Introduction
This post is a few weeks past due, but Mrs. Penaug grew up in the Columbia Gorge on the Oregon side, so we regularly head out to stay with my in-laws. The beginning of August was the first trip since buying my drone, so I took the opportunity to get out there and get some flying in!
I managed to get multiple flights in (6 in total) or various lengths, and this is my Oregon mega-post!
Flying with the Drone
The first part of the trip was actually the part that had me completely stressed out – flying with my drone for the first time. In the end it turned out to not be that big a deal. I packed the hard case for my drone and most of the accessories and used it as a carry on. Separately, I put the batteries into a fireproof LI-PO safe bag and covered the terminals with some plastic terminal covers I bought off Amazon.
I was completely stressed about this, despite the rules clearly saying it was fine. And perhaps unsurprisingly, it was fairly straightforward and uneventful. Neither the hard case or the battery bag was so much as flagged for secondary checks during security, and I put the hard case in the overhead easily.
My one big takeaway would be to board right away – the overhead was easy, but I am not sure what would have happened to the drone if I had been forced to gate check the drone case.
Flight 1 – The In-Laws House
My in-laws live on a small orchard (about 5 acres) outside of town, so I was actually able to take a short flight on the same day I arrived, right in their backyard.
It was fairly easy, low wind and sunny, so I took the drone right up and flew around, getting some house and orchard shots as well as some around the neighborhood from a few hundred feet up.
Flight 2 – Ruthon Park
The next day, we decided to try a flight down on the gorge, so we took a drive down to Ruthton Count Park, which features views from a bit of a cliff over the river. It was a clear day with low wind, but when we arrived, the wind on the gorge was significantly more substantial. In what was likely a poor decision, I took off anyway.
I did ultimately get a few good shots, but I actually got a high wind warning as I made it out towards the point. Given I have made some suspect wind choices in the past and never got that, I can only imagine what wind it encountered, so I flew it straight back to land. Slightly disappointing, since in the 15 minutes I was flying I did get some cool shots.
Flight 3 – Lost Lake
A couple days later, we made it out to gorgeous Lost Lake. Lost Lake is actually on the Best Places to Fly near Portland list from UAV Coach. I have had great luck with the Boston version of this, so I was excited to try it.
Ultimately, this is the first bad recommendation I have received, and I found it to be an AWFUL place to fly. It’s not the views that suffered – those are amazing. It’s two main things:
- It’s very difficult to find a place to take-off from due to the tree cover right down to the water. I ultimately found one with some creativity, but it wasn’t easy.
- It really feels disruptive to people. Unlike other nature areas I have flown in where I feel like I could keep both a safe AND respectful distance, this felt like I was being a nuisance.
For these two reasons, landed after a very short flight, and wouldn’t recommend this as a location. My one caveat – it might be a good spot off season, if you could take off by the boat launch and there were WAY less people.
Flights 4+5 – Tucker Park & Panorama Point
My next 2 flights I took on the same day, a few hours apart. The first was at Tucker Park, a small little wooded area with a river. This was a cool area for a few pictures, but not much for flying. I basically used the drone to go straight up and get some aerial shots, but with the trees line of sight was pretty limiting.
The second flight was up at Panorama Point. This was fun in that it let me fly from an already elevated location and there wasn’t a soul around. I ultimately only did one battery here because it was HOT and I was completely exposed, but it was a decent location overall.
Flight 6 – The Gorge
After a week, finally, the weather cooperated for me. We had the day all the kite surfers dread, but I was looking for – the wind on the river was completely dead. I was able to head down and fly 3 full batteries in 2 different locations down on the Columbia River Gorge in Hood River.
I got some beautiful shots here, and unlike Lost Lake, it was very easy to be both safe and respectful of others. The strange, catch-22 that worked in my favor is the wind. As I said, the wind on the Gorge is renowned – while I was looking for a no wind day, most tourists in the area are looking for the wind to be as strong as possible. This gave me a mostly empty water once I flew out.
Conclusion
Overall, I had a lot of fun droning on the trip, and will definitely do it again. There are already a number of other locations I am excited to try now that I know what to look for. Unlike Boston’s urban density, tree cover and wind were the two factors I had to understand to scout locations in Oregon, and I definitely know that for next time.
You can see all the photos from the trip in this gallery!
