Yaquina Head North
NOTE! This is an extremely dangerous place to launch or land on top when the wind is even slightly above soaring strength. You may need to use your best ground-handling skills to down your glider quickly, surely and on the first try in winds near your wing's maximum air speed or you can say good-bye to your good health and judgment as you are dragged over the cliff which is only 40-80 feet directly behind launch.
Description of Site:Yaquina is a north-facing ridge about 225' MSL which has been flown by hangpilots since the early '70's. Ridge soaring is possible in N-NW winds and you should find that the wind is somewhat stronger on launch than away from the slope. For example, staying 100 feet in front, I have flown with no trim and no speedbar, and slight positive ground speed, while the wind speed at launch is north at 25-28. So remember, if your penetration is poor, you won't be able to launch again unless you get far down the cliff face. Wind strength often peaks in the early- to midafternoon and drops precipitously an hour or so before sunset. If you find you're gradually losing altitude, top-land or you'll likely experience beach suck. I have often experienced the wind changing from smooth to bumpy a few minutes before dropping to less than soarable. The best lift is on the west end of the permitted flying area. Once, I caught a thermal over water that took me to 810 feet.
Directions to launch: At the north end of town, take Lighthouse drive west just over half a mile to the gravel road on the right. There is a $5 entrance fee to pay before entering. About halfway along you will see a locked gate. Park so as not to block access. Just inside the gate is a sign describing the flying regulations. Even though it refers to hang gliders, it applies to us. I think that, legally, we are all hang glider pilots. A few steps past the sign, turn left, climb the 8' height and you will be on the landing plateau I will describe. Continue another eighty or so yards west and you're at launch. Pay close attention to the wind strength near the edge as you walk; you may choose to land almost anywhere along this edge.
Landing Zones: One of the LZ's is a small parking area just below launch and about 100 yards to the northeast. It's easy in northwest winds to spot-land this area but don't try it when the wind is north; you will get rotored in the wind shadow behind the trees. The walk up from the beach is a steep rugged "trail" up the western cliff face beginning just below that small parking area which is at the end of Fifty-fifth Street. Yaquina is a terrific place to practice top-landing. There are four principal places to do that. This list is not in order of safety of difficulty necessarily, but in the order that I think is most fun.
First: If you're high enough and have good penetration, fly over or upwind of the little hill that is about 200' ESE of the main launch area. Set up a landing over the plateau that is east of and adjacent to that little hill. You'll find that, with a bit of practice, you can "helicopter" down to within 6" of a dead-center spot landing.
Second:
Top-land the ridge but only east of launch where the cliff behind you
is not so high or, better, farther east where you will have the north
face of that afore mentioned little hill behind you.
Third: Top-land that afore mentioned little hill. It's challenging but less dangerous than it may look. The top of the hill has a berm facing north and if you land in just the right spot, the air will spill from your wing just as you touch down. Neat!
Fourth: If you overshoot the plateau (highly unlikely), then go straight ahead for the grassy area just down the hill in front of you. You'll encounter somewhat bumpy air spilling off the houses. Avoid the Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata) that borders this grassy area to the west; most of it is over your head and conceals some huge boulders.
Site Protocol: I believe that under the best conditions, the most paragliders in the air at once should be four; usually, there will be room for just three. Flying is permitted here on the north side all year, but you are never to fly west of the ridge top which forms the western boundary of the upper quarry. This boundary is marked with a series of 4x4 posts in an approximate north-south line on the ridge top and with a red line on the sign that you should have read on your way up the gravel road to launch. These posts are all visible from the air but they are a little hard to pick out while flying. You may be ticketed if you fly west of this boundary; it's a federal offense and the fine is $1000. Believe it! A pilot was cited. In 1994, all the local pilots negotiated with the BLM and other interested parties over the various boundaries and closures at this site. These flying regulations are posted on the aforementioned sign. Don't blow it!
Pilots living in the area: Joel Ortega
Submitted by: Jim Donaldson on 3/15/95, last revised 12/3/01