A Day Of PPG, Fun and Food at Ogden For Everyone!

This is an awesome site and the weather is getting to be nice all day long. This get together is geared towards having fun, meeting some new people and hanging out with the ones you already know to share our common passion for PPG. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come out and have some fun! You ultralight guys are also welcome, the LZ is fairly large and there is plenty of room. The plan is to get there early enough on Saturday, November 3rd to fly in the morning (6:30 - 7:00 AM or so), have some lunch (hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks provided), hang out for a while and fly again in the afternoon. Ogden offers some really cool scenery up and down the Hassyampa River. It's only a few miles to the west of the LZ. Mark this date on your PPG calendar and make it a priority to get out there and have some fun in the great flying weather we have here in AZ! As always, safety should be at the forefront of everyone's mind set during this get together. I will start a list of who is planning on attending once a few RSVPs are received.

If you have quads, dirt bikes and the like, feel free to bring them and explore this area on the ground. All I ask is that the main LZ or clearing not be torn up! Everyone must ride with some care, this LZ is pristine and very, very smooth. We don't have many nice rock and rut free places to fly around here!

Here are more pictures of Ogden and flying up the Hassyampa River

Site Description

This is a fantastic site for both beginners to advanced pilots. Giant, open area to launch and land. This is an ideal spot in the NW for training and sight seeing. This spot was cleared by a group who fly R/C aircraft, although no R/C flying has yet been observed. Please do not tear up this site with ATV's etc, lets keep it as it is so we may fly here for a long time. There is much to discover from this site, head W or NW to the Hassyampa River for gorgeous views of the canyon walls, endless stretches of sandy river bed and the wildlife. As you venture up to the NW down the river, there is a rusty train bridge that is really cool to view from above, as it is right in a bend to the left in the canyon. Use caution once past the train bridge and heading NW down the river, there are a few sets of power lines stretching across the river. Most are not marked and some are a single wire, very hard to see. Just pay attention and keep your scan up, may be a good idea to stay 200' to 500' your first time. A railroad track runs along the river on the SW side after you've passed the train bridge, it's really cool if you get to see a train winding through the canyon and in and out of the tall Cottonwood trees. Further down, you better be thinking of "outs" due to the long stretch of nothing but very tall Cottonwood trees that fill the entire width of the river bottom for a few miles. Stay high and keep a landing spot in mind as you progress just incase. Pilots have flown from Ogden past Wickenburg via the Hassyampa on many occasions. It's about a 15 mile one way trip, just be aware of the weather and fuel consumption. If you head S or SE from the LZ, you will run into an abandon auxiliary air force base called Luke AUX 4. It's about 6-7 miles S-SE of the LZ, it's triangular runways can still be made out as long as you are a few hundred feet above.

Directions:

I-17 to Carefree Hwy or (Hwy 74)
Left on Hwy 60
Go 1/4 of a mile or so and turn right on Gates Rd
Cross the railroad tracks and make a left on Ogden
Follow Ogden for about 1.7 miles, a dirt trail on the left will take you to the LZ

You can also get here by taking Grand Ave which turns into Hwy 60 and make a left at Gates Rd.

GPS Coordinates, Map, & Web sites: