On January 15, 2025, The Kingman Golden Eagles RC Club closed the deal to purchase almost 40 acres of desert land at 8 E Calle Ocampo, Kingman Arizona. We offered $35,000 and the seller came back with $38,000… and so that is the purchase price we paid… just over $1000 per acre: a bargain price!
Thanks to Shawn Lavery’s bequest leaving his home to our club upon his passing, the Golden Eagles has the money in the bank to purchase this chunk of land. I believe that we will be calling this field “Lavery Field” in his honor.
36.4 ACRES… not quite on the edge of nowhere!
… but mighty close TO it!
For most of us club members, it’s a long drive to the new property. For me, living near Antares Road, north of Valle Vista, it’s a 37 mile drive! … If you live near the top of Northern, it’s a 22 mile drive. … And if you live near Jim Simo, it’s just a skip and a jump!
Some of us may take the back roads from the north-end of Valle Vista. The new property is only 10 miles of rough road from where Concho dead-ends in Valle Vista!
Lavery Field is a beautiful Arizona high-desert location!
The land has only a slight gradient to it… highest on the western side. Our runway will have a slight “high end” to it but not nearly as steep as some model runways I’ve seen.
It’s a beautiful place to be and the RUNWAY is in place!
Our guys cut the new runway for us on April 15th… they did a great job!
The PLAN
… for 8 E Calle Ocampo “Lavery Field”…
The reason for our purchasing this land is to give us a place to “bail-out to” in case we lose our current home-field, near the Kingman Airport. Our current location is in an excellent location, close to town… and it’s well developed with a 600-foot geotextile runway and all the amenities that our growing club needs.
Is change in the wind?
As of this date, April 17, 2025, there are NO PLANS to leave our current flying field and NO plans to develop the Lavery Field. BUT: we are concerned that the Kingman Airport may “go commercial” and grow into a commercial airport. If that happens, our club field will be too close to the airport and we will have to move. … Another concern is about the chance that the land we rent will be sold out from under us. If that happens, we may well be forced to pick-up our toys and find a new location.
It is with those thoughts in mind that we decided to purchase the new land at 8 E Calle Ocampo.
I have no idea when the Kingman Golden Eagles RC Club will be asked to relocate. It could be decades away or it might happen next week! … My plan is to continue to enjoy and grow the facility at our current location so as to provide the best experience for our club members. I plan to save our cash and NOT develop the “Lavery Field” property until the day comes that we know we must move. In the meantime, I have our Realtor looking for, perhaps, a more convenietly located property, closer in, that we could purchase. I hope we have the time to locate a more suitable field.
Visit our property at 8 E Calle Ocampo, in Kingman, AZ… Google Maps can lead you there.
