| Join the Gypsies |
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Join the Gypsies 
MEMBERSHIPParticipation in the Sky Gypsies is by invitation only. (“We’re not trying to be exclusive, just cautious,” explains McAfee. “You’re putting your life in the other members’ hands while you are trekking.”) The process begins with a weekend trip to club headquarters in Rodeo, New Mexico, for preliminary vetting by longtime Sky Gypsies. (For appointments, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) Once the committee approves membership, you can choose from a number of packages, ranging from an annual cost of $1,000 to $270,000. The Premier Membership offers carte blanche access to all airfields, varying degrees of access to recreational vehicles, and a permanent plot for a trailer and one full-time hangar space at each port. PORTS >Don’t expect to be greeted with champagne and caviar at any of the six aerotrekking ports (skygypsies.com). In fact, the only food available is at Rodeo’s Amigos del Cielo Airpark, which is, according to McAfee, “smack in the middle of nowhere in terms of population, but close to everything from a flying standpoint.” That includes the Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountain ranges, the Animas Valley, and the Great Playas. Sites of comparable allure are equally accessible from the five Southwest satellite ports. (Two more ports are under construction.) These desert harbors are to trekkers what yurts are to backcountry skiers: spartan yet exquisitely situated places to recharge. They may not be fancy, says McAfee, but “most people hang out in Rodeo because the flying is so good.” > Amigos del Cielo Airpark is the only port open to the public. To visit, fly to Tucson International Airport and drive two and a half hours. The Airpark’s art-house theater has made it a sort of Marfa, Texas, for film buffs with ultralights. Light meals and fancy coffee are served at the Sky Gypsy Cafe (skygypsycoffee.com), and lodging is in vintage Airstreams. > The Sky Gypsies’ second headquarters is in La Cholla, Arizona, in Tucson’s northern suburbs. It’s a relatively luxurious place to stop, if only for its proximity to the perks of Western culture: restaurants, cafes, shopping, etc. > The Sky Gypsies’ Kansas Settlement, Arizona, digs are also best accessed from Tucson: They’re an hour east. > According to McAfee, Rimrock, Arizona, a two-hour drive north of Phoenix, “is not a destination for a world traveler looking for something new.” But the scenery is great—empty desert mountains and wending arroyos—and therefore the flying is top-notch. > The Pleasant Valley, Arizona, port is also north of Phoenix, just 25 miles west of Carefree. > The Deming, New Mexico, port is a one-and-a-half-hour drive northwest of El Paso, Texas. From here, some Sky Gypsies like to wing it to the public airport in Douglas, Arizona, for sirloin and enchiladas at the reputedly haunted Gadsden Hotel (hotelgadsden.com). Comments (0)
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