Phantom Pilots in or around Tucson AZ.
- Thread starter jodaddy23
- Start date
I guess it depends on what you mean by "close."
Perhaps out Charleston Road towards Tombstone?
The video I posted above was at Empire Ranch off highway 83. Highway 82 enters BLM land. Four miles east of Sonoita is a road that goes north to Empire. That area is mostly rolling hills grassland. That's where I'm learning to fly.
AirMap shows an ultralight port but I contacted the owner and found that it has not been active for years.
Here's a link to a short video of my first few flights in the area.
td
That is exactly the kind of place I am looking for. I'm still new to the area and i am not quite sure where you are by your description. Is there any way you could drop a pin at that location and send the location to me? I would really appreciate it.
Here's a screen capture from AirMap. The area at the top left "Las Cienegas National Conservation Area" is where the Empire Ranch is located. The turnoff 4 miles east of Sonoita Is probably 30 miles from you. The other entrance, Empire Ranch Road, is from highway 83 north of Sonoita at about milepost 40. As I said the ultralight airspace is out of date since that port is no longer used. It's all dirt roads but well maintained. You may see the occasional herd of antelope, cows, and peccaries. The riparian area is near the ranch house to the north so if you want shade you should enter via Empire Ranch Road.
I did! I received it Friday. It was a bit windy this weekend, but I was able to test it out at Bollin RC airfield Sunday. Bit of a learning curve as all my videos I recorded in 4K, but I can't do anythinf with 4K on my computer.
Learning curve? It's simple. Find a tree, fly into it! Trust me, I know.
Actually a couple of us noobs are planning to drive down to Empire Ranch this Saturday AM, May 20th weather permitting.
td
On the map above it's in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. That's where I shot that video. Entrance is near milepost 40 on highway 83. On the above map it's the road that goes north from highway 82. That junction is Sonoita.
td
I can't commit 100% to being there. I'm at a military training school right now so I have to stay flexible, but I would love to make an effort to join in
At first I thought someone had used stick-on letters or some how added "Tightrope Walking" but on close inspection it's the same printing as the rest of the sign. There are two identical signs at the park.
A couple of us are still learning about our P34k, P4, and Spark. We try to get out at least twice a month to the wide open areas of Empire Ranch and Gardner Canyon but also hit Redington Pass and the Federal campsite.
Let us know when you get back.
There is also a Meetup group,
td
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Dave, That sounds wonderful! I have many things to learn myself. Flying up here in the moutains allows me to really understand my drone. The temps are also good for flying.I will be back in Tucson at the beginning of Oct. (DB) John
Hello. We exchanged messages last month about Chama. I would like to meet other fliers around the Tucson area myself.
That's hilarious. Is this Agua Caliente?
A little disappointed that drones only made it to #2. ;-)
Yes, Aqua Caliente, the park destroyed when the government improved it! The spring is almost dry, I haven;t seen deer there since it was improved, Since they specify "tightrope" rather than slackrope, perhaps you could fly a drone there if standing on a slackrope. Are you in the national airspace when balanced on a slackrope?
td
p.s. Does anybody know how to stop the DJI Go (and Litchi) apps from starting automatically on Android devices. Doing a forced stop on Go 4 each time I want to use Go is getting old.
