Come Celebrate the 50th year of Starthistle!
September 5th-7th 2026
The event is free and included in your 2026 RVHPA membership
We are excited to welcome you to the 50th year of Starthistle Fly-Ins at Woodrat Mountain in Ruch, Oregon! This year’s event is a low key come fly with your friends and along with flying enjoy music and food at some of our most popular venues.
It’s a great opportunity for hang glider and paraglider pilots of all levels and abilities to come together and enjoy the beautiful flying conditions at Woodrat Mountain, We’ve had some epic flying days this year with pilots touching the clouds at altitudes exceeding 12,000 ft and it’s only going to get better! Come join us in the beautiful Applegate Valley for a weekend of flying.
Click here to register online or Register in-person Saturday morning September 5th.
More information:
Rides to Launch / Transportation: Vans and a Truck with HG Rack are coordinated and will run on a regular daily schedule to take pilots to launch (you’ll need to pay your driver $10 per ride to launch). Shuttle pickups at LongSword LZ and at the Hunter LZ parking area. See the Telegram site RVHPA Flying for updates. as they occur. We’re working on coordinating some retrieve options for pilots landing out as well, but retrieves are not included in the registration. Stay tuned!
Camping /Accommodation Options: There are many options in the area including Ravin’s Landing and the Crash Pad on first come first serve basis. Camping is available at Cantrall Buckley. Sorry, but no group camping this year.
About the Site: Woodrat Mountain is located in Southern Oregon and has been home to many US national events. The surrounding valleys and complex weather patterns are excellent training grounds for understanding lift patterns. If you haven’t already, check out the site guide and other information about flying Woodrat on our website
Woodrat has tremendously consistent flying. Expect a plentiful lift and changing weather. Flying can be complex and intriguing. Proper decision-making results in 60-160 km straight line and FAI triangle flights.
Woodrat sits above the Applegate Valley, home to numerous wineries, lodges and the Applegate River, with plentiful activities for non-flying partners. Our primary LZ is Longsword Vineyard where spectators can enjoy a glass of wine as they wait for you to land. Mid-day flying at Woodrat in the summer requires good bump tolerance and a P3/H3 rating, but morning conditions and evening glass offs are usually consistent, gentle, appropriate for P2/H2 flyers.
Tentative Event Schedule
Friday September 4
- Come early and fly
- Be sure to have a current membership and register online
- No organized shuttles on Friday
Saturday September 5
- 8:00-9:00 AM Sign-in/ Registration at LongSword Vineyard
- 8:00 Mandatory Pilot Meeting, site briefing for pilots who have not flown Woodrat before.
- 8:00 AM Welcome to Woodrat – Justin Caprari
- 8:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 11:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 1:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- 5:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- 12-10 PM Food and Drinks at Apple Outlaw Cidery
- 7:00-9:00 “Evening Shade” Band playing
- Address: 15090 OR-238 Jacksonville, OR 97530
Shuttle times subject to change or adjust depending on the day, download and monitor Telegram
Sunday September 6
- 8:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 11:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 1:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- 5:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- 11:00-5:00 PM Food and drinks at Valley View Winery
- 3:00- 5: 00PM Live entertainment “Smok’in Gundersons” playing at Valley View
- 8:00 PM Closing cermony
- Address: 1000 Upper Applegate Road, Jacksonville, Oregon 97530
Shuttle times subject to change or adjust depending on the day, download and monitor Telegram
Monday September 7 (Labor Day)
- 8:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 11:00 AM Shuttle to Launch
- 1:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- 5:00 PM Shuttle to Launch
- No evening event planned. Have a safe drive home
Shuttle times subject to change or adjust depending on the day, download and monitor Telegram
Notes:
-Shuttles will be making laps all day from Hunters for relaunch/multiple flights
-Shuttle drivers are independant operators not associated with the event.
–Longsword gates close at 6 pm, no car access after hours. Pilots can land at LongSword or Phils LZ and exit through Phil’s drive until sunset
Two more reminders:
Click here to join RVHPA’s Telegram discussion group: RVHPA(Woodrat) including the retrieve channel
Click here to register online
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Pilots currently registered:
Name | Flying a |
|---|---|
Dan Koster | Paraglider |
Dan Wells | Paraglider |