate-ny-...@googlegroups.com>; RAF <rochester...@googlegroups.com>; soarbi...@googlegroups.com; skyw...@googlegroups.com; Mountain...@groups.io
Subject: Re: [Hyner Club] Saving Big Walker Flying Site

 

Thanks Aron,
Any idea of the annual expenses/amount needed to keep it open?

 

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[Aron - Soaring]

Hi Pat,

I don't know the answer to that question: 

"Any idea of the annual expenses/amount needed to keep it open?"

It is hard to say because Jim's labor, resources and equipment were used to do it as a private site.  Jim has been a great asset to the flying community in running that site...but it is not a typical club.  It has been organized differently as a private operation.

I think what we are trying to do more than anything else with this list of committed pilots is make it big! - have an overwhelming number of people that want to keep it going and are willing to support ongoing operations.

There certainly will be more details to work out and discussions of a core group of local pilots with Jim, but having a big show of potential support and cash flow can help the discussions move forward.

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Let's go flying!  www.soaringroadtrip.com

Youtube.com/@soaringroadtrip

Aron

[Tim DuBois]

QQ - As far as being able to camp there, is it accessible with an RV (class C)? I wasn't even aware of this site and it's right on the way and at the halfway point of our trips north and south in the spring and fall respectively.

And as a suggestion if the answer to my question is yes, harvesthosts.com could also generate additional revenue if interested.

Thanks,  Tim

____________________________
Tim DuBois
Dunedin, FL / Naples, NY
Mobile: +9048030142
timothy...@gmail.com

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[Aron - Soaring]

Hey Tim,

For a few years now I have taken a 25ft Airstream towed behind a Dodge 2500 truck and there was plenty of room to get in there.

There was some electric available in the storage trailers.  Not enough for AC or anything but enough to charge up computer and phones etc.  No hookups for sewer or water.  There is a porta john.   And a water tap to open to fill your drinking water jugs or camper with mountain spring water.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rochesterareaflyers/CAJHRvYgC4rdUHd7AHTuHE9r%2B%2BnengvuK9%2BWFGzeAr2GfqEnrTw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aron - Soaring]

Good morning,

This is too good of a comment by Patrick McCarthy to not share:

"As a native Tennessean, I have had the distinct privilege of flying here.  Having flown sites from the Pacific Northwest, and all the way to Rocky Point on Long Island, I can say BW is an absolute treasure to the free flight community.  I’ve hit 6,000’ on a blue sky L&V day there.  I beg of everyone who loves leaving the ground, let’s please do what we can to collectively save this beautiful site.  

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized"

~Sun Tzu"

Since we are sharing stories about Big Walker here is one of mine from a couple years ago...

This flight was my longest flight a bit over 3 hours and not because I wanted it to be...I went out to land after 2 hour mark because I had to pee!  So I go out to land and I realized that the thermals were sooo good it was going to make for a thermic bumpy landing, so I flew around out in the valley for a while, then back to the ridge.  I waited till another hour passed and decided to go try and land again with the sun getting a lower angle in the sky and less thermic...this time it worked out to land just fine.  What a day!  I think this is a portion of the video of that flight: https://youtu.be/RWEzbb79EsM?si=kXVHKi7_2v5ulHy6

Hey good news on this effort to add more committed pilots to the 2025 Big Walker Roster!...last I looked we are at 45 which is quite respectable.  Thanks for jumping in to help!  Anybody else that can commit to a membership please add your name.

The Excel Spreadsheet is on Google Drive at this link: (please add yourself if you are interested or let someone know you want to be added).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1it50-SOUADAoDRkMl8OsY287qF-Ni5pwhIr1wfyYyM0/edit?usp=sharing

The reason I'm replying to all with this message is because otherwise people on other Google groups beyond RAF group could not see Patrick McCarthy's comment...

Thanks!

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