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GeeDub's article in
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Florida's Wallaby Ranch |
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Malcolm Jones was a major player in the Draggin' Flyers club, and he treated
us like relatives during the time my wife and I spent in the Sunshine State
that year. I knew Malcolm from the Masters of Hang Gliding competitions
that used to be held in my home state of North Carolina, and I wondered
if maybe I'd done him a favor or two while he'd visited the San Diego area
when I lived in Southern California. (Later I was reminded of Malcolm's
extreme success with hang gliding sponsorship back in the mid-1970's with
the E-Z Wider flying team. Most of us have seen the classic E-Z Wider T-shirts
that were distributed by Malcolm.) I was quite taken aback by the hospitality
we were shown during our short visit, and eventually resigned myself to
the fact that someone had recognized what a great guy I was and just wanted
to treat me well.
Two years passed, my wife
Jan and I settled (sort of) in our home state of North Carolina, and my
new business interests required that I attend a trade show in Tampa Florida.
We'd put in a hard year without a vacation together, so we decided to tack
five days onto the business trip and spend some time where the weather
was much more inviting. Looking at the map of Florida, we made plans to
stop at Malcolm's new aerotowing ranch which I'd heard was in the Orlando
area, head down to see friends in Fort Meyers and then on to Key West where
a number of our buddies were holed up for the winter. On our drive homeward
we would then swing by the trade show for a pleasant albeit working end
to our "business" trip. I had promised myself not to spend too much time
at the hang gliding park, since I didn't want to appear self-indulgent
on a "family" vacation. All pilots who really care for their "significant
others" understand the ongoing internal struggle which this involves.
I looked up Malcolm's phone
number in my spiral-bound brain and gave him a call to find out what days
the flight park was open, and to be sure that we could be accommodated.
Malcolm's wife answered the phone and explained that he was at "the ranch."
"He's always at the ranch," she said, and gave me the phone number. I made
the call, and Malcolm confirmed that the flight park would indeed be open
when we showed up, commenting, "It's open seven days a week, year round,
and every weekend is a fly-in" I remember hanging up the phone and thinking
how incredibly nice Malcolm was to me. I still couldn't figure out why.
We put in our 12 hours
on the I-95 time warp, and as we approached the Orlando area on I-4 I got
out the directions to the flying ranch and got a little worried. The directions
seemed awfully short. Maybe I had left out some of the directions - no
hang gliding site could be that accessible. Oh well, at least I had the
phone number. I figured I'd at least get close and then call for clarification
on the directions.
We passed the exit for
the Disney stuff, and just two exits later we were theoretically there.
It was so close to everything, and there was still so much civilization
that I figured we had to be lost. We followed the road for 1.5 miles to
see if there was a paved road on the left. Yep, and it still looked pretty
civilized. We took this road the prescribed 1.7 miles to see if there was
indeed a black mailbox with a Moyes sticker on it. Yes, indeed - we were
there! We drove down the well- packed sandy driveway and around some palmettos,
and there was a glider just beginning a tow near a man who was shagging
golf balls between flights. Getting there couldn't have been easier.
We pulled up under some
shade trees and parked the van. Malcolm was fetching someone a tow release
and talking on his portable phone at the same time. He hung up the phone
and walked out to welcome us to the ranch. Instantly, you could tell that
Malcolm was proud of the place, and he wasted no time in giving us the
full tour. We were shown the office and pro shop, the hangar for the tugs,
the glider condos where folks can keep their wings for a reasonable fee,
and the camping area. As we left the horseshoe pit we were shown the bathrooms
and showers. The men's bathroom and shower are more than adequate, but
the women's "lounge" is remarkable. Malcolm has put in a fiberglass tub
and shower in the women's rest room and has even furnished the boudoir
with shampoo, soap and lots and lots of toilet paper. Malcolm commented
that the women are well taken care of at his flight park.
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We walked over to the swimming pool near someone jumping on a full-sized
trampoline, and close to the location of a volleyball court. We took our
seats on the nice wooden deck (complete with barbecue "pit style" cooker)
and Malcolm said, "G.W., I wanted to create a flight park where the family
would actually want to come and enjoy the day. Families come out here on
perfectly soarable days, just hang out and not even fly."
Later, I was given a complete
"corner-to-corner" tour on the ranch's mini-bikes and four-wheelers. The
ranch is very large, and Malcolm has taken a hint from his near neighbor
Disney and left plenty of room for future expansion if necessary.
