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About the Desert Air Riders
The Desert Air Riders is a small, active and non-profit paragliding
club, a chapter of USHPA (United State Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association.)
Our purpose is to promote safe paragliding, site preservation
and camraderie in Central Oregon. |
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Membership in the Desert Air Riders
Basic DAR membership is $20 per year. Membership promotes site development, pays site insurance,
and helps cover costs associated with club operation. For pilots wishing to fly Mt Bachelor, a
$40 membership is required. The additional $20 partly funds premium site insurance, the rest is raised
through generous donations at the annual fly-in.
To join, please bring a check to an officer at the hill, or mail your membership dues to:
PO Box 5415, Bend, OR 97708 attn: Desert Air Riders.
For questions, please do not hesitate to top-land on an officer's glider, or fire off an email.
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Club officers
President - Wade Holmes
Secretary/Treasurer - Mike Teixeira |
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Hang Gliding contacts for Central Oregon
Patrick Kruse 541-350-6828 patrick@ruffwear.com
Scott Michalek 541-549-1712 michalek_scott@yahoo.com
Bill Wood 541-593-5512 wmwood@cmc.net
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USHPA Radio Frequencies |
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Call Sign WPRY420
151.505 DAR main frequency
151.625
151.925
151.955
158.4
NOAA Frequencies
162.500 120 watts Bend/Redmond
162.550 330 watts Portland
162.475 100 watts Salem |
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Redmond Roberts Field Weather Talker - 504-8743 |
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The History of the Desert Air Rats
submitted by Frankie Aspinwall |
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In the spring of 1993, Phil
Pohl expressed the desire to start a paragliding club
in Central Oregon. I (Frankie) knew nothing about starting
a club, but was willing to help. That spring, we put on
a clinic at Pine Mt. As I recall, it was Memorial weekend
and as is the norm for Memorial weekend it rained. When
the time was running out for the weather to change, we
gathered the group and told them that we were going to
refund their money. At that time Pete Reagan stepped up
and said (no yelled) "let's donate the money to the
new club" and the rest of the group agreed. This
was a good size group of mostly Portland pilots and their
generosity put about a thousand dollars in the kitty.
The next order of business was to choose a name. A few
ideas flew around like "The Para People From Pine"
and the "Desert Air Rats", which by the way
almost won the vote. In the Spring of 1994 our club became
a chapter of the USHPA. Our numbers have grown from 8
Pilots in 1993 to nearly 30 local Pilots in 2002. I can't
believe we have gone from such a small start to an actual
(some what) organized club with an e- mail list and web
site. This is the start of our ninth year. Where has the
time gone?
The Club was started with the purpose of promoting safety,
site preservation and the enjoyment of all who joins in.
One of our big accomplishments is the Pine Mt. Fly-In
that we host each year for over 100 pilots. A great time
is had by all! Now, that's something to be proud of. Also,
our efforts to keep Mt. Bachelor open and a flyable site
is a lot of work and we should be commended for our efforts.
It takes each club member's help to make it a fun club
and we should all try to make an effort to do just that.
Lets all have a safe flying season and look out for each
other and help each other make good decisions. |
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Strong Wind Techniques
With the advent of faster wings and superior ground
handling skills, many pilots are launching in much higher
winds. Many pilots are unsure what to do in the event
you are blown back. Frankie and Phil compiled a list of
Strong Wind Techniques. Read the
strong wind techniques. |
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Newspaper Articles
The Source published a paragliding article titled "Breaking
the Law of Gravity" in February 2005. Here's a link
to the cover
photo showing Casey Jowers launching at Mt. Bachelor.
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Pine Mountain Flying Guidelines
With the purchase of 800 acres at the base of Pine
Mtn by Foreverfreemustangs,
the Desert Air Riders created a few flying guidelines.
Guidelines:
1. Do not land within the fenced 800 acre area set aside
for the wild mustangs under any circumstances. This
is for your safety as well as the mustangs.
2. A minimum of 1,000 ft AGL should be strictly observed
when flying over the fenced 800 acres. For reference
you should be at least 6,000 MSL when over ridge leading
to Frankie’s Flying Farm and over the ridges to
the west and at least 5500 ft MSL over the base of Pine
Mountain when flying within the fenced area.
3. In general, use your common sense and make a concerted
effort to avoid the wild mustangs at all costs even
when following the guidelines above. We can’t afford
to spook the mustangs causing them to stampede through
the barbed wire fencing (42” high) resulting in
expensive round up procedures (use of a helicopter)
and veterinary care.
Suggested flight plan from the top of Pine is
very similar to the hang gliders search pattern:
1. Launch from the paragliding launches instead of the
hang launch, especially when there is any northern component
to the wind or cycles. This will give you a little extra
altitude to get around the corner below the peak of
Pine.
2. If you can’t find a thermal to sustain or climb
out over the top of Pine using the west face or the
rock spine, work your way down the training hill spine
and then onto the ridges northeast of the Y landing
area. DO NOT scratch low below the rock spine as this
is within the fenced 800 acres. If you get low on the
west face it would be best to side hill land and hike
back up.
3. If you sink out using this search pattern you can
easily land at the “Y” landing zone or anywhere
in that area leading to the “T” landing zone
that the hang gliders use.
Some hints for flying glass-off from the training
hill:
1. We will be moving our landing zone to BLM land (waiting
approval from the BLM) east of the rock L, as it will
be fenced off for the horses. We will also have to build
at least one new mid launch and maybe an upper launch
as well. This should not be a problem. We will be hiking
a little bit further.
2. Benching up to the summit will bring us near or over
the corner of the fenced 800 acres as the fence line
runs up the side of the training hill (through the old
mid launch) and cuts across the bottom part of the treed
gully (aka the crotch). Be cognizant of this fact and
use your common sense. I don’t expect that the
mustangs will be anywhere close to this corner once
they see we are flying in the area, but, if they are,
follow guideline number 3 above.
3. Be extra careful of your penetration when benching
up. You should plan on crabbing towards the Y if conditions
strengthen, otherwise, you may be low over the fenced
property.
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