Photo Courtesy of Dave Reese

Chandler Butte

Landing Area Quality:

Land to the north of the guy wires on the side of the hill. The landing isn't too bad, it doesn't have a lot of large rocks or brush, but this isn't the place for scale gliders or for noice pilots.

Hazards in the Area:

A high, sheer cliff. If you fall off, you'll die.

Telecom building, towers and tower guy wires.

Directions to the site:

Take I-82 west to the Benton City exit; turn south and cross under freeway; turn west across railroad tracks, then south through the hamlet Kiona; the main street becomes Webber Canyon Road; follow it about 3/10 mile to McBee Road veering off to the right; McBee is a gravel road. Follow McBee up the hill to the top. Kiona's main flying site is immediately on your right. Continue on McBee for less than a mile to where McBee turns 90 degrees south; turn off McBee onto the dirt road heading north up to the ridge; at the top of ridge, turn west for Chandler.

Review of the site:

Located between Prosser in the west and Benton City in the east. Access is via gravel and dirt roads, which can be negotiated by passenger cars. The slope is a west-facing, steep basalt cliff about 600 feet high. This site offers panoramic views from the Cascades in the west across the Yakima and Columbia River valleys and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to the Blue Mountains in the east.

The slope offers vertical lift when the wind blows from the west, which is the predominant direction. There is front-side compression slope'n only; no safe DS groove exists and no DS will be allowed here during the event. The landing zone is relatively small but smooth and free of turbulence. The approach gets more unconventional as wind speed increases but is easily mastered by intermediate pilots.