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Ron Kilber |
Photographs by Rick Koril
This article is Copyright © 1999 Ron Kilber. All rights reserved.
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April 15, 1999
Tax-filing season really got to me this year. It depressed me so
much that the only thing that was going to pull me out of a mental tailspin was a little
fun and excitement, as in airplanes and flying. With excuse in hand, I decided to fly up
to Montezuma Air Park to visit a friend with a fabulous Southwestern-style home in
Arizona's beautiful Verde Valley, less than 100 air miles north of Phoenix. The homeowner,
Ron Melmon, extended an invitation to me to fly in to this private, restricted airport.
In turn, I invited fellow pilot, Rick Koril, to join me, and he replied he could use a
little fun and excitement, too. As any good pilot with aviation as his mistress, he
accepted my invitation in a heartbeat.
Montezuma Air Park looking northeast.
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Flying over the Verde River I key the Cessna 182 microphone and announce,
"Montezuma Traffic, Cessna 92755, 10 miles southeast, landing."
A homeowner (presumably) responds, "Cessna 755, Montezuma Air Park, winds out of
the east; take your pick: Runway 17 or 35."
So Rick and I decide it would be better to cross over the airport midfield for left
traffic using Runway 35, which slopes slightly uphill at Montezuma Air Park (3370 MSL).
"Ron, is that you?" a voice on the frequency asks.
"Affirmative," I say as I recognize Melmon's voice.
"Ron, the winds are out of the south now, so switch to Runway 17," advises
Melmon.
"Affirmative," I respond.
So we abort landing on 35 and veer to the downwind leg for 17, instead.
Aerial view.
Ron and Ron, hangar flying.
Ron Melmon with his 1985 Mooney 231 Rocket.
Home, sweet home.
1947 Bellanca.
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Only problem now, after we turn base leg and then final, our ground speed is not only
way too fast, even though our airspeed is only 80 miles per hour (MPH), but we find
ourselves too high. So we abort landing on 17, too, and execute another go-around.
Now another Montezuma homeowner advises us that the winds are out of the north. By now,
both Rick and I have figured this fact out already — our ground speed is too high. So we
position for ANOTHER midfield crossing for left traffic on runway 35.
Finally things are going perfectly. We're setup beautifully now on Runway 35's final
leg (for the second time now). And I can see Ron Melmon waiting for us in front of his
hangar on the east side of the runway, about mid-field.
The wind is coming right down the runway at 20 knots, so our ground roll is minimal.
The landing is perfect.
Chez Melmon
After we taxi to the house, Melmon invites us to park our airplane in his hangar. No
argument there. In Arizona, only a mental midget would turn down an offer of free shade.
It's always a good feeling to plant one's feet in a place like this. Who among us can't
imagine what it would feel like to land at your own air park, taxi into your own hangar
and then say, "Honey, I'm home"?
No pilot, I bet!
I first dreamt of this lifestyle when I was still a teenager back in South Dakota. Ever
since, I've never given up my dream, and if I could afford one-third of a million dollars
for a home today, this is precisely the community I'd want to be living in. As it is, I
may have to wait a little while before it'll become my reality — or find something a tad
cheaper. Meantime, I'm lucky to be here with Ron who is gracious to share his home with
Rick and me.
This is air-park heaven, folks! Montezuma Air Park is a gated aviation community
(private and restricted...by invitation only!) which sports some of the finest and most
exclusive real estate on earth.
Fellow aviator Ron Melmon has been a bachelor-in-paradise resident here for more than
five years, but now that marriage is on the horizon again, he and his fiancé have decided
to move into larger quarters. His home is on the market, and he wanted me to pay a visit
and see it before it's too late.
Ron says we arrived just in time for community coffee, which is always served at 10 AM
each day in the pilot lounge of a 10,000 square-foot, private hangar a few doors south of
Ron's home. I don't ask, but the place might well double as the unofficial town hall. But
who's interested in just coffee? The huge hangar is full of airplanes, and one especially
catches my eye. It's a vintage 1947 Bellanca with a 165-HP Franklin engine. What a beauty.
For anyone who gets bored with the on-field coffee here, there's always Sedona'a
airport restaurant where pilots from surrounding air parks fly to meet each morning.
Afterwards, we trek the short distance back to the house.
Ah, This Is The Lifestyle!
Ron's home is a beautiful, custom adobe structure with matching hangar. Inside, the
living room features a Brahmasthan fountain with a circular skylight centered directly
overhead. Matching leather furniture is everywhere, and the colors flow perfectly to blend
the adjacent areas and rooms, Frank Lloyd Wright style.
A plaque on the wall reads:
Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man.
Landing is the first. |
Ron's office is complete with a 270-degree view, computer, built-in bookshelves, and
naturally, a flight-planning nook. I fall in love with a huge, aerial wall picture of
Moorea and its airport right on the beach.
Pietenpol Aircamper.
Montezuma Air Park avgas pump.
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On the way to lunch, Ron drives us through the air park via streets named Piper Avenue,
Mooney Row, Beech Boulevard, Commander Court and Cessna Circle.
One owner has what appears to be his own museum inside his hangar, complete with
several airplanes, one of which is a Pietenpol Aircamper. And just to make sure he always
has fuel on hand, there's an on-site avgas pump.
Montezuma Air Park is home to about thirty aviation families. Adjacent to Interstate 17
connecting Phoenix and Flagstaff, the community sits atop a mesa straddling a north-south
runway.
The views are incredible. Looking south, there are birds-eye views of Camp Verde, and
with a good pair of binoculars one can see people entering business establishments right
off the freeway exit three or so miles away.
