Free Checkride / Free Room at Marfa, southwest Texas

Burt, might it be useful to develop a list of the famous Hollywood types
who took up gliding, and be ready to drop their names around these
high-profile visitors? They seem to respect one another. It is
interesting that a bunch of them participated and kept it quiet.


At 05:09 18 April 2013, Burt Compton - Marfa wrote:
Well, the artists / musicians / writers community of Marfa, Texas, is
known=
to be more quirky than charming. I did my best to get some coverage of
t=
he historical and present soaring activities at Marfa. I offered free
medi=
a glider rides in my new ASK-21 to the CBS 60 Minutes production crew,
the
=
producer and to host Morley Safer. They politely declined, said it was
in=
teresting but they had no time to spare. =20

You can send feedback on the Marfa program of April 14, a "letter to the
ed=
itor" at=20
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/feedba...ews_form.shtml

You can also see the Marfa segment video on the cbsnews.com/ 60 minutes
web=
site.

Since I've been giving rides for many decades I realize that a glider
fligh=
t is not for everybody, but when Dan Rather was in Marfa a few years ago
to=
inaugurate Marfa Public Radio (you can stream the KRTS broadcasts on the
i=
nternet) he mentioned to me that a glider is the only category of
aircraft
=
he had not flown in, and would return someday to take a flight. =20

Visitors to Marfa in recent years have been Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger,
To=
mmy Lee Jones, Randy Quaid, Beyonce, Robert Plant, Michael Nesmith, Sean
Le=
nnon, David Byrne, Will Ferrell. Marfa is a remote getaway / hideaway
des=
tination. The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore was offered a glider ride.
Ou=
r Mayor (one of my towpilots) and the Big Bend newspaper editor often
sugge=
st a glider ride to visitors although it might be an issue about
insurance
=
for the famous ones. (They ride Harleys, don't they?) Or maybe they
don't=
"get it." I'll keep trying to educate and promote it as we need one of
t=
hese "names" to become associated with soaring. However the hip aspect
of=
Marfa requires that you gotta be cool about bugging the famous person
sitt=
ing next to you in the Paisano Hotel bar.

The recent publicity for Marfa is definitely good for our already booming
t=
ourist town and therefore my glider business. We no longer have a "slow
se=
ason" in our new restaurants and the renovated hotels (privately owned,
no
=
"chains" here.) Since I'm originally from Florida I like to say "A High
Ti=
de Floats All Boats" in Marfa! (Find Marfa on your El Paso aero chart to
g=
et that joke.)

So I'm cultivating the glider "brand" in Marfa . . . but maybe soaring is
n=
ot "quirky" enough for the rich and famous. Gotta see what I can do
abou=
t that. Maybe Salvadore Dali paint jobs on my gliders, dye my shaggy
hai=
r purple. Dig it.

Quirky Burt
-- dropping names in Marfa, southwest Texas USA