Wilkinson Ranch Airport (55WA), located in Yakima, Washington, has been around since the early 1990s. Throughout much of its history, this airstrip has been used primarily by Wilkinson's family and friends. But in recent years, some people have begun landing on the 6,050-foot-long asphalt runway to attend weddings or stay in one of several rental accommodations.
Landon Wilkinson, who became a pilot in 2020, gave us a detailed explanation of the background of the airstrip and what makes the land around it so special.
“My father has been a pilot all his life and has owned several different airplanes,” Wilkinson said. “He acquired this land in his 1991 and a short time later a runway was built. It was grass for a while, but they lengthened it and paved it. And it's funny. The name of the runway [a sign observed from the road] It's called “Landon Strip.” Technically it was named after me, and I was the first of my father's three sons to land on the runway. ”
Wilkinson currently flies a Mooney M20E, which he owns with his brother and another partner. The facility's runway is the centerpiece of much air travel, as well as those flying in to celebrate.
“While Oakshire Estate & Airfield is a wedding venue, it was not intentionally designed for that purpose,” Mr Wilkinson said. “My father has planted thousands of trees since he bought this property. The long tree-lined driveway is truly spectacular, as is the entire property. They improve this property every year. We have been holding weddings there for many years, but a few years ago we opened up the property to book a limited number of weddings each year.”
Not only can people fly to a wedding, they don't have to travel far to get from the ramp to the dance floor.
“We have a lot of weddings that utilize the runway, but it's basically 100 feet from the front door of the venue,” he said. “We fly people in, and then the groomsmen come and walk them down the aisle.” [after getting out of the airplane]. It was fun to see them work together here. ”
After seeing his parents' success with their wedding venue, the 30-year-old private pilot sought to bring other equally unique services to the facility. He started by renovating a 100-year-old barn that had been abandoned for many years. Although it was an ambitious project, he had been renovating and redecorating homes since he was a child.
“I bought about 50 acres of land southeast of the same road from my father,” he said. “Our first project in 2019 was a barn renovation. The shipping container home was completed about two years ago now. We have great views of the Yakima Ridge and it is a very We thought it would be a good short-term rental experience. So we basically did the shipping container and barn conversion ourselves and put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it. But we turned them into something pretty special. I think it has.”
Both the barn and shipping container are available for short-term rental. Mr Wilkinson is proud of the rental property, which has received rave reviews, but also admits the airstrip is one of his favorites of his family's property.
“So when you go on land, it actually becomes a one-way runway because there are pretty tall trees around the west end house,” he said. “And there are wind turbines and base stations nearby about a quarter-mile to the north. They're not really in the way, but you have to be careful. And the runway is wide at first, maybe 30 feet or so at the east end. I think [wide] It then decreases to about 25 feet or so. [wide]”
The amount of time Wilkinson spent marketing short-term rentals is indicative of a problem within the industry. He believes aviators are probably in the best position to take advantage of short-term, unbooked nights.
“Part of the motivation to start [booking platform website] “Hostshare had a lot to do with being a pilot,” he said. “As pilots we are usually weather dependent, which requires a lot of flexibility when it comes to accommodations. For many short-term rentals, cancellation policies are typically non-refundable, or at least partially refundable. If you own an Airbnb, Host Share makes it much more economical to take a last-minute trip with your family. That was part of the motivation.”
Wilkinson noted that at Mooney, sharing time equally between partners is fortunately not yet an issue. But the process of sharing assets with others was another element of his continued inspiration for his new website. Several fly-in destinations have already appeared on the platform, including Beaver Creek, Maine;
