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Bend OR Suggestions

Cadillac2012

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2019
Messages
78
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Age
75
Location
Fox Island WA
Haven't been to Bend for years and wondered if anyone has suggestions on good places to fly. I do landscape photography. Know there is an airport and always check for what is allowed.
Thinking of driving through the lava fields on the way.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
 
Haven't been to Bend for years and wondered if anyone has suggestions on good places to fly. I do landscape photography. Know there is an airport and always check for what is allowed.
Thinking of driving through the lava fields on the way.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
National Parks are a no. Don't fly around the Bend Airport, and watch the skies for lower flying helicopters. They are supposed to stay around 1000 feet but there are some that go lower than that. I wouldn't go up more than 300 ft. I would also stay away from Pilot Butte. There is a small airport east of the butte that trains helicopter pilots and the hospital has an active Helipad. Another place I wouldn't fly is anywhere around the Old Mill. There are some people that will find you and harass you. Even though they are wrong, I try to stay away from the confrontation. I wouldn't fly anywhere in town. There are plenty of open spaces around to fly and get good photos and videos. Between Tumalo and Sisters is a pretty good area. Also, east of Bend off Hwy 20 as long as its not in the Badlands National Park area.
You can find places far enough away from the Cascades and along the river to fly and get a lot of landscape photos. One of the best places I have found is about 20 miles east of Bend on HWY 20 just beyond the Badlands National Park area and at the crest of the hill going towards Millican. Nice desert area with lots of juniper trees. The sunset is what I used to go there for. You can fly just about anywhere you want outside of restricted areas just be aware of any wildlife refuge areas, state park boundaries, and people.
Check B4UFly or AirMap. It should show you the restricted areas.
 
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Wow, appreciate your taking the time to provide feedback!

I generally don’t fly where there are people as the drone police like to interfere.

Great information that will help allot in flying.

Thanks
 
Paulina peak overlook and the Newberry volcanic monument area offer great aerial landscape views. Check with a Deschutes National park ranger as drone regs may have changed since I was there last.
 
Appreciate the information! I will add these to my list of places to look at.

My memory from years ago is it is a spectacular area, so should have plenty to shoot.

Thanks,
 
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Wow, appreciate your taking the time to provide feedback!

I generally don’t fly where there are people as the drone police like to interfere.

Great information that will help allot in flying.

Thanks
Forgot to add... Do talk to any park ranger if you want to fly near a national park even if flying from outside the park. He can tell you where it is safe to fly, and may give you permission to fly within the park. There are raptor nesting sites this time of year and these birds will get very aggressive with drones coming to close. My rule of thumb is if its a cliff face, stay clear.
 
Never thought about angry birds! I like the idea of talking to Rangers. Much better for the drone community to ask what is allowed than doing something and then trying to apologize.

Thanks
 
Never thought about angry birds! I like the idea of talking to Rangers. Much better for the drone community to ask what is allowed than doing something and then trying to apologize.

Thanks
I don't want to hurt any bird, but I had an Osprey chase after my drone once. Bad idea to try outflying them, so I shot the drone up as far as I could go and put the camera pointing down to watch him. Once the threat was over, I came back to the home point the long way around.
 
Funny, I had some crows go after my 2Pro when flying at my sons property. Lucky for me, it was almost back where it started, so we did a rapid decent and waited until they found something new to go after.
 

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