The Flying-M Ranch (sometimes referred to as the Hilton Ranch) is a

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

and

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

located in

Lyon County, Nevada Lyon County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 59,235. Lyon County is a part of the Reno metropolitan area. History Lyon County was one of the ...

. The land, which was previously owned by hotel magnate

Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton (October 23, 1927 – September 19, 2019) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and sportsman. The second son and successor of hotelier Conrad Hilton, he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of ...

, was the base for many world-famous

gliding competitions Some of the pilots in the sport of gliding take part in gliding competitions. These are usually racing competitions, but there are also aerobatic contests and on-line league tables. History of competitions In the early days, the main goal wa ...

, including the biennial

Barron Hilton Cup The Barron Hilton Cup (BHC) was a worldwide soaring contest, founded by the late ex-chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hilton Hotels Corporation, Barron Hilton, and the late Prof. Dr. Helmut Reichmann. The European Aeronautic Defen ...

. The Ranch covers about 7,139 acres of land; it is located between the

Wassuk Range The Wassuk Range is located in west-central Nevada in the United States. It is found to the west of Walker Lake in Mineral County. The mountains reach an elevation of 11,239 feet (3,425 m) at Mount Grant, approximately eight miles northwest ...

and the

Sweetwater Mountains The Sweetwater Mountains (highest peak: Mount Patterson ) are a small mountain range in northern Mono County, California and western Lyon County, Nevada, separating the West Walker River from the East Walker River. Most of the range is only acce ...

, west of

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

and about 75 mi (121 km) south of

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The ranch was named the Flying-M by its previous owner, Stanfield Murphy. Barron Hilton said he did not change the name because his wife, who died in 2004, was named Marilyn. The ranch contains an airfield with a runway that is . A hangar on the airfield contains about a dozen historic aircraft, which are still airworthy. Because the surrounding desert offers good

thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

soaring Soaring may refer to: * Gliding, in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes * Lift (soaring), a meteorological phenomenon used as an energy source by some aircraft and birds * ''Soaring'' (magazine), a magazine produced ...

conditions, the airfield on the ranch was often used for

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

. On September 3, 2007, aviator and adventurer

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

took off alone from the Flying-M Ranch in a

Bellanca Super Decathlon The American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon and Super Decathlon are two-seat fixed conventional gear light airplanes designed for flight training and personal use and capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses between +6g and −5 ''g''. The Decathl ...

, a single-engine two-seater airplane and never returned. An extensive search was launched but nothing was found for almost one year. On September 29, 2008, a hiker found Fossett's identification cards in the

Ansel Adams Wilderness The Ansel Adams Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States. The wilderness spans ; 33.9% of the territory lies in the Inyo National Forest, 65.8% is in the Sierra National Forest, and the remaining 0.3% co ...

near

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera County, California, Madera and Mono County, California, Mono counties. It is home to a large Mammoth Mounta ...

, at a height of 10,100 feet (3,100 m). The identification cards led to the discovery of airplane wreckage and human remains; the remains were subsequently identified by

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

as belonging to Fossett. In 2016, the ranch was sold to the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by the United States Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. A ...

. The purchase price was $19.4 million. The purpose of the sale was to acquire water rights to supply water to

Walker Lake Several lakes are known as Walker Lake: Canada *Lake Walker in Quebec, Canada, the largest (by depth) lake in the province. United States *Walker Lake (Haines, Alaska) *Walker Lake (Northwest Arctic, Alaska) *Walker Lake (Prince of Wales-Outer Ket ...

. The deal also included a

life estate In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death, when the property rights may rever ...

for Barron Hilton.

References

{{reflist

External links

Barron Hilton CupDigital Journal article
Airports in Nevada Buildings and structures in Lyon County, Nevada Transportation in Lyon County, Nevada