Flying Sites

(Click on the map images to get to a larger version)

WASHOE VALLEY CONTEST FLYING SITE This is our primary thermal contest flying site. There are three fields that we have permission to use. All the fields are located on the West side of Washoe Valley. Two of the fields are owned by one owner, and the other by another. These fields are for club contests only, and require the flyer to be an AMA member for insurance reasons. The fields are labelled as primary and secondary. We will use the primary field for most events. The secondary fields (the West fields) will be used when the other is unavailable due to irrigation or some other reason. Note: Flying here is restricted to contest days only.

LAURA SPRINGS RANCH SOARING SITE

Slope

For current wind and weather conditions in North Reno click here

RED ROCK SLOPE SOARING SITE (ZULU RIDGE) The Premiere Slope Site for the Reno Area. Access- From Reno take I-80 to HWY 395 north past Stead Blvd. The next exit is Red Rock Road. Take Red Rock Road north or northeast (right at the stop sign) along the mountain ridge (a dry lake will be on your right). You will enter a housing division and go over a few hills in the road. At the bottom of a hill you will see a dirt road on your left with a wooden sign for Silver Knolls Park. Turn left on the road, and stay left. You will be heading toward the green water tank on your left. Just before you hit Silver Knolls Park on your right there will be a dirt road along side the fenced area that heads toward the top of the mountain. Take this dirt road until the "T" intersection, then turn right. The dirt road will wind along the side of the hill parallel to the ridge.Stay straight on this road, heading North. You will go up and over and around a hill. As you get nearer the site, the road will have ruts from water runoff, so straddle these with you car. When you hit the end there is a place to park, assemble any gliders, and you will see some streamers or flags from hang glider wind markers. The road is easily traveled by small car with little clearance, but be careful.

Flying at Red Rock- The ridge faces nearly due west with a very large dropoff (approx. 500 ft). You can walk down to retrieve a plane. When the wind blows you can't keep airplanes down. The air is smooth. You can fly combat very close to you, or explore over 1 mile from you. There is lift all along the ridge to the left. The ridge extends about 2 miles north-south. Planes are visible easily. Care must be taken not to get into the downdrafts in back of the hill when landing. Landing is to the left toward a small hill nearby. Landing in the saddle is best, but keep the nose down, it is a long walk through the sagebrush to get a plane which lands downwind. We have not tried Dynamic Soaring here but the best spot may be just over the parked cars and asembly area. Take care.
If you have a choice try here first. Most of us fly this site when time permits. The Red Rock Site is easier to get to than Mogul and may have more flyers without notice. Courtesy says watch out for conflicts with flying and launching hanggliders.

MOGUL/VERDI SLOPE SOARING SITE Access- From Reno, head West on I-80 a couple of miles out of town and take exit #7 (Mogul). Continue west on W. 4th St. (straight ahead). After it bends left to go under the freeway, turn right on Silva Ranch Rd. Head west about a mile. Silva Ranch Rd. bends right and becomes Mogul Mt. Rd. About 1/10 mile further turn left on Mountain Ridge Rd. Reset your odometer here. When the pavement turns to dirt, turn right and follow the main road north. Ude the map from here. When you get to the fork at 0.6 miles, stay left. When you get to the pipeline at 1.5 miles turn left. Here you will see water bars, be careful not to get high-centered. Drive over the bars diagonally. Follow the pipeline to the top of the ridge. You may have a problem here if you are using a 2 wheeler. If you can't make it up, park at the bottom. Option: Taking the optional route to the left at 1.0 miles may require less ground clearance, but keep in mind that dirt roads change with time.

Flying at Mogul- The best wind direction if from the west but other directions from west are good also. This may be the best site in Reno to try Dynammic Soaring. Lift is good all over and ranges out far. The slope is best suited for smaller up to 2M planes. Landing sites are indicated on the map. There is alot of sagebrush so beware.

CASTLE PEAK SLOPING This site is located at Donner Summit on I80 about 40 miles west of Reno. High elevation and stunning views. Click here for more info about Castle Peak sloping.

Electric Planes, Big Planes

STAGECOACH DRY LAKE

Note: This dry lake is private property, and even though the owner doesn't mind electric R/C airplane flying, he has had problems with people tearing up and rutting the playa. You may not be welcomed. Enter at your own risk.

It is about 15 miles east of Dayton on Highway 50 out of Carson City. The lake is south of Highway 50.

From Reno: Coming from Reno take the road toward Virginia City (Geiger Grade). You will go up the mountain, across the top, and down the other side of the mountain into Virginia City. You need to take the Six Mile Canyon road and it is NOT marked well. If you reach downtown Virginia City you have gone too far. As you enter Virginia City there is a gas station on your left. About 100 ft past it there is a road on your left to lower Virginia City and parking. Turn left off of the main drag on which you entered Virginia City. You will be going East. You will go down a short hill to a Stop sign, proceed through it to the next Stop sign. You should see a tall hill of yellow tailings on your left. Proceed straight ahead and you will enter Six Mile Canyon. Stay on this road through the canyon until it hits Highway 50. Turn left going east on Highway 50. It is about 5 miles to the dry lake. See the instructions below for the rest. NOTE: This is the way to go from Reno! On your return, you will be making a right hand turn from Highway 50 up Six Mile Canyon. When you reach the fork in the road, (about 1/2 mile from 50) take the left fork (not labeled) to VC.

From Carson City: Take Highway 50 east through Dayton. You will go over a few small hills and come down into the valley. You will see a dry lake (gray area) off to the right, that is the dry lake. As you approach the development on the east side of the valley you will see a city sign for Stagecoach, and then you will see a set of telephone lines going off toward the dry lake ending at a small station building. (There is now some development near the building.) You will see some "Keep Out" signs, but these roads lead to the middle or the west side of the dry lake. You can enter here if you want BUT you should continue on. You will approach a small housing development, and there is a small market on the left of the highway. Across from the market on the right side of the road there is a street called Pinto Dr.. Take Pinto Drive south, a housing/mobile home development is on your left and the dry lake is on your right. The road will end and the dry lake road will lead onto the east side of the lake. You can drive across the lake easily. Look for cars, but we often fly toward the west side of the lake to keep winch lines away from motorcycles,etc.

RANCHO SAN RAFAEL

Located in North Reno, just West of the UNR campus, Rancho is a great place to fly small electric planes. There is a large pasture area big enough to fly anything under five pounds. There is room to set up a hi-start or even a winch. People are there flying almost every day when the weather is nice. Show up around 11:00 if you want some company.Currently R/C flying is restricted to the Northwest end of the large pasture. A dirt road at the North end of the park gives car access the the area. Watch out for dogs, which are not required to be on a leash in the large pasture. Park entrances are off of Washington and Sierra.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION POWERED PLANES

The Reno Radio Control Power club has a field north of Reno. It is easily accessible from either HWY 395, or from the Pyramid Lake highway. I have added a map to this site as a courtesy. An AMA license is required to fly at the field.

The High Sierra RC Club in Carson City has an official City Park flying site east of Carson City on Hwy 50. It obtained with the help of the AMA. Many powered RC and free flight events are held there each year.

Directions: From Carson City take Hwy 50 east. As you leave Carson City Hwy 50 goes uphill. As you go uphill, pay careful attention to the sign on your right indicating the turn off to the Carson City Dump. Take this road south of Hwy 50 less than 1/4 mile, and as the road turns west there is a dirt road going east. Take this dirt road directly to the flying field. You can see the field at the bend.