Flynn’s is a classic launch site. Possibly the most well used launch in the entire Sierra/White Mountain area, along with the other popular ones- Walt’s, McGee, and Paiute. Flynn’s is very close to Bishop, and not only is it a great hill to take a bunch of laps on and practice at, but it is also a great starting point for big XC flights to the north into Nevada. The road is slowly getting worse, and as of now, you need 4WD with clearance to make it up to launch.

The launch pad-

To arrive at the LZ-

From south Bishop or points further south- From the intersection of highways 395 and 168 west, head east on East Line Street. Head 3.5 miles east on this road, then take a left (north) onto Poleta-Laws road. Go 1.9 miles and turn right (east) at the green cattle guard with two tires hanging from it. From this point on, the directions are the same as the northern approach. See below-

From north Bishop or points further north- From the intersections of highways 395 and 6, head north on highway 6. Head 3.9 miles, then take a right turn (east) onto Silver Canyon road. Head .9 of a mile and then take the right (south) turn onto Laws-Poleta road. After one mile, you will see a green cattle guard with two tires hanging from it on your left (east) side. Turn left (east) here. From the green cattle guard, head 9/10ths of a mile to the giant shade tree at the LZ. You must stay to the right of a small canal on this last mile, then crossing it on a small bridge at the shade tree.

NOTE!!!!- The short dirt road section, from the green cattle guard to the shade tree, has recently become highly eroded and has deep sand pits. There is a parallel dirt road exactly .3 miles north of this one, and has become the preferred approach.

The shade tree and grassy LZ-

Getting to launch from the LZ-

The launch is the big hill, exactly one mile to the east when standing in the LZ. You will see a dirt road coming out of the canyon which runs out from Flynn’s north shoulder. This is your road. make your way to it, enter the canyon which skirts Flynn’s N side, and it curves south a bit to climb to the top. You will arrive at the top of Flynn’s, but the launch is actually a two minute drive DOWN to the smaller summit just to the west of the higher summit. Pretty obvious.

Looking back at the launch while soaring-

Flynn’s is probably the least intimidating of all the launches in the area, and is a great place to get your feet wet. Quick laps are easy to do, as the turn around time is pretty quick with a driver. Mid day can get a bit violent if it’s hot and really hitting, so many prefer to fly this spot after peak heating. The glass-offs can be epic here. Sometimes it can feel a bit tricky to climb out onto the crest of the White Mountains from here, as the White Mountain Range is a bit shallow in this area. Paiute is the big brother to Flynn’s, and is much larger, steeper, and easier to bench up from. Good Luck!

A good example of an Owen’s Valley dust devil-

Looking towards the LZ from about halfway down. You can see the road up to launch if you look very carefully- there is a white car parked on it-

Launch site: Flynn’s

Aspect: NW, W, SW, SSW

Vertical descent: 1,500 ft

Launch elevation: 5,700 ft

Best for: All wings

Approach: 4X4

Time to launch from the LZ: 25 min

Glide ratio to primary LZ: Speed wings have to land at the base of the slope. HG & PG make it to the grassy LZ