I had driven down to Florida
with only my harness, but that proved to be no problem whatsoever. Malcolm
has many gliders to rent for pilots of all skill levels, as well as varios,
harnesses, tow releases and helmets. Practically anything a pilot might
need to fly is available at the ranch. Not only are gliders available,
but they even have a glider setup and breakdown service! Malcolm tells
about a local physician who keeps his glider at one of the ranch's condos,
steals away from his duties during (deserved) breaks and has his glider
set up and waiting when he arrives. He gets towed up right away (flying
with his beeper, of course), racks up an hour or so of airtime, lands,
has his glider put away for the night, and heads back to work with no hassles,
only airtime.
It's been said many times
that to have a successful business you must surround yourself with the
right people. This is one nugget of wisdom that hasn't escaped Malcolm.
You would never know that the crew he has working for him (and you, the
customer) are at work at all. With pleasant demeanor these guys give the
impression that they really want to be right where they are, and most of
the "ranch hands" are aviators in multiple disciplines. They are competent
and reliable. I really felt I was in very capable hands the whole time
I was there.
After the first day of
towing we decided to find a place to spend the night. Since it was our
vacation we decided not to camp, but it wasn't because of lack of facilities.
The ranch has complete camping available, including your choice of primitive
or full hook-up. A washer and dryer are available on site, as well as picnic
table, grills and a fully screen-enclosed pole barn for insect-free fun.
I asked Malcolm for a hotel recommendation, and after apologizing that
his guest house was full (what a host this guy is!). We were directed to
the exit we had taken off Interstate 4. A short five minute drive away
we found a good number of hotels to choose from, and we stayed at the Holiday
Inn for $25 per night. (We used a coupon out of one of those travel pamphlets
you get at gas stations, and the prices change with season. Nevertheless,
that was what we paid for a great room just 3.5 miles from Wallaby Ranch)
Restaurants are easy to find; we walked to one from the hotel for dinner
and did the same for breakfast the next morning.
Our "vacation plans" afforded
us (me) one more day of flying before becoming real vacationers farther
south in the peninsula state. I got a couple of more flights in at a very
leisurely pace on our planned final day. I swear, airtime is so easy to
get here that motivation may become a problem. Unlike many a mountain site,
where much of your day is taken up driving, this site creates absolutely
no sense of urgency. It's something you can get used to really quickly.
After hanging out both
in the air and on the ground for the rest of the day, Jan and I said our
good-byes late that evening as the sun was setting and drove out on the
hard packed sand to the main road, got on I-4 and headed southwest toward
Fort Meyers. Somewhere on I-75, about two hors into our drive, I couldn't
hold back anymore and said, "Do you feel like we should have just stayed
at the ranch for the rest of our trip?" Jan replied, "Yeah, I just thought
you wanted to go see Tab and Karen in Fort Meyers." I told her that I just
didn't want to ruin her vacation by being an air hog. To make along story
short, we took the next exit and headed back to the ranch. We stayed at
"our" Holiday Inn again that night and surprised Malcolm when we showed
up the next morning for more "ranch fun." We stayed there for the remainder
of our vacation and experienced one of the most memorable flying trips
that a couple or family could have.
The airtime and cross-country
miles come fairly easily at the ranch due to the fact that the "Florida
Ridge" runs right over Malcolm's property. If you look at any map of Florida
you will see that it's a peninsula that has large bodies of water on three
sides (the Atlantic to the east, the Gulf to the west and the Caribbean
to the south). During the day, two on-shore breezes can set up, one from
the east and one from the west. The convergence of these two air masses
is known as the Florida Ridge, and the sailplane community has been familiar
with it for years. Like any convergence it can move around on a daily basis,
and gives pilots in the central Florida area the opportunity for some really
long flights. Flights over 100 miles have already been made from Malcolm's
ranch, and I'll make a prediction that the first 200 mile flight on the
east coast will be made form here.
One of the most impressive
things about Malcolm's ranch is the family atmosphere, as mentioned earlier.
If we are to survive as a sport we must reestablish a family emphasis,
and Malcolm's ranch (like a couple of other flight parks in the US. ) is
doing that very thing. You can fly from anywhere in the world with your
family (airfare to Orlando is cheap), buy your family a three-day pass
to Disney World, Epcot Center and Disney MGM Grand Studios, and let them
have the tourist vacation of their lives while you have the flying vacation
of your life. The hotel we stayed in is only 10 minutes from the Disney
stuff and only five minutes form the flying. Get in touch with Malcolm
to help arrange your next family vacation. You'll be glad you did.
For more information
contact: Malcolm Jones, Wallby Ranch Flight Park 1805 Dean Still Road, Davenport, FL 33837-9358 (863) 424-0070.
Directions
to the Wallaby Ranch.
Reprinted with the permission of G.W. Meadows and Hang Gliding Magazine |
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