According to local lore, in 1948 a Wichita businessman wanted to fly into Beaumont to check on his cattle and asked the hotel to block the road for his landing. Residents agreed, and after the pilot told his friends, many other aviators began talking about the little Kansas town where a plane could land and taxi on the main street. It quickly became a tradition for aviators and a practice for residents to watch for airplanes on the streets when driving. In 1953, hotel owner J.C. Squire acquired 70 acres east of the hotel and added a landing strip, allowing planes to land and depart safely on Flint Hill pasture rather than on Beaumont's streets. Today, aviators still travel to Beaumont in antique biplanes, helicopters, ultra lights, power parachutes, and hot air balloons, and planes can taxi right up to the hotel.