Star Wars Canyon

Threads about the world of aviation outside of airshows. General aviation, airlines, spotting, etc.
Post Reply
iamsam2407
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 5:25 pm

Star Wars Canyon

Post by iamsam2407 » Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:07 pm

Is the canyon still active?
0 x

User avatar
RyanS
Posts: 2886
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:50 pm
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Contact:

Post by RyanS » Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:26 pm

So the canyon itself is basically dead. Military traffic has been told not to fly below 1,000 AGL in that area.

The "Jedi Transition" through the canyon was part of the much larger Sidewinder low-level route, which is still active. As you can see in the photo, the route is a one-way path shaped sort of like an upside-down U and the transition is a shortcut across it in the middle. The latest description of the route has the transition located a few miles north of Star Wars Canyon in more desolate territory. You can read the details here - https://www.edwards.af.mil/Portals/50/S ... 284%29.pdf

It is still possible to catch aircraft at low level along the route - the Kern River Valley seems to be the most popular these days but most folks in the area are extremely secretive about any specific spots so that they don't get overrun and shut down.
Attachments
Sidewinder.JPG
Sidewinder.JPG (77.67 KiB) Viewed 3765 times
1 x
Ryan Sundheimer
www.AirshowStuff.com

Htx2018
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:34 am

Post by Htx2018 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:04 am

Hello,

I'm generally new to "wild" spotting and I recently discovered this "Jedi Transition" route near where I live. However, it is a bit far (2 hours+) and I would like to know a place on this route that generally has a lot of traffic (3-5+ flights). If anyone has information of this or anything related to this route, please let me know! Thanks!
0 x

User avatar
RyanS
Posts: 2886
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:50 pm
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Contact:

Post by RyanS » Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:51 am

Htx2018 wrote: Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:04 am Hello,

I'm generally new to "wild" spotting and I recently discovered this "Jedi Transition" route near where I live. However, it is a bit far (2 hours+) and I would like to know a place on this route that generally has a lot of traffic (3-5+ flights). If anyone has information of this or anything related to this route, please let me know! Thanks!
I merged this into the recent thread about Star Wars Canyon because it's basically the same question. Hopefully my last post has some of the inf you're looking for.

I haven't been to the area in a bit and don't know what current traffic is like, but even in the 'good old days' it was a total crapshoot. Weekends were generally considered dead, which I imagine is still true.
1 x
Ryan Sundheimer
www.AirshowStuff.com

BruceK
Posts: 141
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:39 am

Post by BruceK » Fri Feb 04, 2022 1:21 am

This is the only traffic from the canyon of late I know of, a Dassault Falcon being filmed by a Cenejet L-39.
0 x

Htx2018
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:34 am

Post by Htx2018 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:16 am

BruceK wrote: Fri Feb 04, 2022 1:21 am This is the only traffic from the canyon of late I know of, a Dassault Falcon being filmed by a Cenejet L-39.
After doing some research, it turns out this was just for a Dassault photoshoot and the military doesn't use the canyon for low flying anymore :(
0 x

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 36 guests