Texas Slope Sites in Travis County

Texas -Travis county (about 5 miles west of Austin.)

Mansfield Dam.

Off of 620, a few miles south of 620 and 2222. 30 deg 23.672′ N and 97 deg 54.538′ W, at an altitude of 751 feet.

We fly out of the parking lot at the north-west side of the dam. It’s good in south to south west winds, and the dam itself also creates some good thermals, so you can fly with no wind if you have a light  enough plane.

Note that this isn’t a good place for beginners, or for combat, or for planes that aren’t reliable. If your plane goes down, it could easily go down in tall trees, rugged terrain, on the dam itself (which is closed due to 9/11 paranoia) or even in the water. Also, if you don’t get any lift right after your first throw, you’re not likely to be able to bring your plane back. So until you get a feel for the place, I suggest flying an electric plane (Zagi 400x works well, and will slope with no motor use in 5-10 mph), or a floater with a hi-start (giving you plenty of altitude to work with.)

You can get an idea of the weather there, here:

http://www.kvue.com/images/liveimages/travis.jpg

Texas -Travis county

Murchinson middle school On Far West, west of Mopac.

We fly on the top of the large hill behind the school -you can’t miss it. The sign says `No golfing or exercising during school hours it doesn’t prohibit R/C plane flying, but I suspect that they still don’t want you doing it during school hours.

The site is good in South to Easterly winds. The hill isn’t that large, but it’s a nice bowl, and clear (no trees) unlike many others. And being close to town, it’s a nice play to go fly after work or during lunch.

One downside … there’s a football and track field at the bottom of the hill, which is quite popular with people jogging and such. So don’t fly anything too heavy, and stay away from them.

You can get an idea of the weather there, here:

http://www.kvue.com/images/liveimages/kvue.jpg

(The KVUE offices are a few miles to the east.)