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Paiute is a large launch area North-East of Bishop and likely one of the best places to hold a large meet.
The Owens Valley is famous for big and often turbulent air. Some of the longest flights in California have come out of this location but only the most experience pilots can handle the Owens during peak XC weather.
Typically we fly the Owens from April to early June and September to October. The summer months typically get too windy with cloud over-development quite common. As the XC season winds down at the end of September conditions mellow and pilots with less experience can often get a chance to fly some amazing first cross country flights. With knowledgeable instructors students can even get some amazing early morning flights or late afternoon glass-offs provided that the weather is docile enough.
The main issue with flying the Owens is maintaining terrain clearance since the glide out to a road can be deceptively long. The front or mid-points usually work as well as the back points and provide much less stressful flying. In fact it is possible to fly right down the middle of the valley in the flats. Pilots normally only fly along the top ridge when conditions are perfect with good wind direction and speed and high thermal tops up to 16,000' or more. This allows enough terrain clearance to fly these points safely though there are some known areas of increased turbulence like Silver Canyon and Barcroft station that need extra attention.
If you get stuck on the ground there are a huge number of things to do in the area including: mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, hot springs, fishing and many more!
Launches
Paiute Launch is West facing at 8000'. It requires a high clearance 4x4 to reach the launch due to rough road conditions. There are no facilities at launch. Paiute works best with West wind but is flyable with light East since we get wind shadowed. If conditions from the North or South increase strong turbulence occurs as you approach or depart ridges which can be dangerous.