Looking west is beautiful Mingus Mountain with its "world's largest ghost
town," Jerome, high above the valley. Prescott is just over the Mountain. At the base
of Mingus is Cottonwood, which is a bustling little community where you can buy virtually
anything found in a large city. And if you absolutely must use your airplane to get there,
it's only about 16 air miles to a great little municipal airport, complete with nice folks
who'll run you into town.
Looking north is nearby Sedona, home to one of the most visually stunning red-rock
areas in the world. If you're not checked out for night flight, Sedona is only 30 to 40
minutes by road to dining, entertainment, galleries and even an annual film festival.
Continuing up Oak Creek Canyon above the Mogollon Rim on the Colorado Plateau is
7,000-foot-high Flagstaff. The Grand Canyon is just beyond.
Going east is Clear Creek, a beautiful outdoor hideaway and oasis. Payson is a little
farther along sitting below the Mogollon Rim deep within the Tonto National Forest.
We end up having lunch in a nearby Chinese restaurant, The Ming House, which is in the
Fort Verde Plaza a short distance away. The food is really quite excellent, the variety is
superb (buffet style), and the price can't be beat — $4.25 all you can eat! The pace is
relaxing, and Ron entertains Rick and I with so many interesting facts about the area and
its people.
No Chinese restaurant will let you out the door without a fortune cookie. Ron reads
his: "You are among fortune hunters today." None of us can figure out what this
means, but if adventure is fortune, Rick and I certainly have found it today.
The drive back to the air park is relaxing as we take the long way on meandering roads
in and around hills in rising and descending terrain. Each time we crest a hill, we get
birds-eye views of the many five-acre home sites, many of which have a horse or two
blissfully grazing away. These sights are plentiful in the Verde Valley.
The only down side to living at Montezuma Air Park is that once your out-of-town
company arrives, they might not leave until they've seen and done everything. That could
take forever.
Montezuma Castle.
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For those times when you get bored with airplanes, you can hike down the hill to the
Cliff Castle Casino or drive out to the Beaver Creek Golf Resort. There's canoeing in the
Verde River and hiking with limitless opportunity in the many nearby national forests.
Trout fishing in area streams is popular as is hunting for deer, elk, antelope, bear,
quail, duck and geese. And of course sight-seeing possibilities are endless. Montezuma
Castle, for example, is only minutes away. It's a 12th century, five-story cliff dwelling
100 feet above the valley floor, complete with 20 rooms.
Airplanes And More Airplanes
Not many airpark dwellers are content with just one airplane in the hangar. After all,
it's a long haul to adjacent states — even by airplane — so many prefer a cross-country
ship such as a Bonanza, Mooney, Cessna 182/210, Glassair or RV-4/6.
For short hauls and spinning holes in the sky, there are plenty of fun toys: Cessna
150/172, Hornet, Piper L-10, Avid Flyer, Shortwing Piper Tri-Pacer, Piper 170, Champ 7AC,
Starduster II, Thorp T-18, Fly Baby, Citabria, Piper Super Cub, Bellanca and a few others.
Many homeowners are members of the local EAA chapter. Current projects include a
Starduster II (2), Thorp T-18, Mooney Mite (4), Cessna 140, Miller Special, Celebrity,
Hatz Biplane and a Baking Duce!
There are three FAA inspectors and two airframe and engine mechanics who live on the
air park, so the community is quite self-contained from an aviation standpoint. No need to
bother with taking your airplane to your favorite (or worst) FBO. Here, you just invite
your neighbor over to do the annual inspection in your hangar, which is always close to
the comforts of home, like food and beverages in the kitchen — and beer when the job is
done.
Heading For Home
Rick and I have pretty much chewed up the better part of a day, so we say farewell to
Ron and depart on Runway 35. It isn't long before we're tracking the Verde River towards
the Mazatzal (pronounced "mad as hell") Mountains climbing over some of the most
mazatzal terrain. Altitude is man's best friend over these parts, and you'll need all you
can get if something goes wrong. About the only place to set down is in the river or on a
short sandbar.
Coming from Chicago in 1996, Rick is a commercial and instrument pilot who has
previously owned a Cessna 172-RG and a straight-leg C-182. He doesn't have as much
mountain-flying experience as I have, so I give him some tips, like don't give away your
altitude over hellish terrain until sure you can make the airport. As I am, he's eager to
always learn more, and likes my suggestion to fly the Verde Valley, not a bee-line home
over peaks and higher terrain. With the wind blowing like it is, there are plenty of up-
and down-drafts, so it's best to steer clear, especially on any lee side of a mountain, of
which there are no shortage of around here.
At the confluence with the East Verde River, we head south towards Horsehoe Reservoir
and Dam. I was just over this lake a few weeks ago, and given all the rain Arizona has
seen since, I'm surprised the water level is still so low.
Farther along is Bartlett Reservoir and Dam. It, too, needs a good drink.
We finally enter the pattern downwind at Mesa's Falcon Field, and we're number two for
landing on Runway 4-R. We can't see our traffic ahead, so Rick and I both agree to
continue our downwind leg until we hear from the Tower.
Sure enough, just as they always do, the controller advises us to turn base and that
our traffic is on a short final. Finally, we see the traffic, and after Rick makes a
beautiful landing, we taxi to the ramp.
What a great day. Flying made me forget about the distastefullness of income-tax
returns. Now if I just had that money back that I paid in, I could do more of what we just
did today. A lot more.
Rick agrees, and suggests we plan another outing real soon. I don't argue there.
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