Views by Air, Visits by Landing
Hawthorne holds bragging rights for a Visitors Center that offers a triple-star rating for A+ Hospitality. The Center houses a lounge area plus a few beds; offers internet and snacks; is equipped with showers and a clean restroom facility; is cozy, with reading materials and special extras; but most of all it offers a top-of-the-line local ambassador named Betty Easley.
But this Visitors Center is located off the normally beaten trail, as it is the flight terminal of the Hawthorne Industrial Airport, just off Highway 95. Services are provided strictly for the pilots and passengers who grace their asphalt runways.
This county-owned, volunteer-run facility is annually seen by the countless aviators who seek out this specific airport as a stopping point. With a reputation for clean operations and welcoming hosts, even courtesy transportation is included on the list of flyer amenities as they come to visit the area for a day or for weekly business endeavors.
Betty, who is known for her weekly aviation column “Wings-N-Things” in the Mineral County Independent News, is known to many pilots as “the go-to-gal”, as she listens to the flight calls by radio, arriving at the airport in advance of their landings. Being greeted by any of the airport hosts makes for a lovely first impression, but the warmth of their top-notch accommodations within the Hawthorne Industrial Airport Hospitality House is truly memorable for even the most experienced pilots.
This FAA approved airport accepts single and multi-engines planes, even accepting ultralights and historic planes along the way. On Armed Forces Day, this airport celebrates with a military fly-over, which is funded by an annual fundraising effort done by Ms. Easley herself. She also coordinates the fly-over and arranges for other specialty airplanes to be on display, along with a day’s open house to introduce their airport facilities. Aircraft fuel and parking is available and open to the public for local planes, general stops and transient airplanes meeting the specifications of the airport standards.
For more information, call (775) 945-3897; (775) 945-9286 or the county office at (775) 312-0243.
— Sheri Samson
