FTFF West 2016

[smithhayward]

Well, let's keep in touch. I just joined AMA mostly for the insurance.

If a few of us might go then we can either carpool or at least caravan to get there.

I will say this... AZ in March really can't be beat!

Would a high school football field/stadium be sufficient for such an event? I might be willing to investigate possibilities with local municipalities.

 

[jhitesma]

I'd love to see it in AZ as well for obvious reasons Though SoCal works as well since I doubt they'd do it in Yuma and traveling to other parts of AZ isn't much different than traveling to SoCal. But SoCal being Cal and AZ being AZ I suspect it would be easier to put on in AZ just because of fewer restrictions/red-tape and such.

If it's anything even close to the real FliteFest then a high school field/stadium isn't going to cut it. The flightline in Ohio was almost 1/2 mile long. Look at Malvern/Fuery field on google maps and the area taken up by parking/camping/flightline for FF is almost bigger than the town itself

An old abandoned airfield would work well though and there are quite a few of those around though. I know The San Diego Tripoli rocketry group now flies out of the old Holtville airfield just west of here - they used to fly at Plaster City which is BLM land but they lost their waiver due to the nearby naval base and new FAA restrictions. Dateland here in AZ on I-8 is a big old abandoned army airfield that would be good...but it's now privately owned which could work well or could cause more headaches depending on the owners attitudes.

I'd be looking to BLM land and/or abandoned airfields if I was heading up the search...but that's just me

 

[Mid7night]

I would absolutely volunteer if it's SoCal located! There's plenty of space out here, and times where the wind isn't so crazy. And y'know, when the wind comes up, just add lead!

 

[coppercanyon]

Are there any Flitetest team members that can comment on this? Is it still a go or was this put on the back burner?

 

[Burly]

Many think California is dry and warm in the winter.
Well January in California is not warm, regardless of location.
And January and February, are the worst months of the California's rainy season.

San Diego may work...it is about as dry and relatively warm as you'll find.

Also, not much daylight anywhere...probably be dark before 6:00.

 

[coppercanyon]

Many think California is dry and warm in the winter.
Well January in California is not warm, regardless of location.
And January and February, are the worst months of the California's rainy season.

San Diego may work...it is about as dry and relatively warm as you'll find.

Also, not much daylight anywhere...probably be dark before 6:00.

This is true to a point, and they are expexting a lot of rain this coming year due to an el nino..But at the same time I can remember many heat waves hitting even when its not expected. Shorts year round here.

 

[cellsafemode]

compared to a real winter, which southern california completely lacks, it is pretty ideal all year round, temperature wise. And unlike california, rain is pretty standard in most places, it even occurs pretty regularly every other week or so. The normal flight-fest got rain for half the duration.

having it somewhat near the coast just means you deal with a fairly regular wind during the day that only dies down at night and in the morning and also tends to have more regulations and restricted areas to have such an event (and more expensive). Maybe having it further inland is more practical and it would have different wind conditions obviously.

 

[Mid7night]

....California's rainy season....

LOL

Oh how I wish we had one!

 

[Kurt0326]

Are there any Flitetest team members that can comment on this? Is it still a go or was this put on the back burner?

I'm trying to put messages out in every direction to get an answer. I'm sure it's still completely in the air currently. It's frustrating I know, the anxiety is building and no answers.

 

[Kurt0326]

FT Flite Fest West update.

So I caught the Flite Test guys on their Explorer shoot over periscope, and Austin made a comment about FF West.

So officially it is being pushed back past January, so nothing official beyond that. They made the comment that they wanted to do it right, instead of back to back with another event.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

It's a go. It's being discussed heavily, along with several other behind the scenes projects. I think there's some last minute logistics on the final location. I haven't been reading up on that conversation lately.

 

[Kurt0326]

Good to know, thanks Fred.

 

[Burly]

Check out this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkVGruk_A0Q#t=86

You know that once you do the inaugural Flite Fest West...people will want one every year...or maybe every other year.

So you'll want a great location and time of year to work with:
- Flat open space with lots and lots of room and no thick vegetation to contend with.
- Guaranteed good weather...sunny warm days, cool comfortable nights, and an extremely remote chance of rain.
- International airport service for those flying in.
- Close to civilization with reasonably priced overnight accommodations for those staying offsite.

The video was taken on a dry lake bed just south of Las Vegas(picture is below). The location is about a 30 mile/30 minute drive from the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip...and only a 15 to 20 minute 20 mile drive from SW LasVegas, Henderson, or Boulder City.

I got on Google Earth and determined the dimensions of the lake bed at about 4 miles long and 3300 feet wide at it's narrowest point. I think the land may be owned by the municipality of Boulder City, NV and managed by the BLM. Or it may be BLM Federal Lands outright.

See the big oval footprint shape in the bottom center of of the picture:



Holding an event out west in the spring or summer months butts up against too many events out east.

But a mid-October Las Vegas event held over the long Columbus Day Weekend may be just the ticket.

And it helps that Las Vegas is easy to get to, and one of the sunniest places on Earth.

Here's the Mid-October Las Vegas weather from Weather.com:
Oct average rainfall:....0.3in.
Oct average highs:......81.
Oct average lows:.......59.

Average October wind speed from WeatherSpark.com
Highs 13 mph.
Daily mean about 5 mph

Bad weather at an event is a bummer.
Here, great weather is almost a given.

In spring, April is very similar to October temperature wise.
The problem in April is wind...April and May are the windiest months
Highs 18 mph.
Daily mean about 9 mph.

 

[Mid7night]

Only one problem with the middle of the Nevada desert....it's the middle of the Nevada desert.

 

[nerdnic]

Is it still supposed to happen in January?

 

[markyoe]

Is it still supposed to happen in January?

No, I don't think so. Austin, during the periscopes, has said it keeps getting pushed back.

 

[airhawk]

this is going to be a last minute ff they said it them self

 

[airhawk]

any updates would be good to know a date are they thinking summer or winter

 

[FlyingMonkey]

So... They just mentioned on tonight's periscope that FFW is being postponed to late 2016, early 2017.

 

[airhawk]

what another year of waiting why is ffw not a number 1 priority