by Mike McCann
Cochise County (Willcox) – P33
May 17, 2025
Our May 17 Day Trip to Willcox was a big success thanks to sunny skies, cool temperatures, a fantastic host FBO and an over-subscribed number of APA pilots and passengers (we had budgeted for 24 and 32 ultimately attended).
Willcox Aviation (FBO), owned by Mike and Katelin Wear, were fantastic hosts for our fly-in. Arriving aircraft were greeted by aircraft marshallers who directed parking and arranged for fueling.
Looking back at the many day trips we’ve done over the past two years, we’ve never had any aircraft other than fixed wing, single engine airplanes. That changed with our Willcox day trip when Virgil & Jennifer Hector flew from Tombstone in their Magni M24 Gyroplane.
Willcox Aviation also arranged for a 
Mexican food truck to be on-site selling breakfast burritos in addition to the large assortment of free donuts and coffee provided for everyone’s enjoyment! The FBO even covered the cost of the breakfast burritos for any pilot purchasing 10 gallons of fuel.
Fuel prices were very reasonable, so we took advantage and fueled up (both 100LL and free burritos)! Particularly interesting was the miniature fuel truck Willcox Aviation owns (along with more traditional fuel trucks). Everyone got a chuckle given the fuel truck’s capacity was only 200 gallons!
APA members attend Willcox Wine Festival
Several of our APA members took advantage of the several courtesy cars Willcox Aviation provided for our use to travel to downtown Willcox where the semi-annual Willcox Wine Country Festival was in full swing.
Cheyne sent the following “pilot report” of the Festival for other APA members:
“The wine festival was fun and definitely worth the trip. It was about a 7-minute drive into town and the FBO was great allowing us the use of a crew car. We purchased tickets for our wives for the wine tasting and they got a wine glass and tickets to sample the local vineyards. There were craft, food, and artisan vendors setup along with live music. The downtown area is very nice as they are restoring historic buildings and turning many into tasting rooms for the local vineyards. We had lunch at a great BBQ spot that has a train car as part of its dining area along the train tracks across from the historic train station. All in all, definitely worth a trip to enjoy the historic downtown and grab lunch. Winds were stiff leaving this afternoon, but right down the runway. Beautiful day to fly. Thanks again!”
Wrap-Up:
Numerous persons in our group commented that they’d never been to Willcox, but would certainly plan to go back again. I’ve tagged Willcox for a possible return trip in early ’26 when well plan to go Tirrito Farms, a highly-recommended, unique destination in Southeastern Arizona.
Feel free to contact me with any questions (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and we'll look forward to seeing you.
Safe flying,
Mike