For pilots who like to camp, it sounds like a dream: Fly into a beautiful private airport along a river in West Virginia and pull right up to your campsite, which comes complete with a queen-sized memory foam bed with sheets and pillows, picnic tables, a fire pit, and much more.
No packing the plane and double-checking weight and balance. No putting up the tent after a day of flying. You can even have food delivered right to your campsite.
All of this is available at the Hinton-Alderson Airport (WV77), a 2,700-foot grass field that runs along the scenic Greenbrier River in West Virginia.
Airport owners Mike and Kelly Gwinn partnered with Tentrr.com for the three camping sites — “Cub,” Stearman,” and “Skyhawk” — at the airport.
Pilots can park their airplanes right next to each tent site, which also include a pop-up six-person tent, so you can share your camping experience with your friend and her plane.
The camping sites officially opened in the summer of 2021, just in time for the airport’s annual Wings & Wheels Festival, slated for Sept. 18, 2021.
Mike’s grandfather opened the airport in 1933, offering charter service and a flight school. His mom then ran the airport. But things changed in 1984 when, for the first time in its history, the airport flooded. It flooded again in 1996. That’s when the EPA came in and forced the airport to stop its fuel sales, the primary source of revenue.
Mike continues to run the airport as a “labor of love,” through his company On Course Aviation, which offers flight instruction, aviation and prebuy consulting. He’s also a designated pilot examiner.
He and his wife had been brainstorming ideas of how to generate more income when they discovered Tentrr. The travel company provides all the materials for the campsites, as well as the booking website and insurance.
Kelly’s tasked with managing the sites and goes above and beyond, offering to run into town to get campers groceries they can purchase through the Walmart or Kroger apps.
There’s been a lot of interest in the campsites, according to Mike, who anticipates interest will continue to grow.
“Fall is a great time here with the leaves changing and the weather is pretty nice,” he says.
The campsite will close in November for the winter, reopening May 1, 2022.
The nearest fuel is at Greenbrier Valley Airport (KLWB) in Lewisburg, which is about 18 nm from WV77. That airport, which boasts a 7,000-foot runway, also has rental cars.
Mike notes that pilots can drop a person off at KLWB to get a car, then park both the car and plane next to the campsite.
A car might be nice as there’s a lot to do in the area, he noted.
“The campsites are about an hour and 15 minute drive from the New River Gorge, which is now a national park and has rafting and mountain climbing and all kinds of other stuff. It’s a big tourist destination.”
Lewisburg, which was voted the coolest small town in America in 2011, boasts a number of restaurants.
“It’s a very nice touristy town,” Mike says.
But you don’t have to travel far to enjoy the West Virginia scenery. The river behind the campsite is a “very beautiful, swimmable river,” he says. “It’s a nice place to be.”
Mike and Kelly continue to allow pilots who fly in to do their own camping on the airport. Primitive camping is $25 a night. Those spots are also by the river, but not near the Tentrr campsites. Call 757-593-3244 to talk to Mike or Kelly about the primitive camping spots.
Mike added that the hangar has a toilet campers can use, while the Tentrr campsites offer something called a “Tentrr loo.” They are also planning to put a shower in the hangar for campers.
Ready to glamp? The Tentrr campsites are $150 a night. You can find out more by going to the WV77 tab at OnCourseAviationllc.com or at Tentrr.com.