Darren's Rides: February 2011

Eye's In The Sky

CAMP VERDE

The newest business wanting to settle in Camp Verde won't have a storefront, won't manufacture anything and won't offer any services to the public.

It will, nevertheless, be very visible.

Dateland Proving Grounds is the research, development and training division of STARA Technologies, a company that designs and manufactures specialized equipment for the military.

One of those devices is a 70-by-20-foot, helium-filled balloon equipped with a million-dollar camera that gives units in forward positions the ability to see if anyone attempting to attack their position.

There are already 22 of the balloons deployed in Afghanistan, and they have proven to be highly effective eyes in the sky.

On Thursday afternoon, Dateland representative Doug Powell gave residents their first look at what the company is proposing to do.

"We are interested in coming to Camp Verde because it offers us a chance to train soldiers in an environment similar to what they will find in Afghanistan," said Powell. "It is our hope that the community will accept us."

What Powell says the community will have to be accepting of is a balloon about the size of a semi-tractor trailer rig floating about 2,500 feet in the air, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Powell used his opportunity on Thursday to address some of the community's concerns, which included possible invasion of privacy safety and how the balloon might affect the town's dark sky policy.

Powell said the company has very stringent rules when it comes to what they observe during training. It is limited to spotting and marking targets on nearby hilltops and following vehicles.

"We don't look in people's homes, backyards or any part of their private lives. And we don't record any of the footage taken with the camera. Training policies are in place and will be followed. Anyone not following those policies would be ushered off the premises," said Powell.

Powell said the balloons have redundant safety systems and can be dropped remotely if one should ever leave its moorings.

During night training, residents of Camp Verde would see only the marker lights of the balloon and a string of lights marking the tether.

On average, the 15-acre site they are proposing to use, on property owned by the Camp Verde Sanitary District off State Route 260, ( MAP ) will host between 15 and 30 personnel.

"Crews sent to Camp Verde for training would be staying at local motels and eating at local restaurants. We will utilize local contractors and services for all contract work," said Powell.

The company is proposing a three- to five-year lease on the property.

STARA Technologies, Inc.

61 S. William Dillard Drive Gilbert, AZ 85233

7432 East Tierra Buena Lane Scottsdale, AZ 85260-1646

STARA's Provider GPS guided resupply pod

As the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market continues to grow, manufacturers are looking for additional capabilities beyond traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaisance (ISR) missions to separate their aircraft from the others.

STARA's Provider GPS guided resupply pod now gives UAVs the capability to accurately deliver small amounts of critical supplies to small teams of Operators working in hostile/denied areas.

Unlike other ballistic resupply pods the Provider uses a RAM air parafoil to deliver the supplies to a pre-programmed waypoint on the ground. The parafoil's 3:1 glide ratio allows the UAV to operate clandestinely at altitudes up to 25,000 feet and as far away as 12 miles from the target area

Mosquito Tactical Resupply System

Through the use of the Mosquito Tactical Resupply System, any helicopter or unconventional aircraft can immediately conduct rapid reaction resupply operations and deliver light weight resupply bundles with pinpoint accuracy while staying safely out of range of small arms fire.

At the most recent NATO PACD 08 precision air drop conference, STARA released a Mosquito Tactical Resupply System carrying 100 pounds of supplies from a C-130 flying at 7,000 feet and 3 miles off the coast of France. The Mosquito landed the bundle within 9 meters of the target.

Mosquito MJU

The MJU-10b form factor the Mosquito MJU can be launched from any aircraft equipped with ALE-47 counter measures dispenser systems.

PATCAD

Is a competition mostly for aerial resupply systems rather than smart bombs, but nowadays even supply parachutes are expected to steer themselves down to an accurate landing. Some of the drop systems on show were massive, including the 15-ton MegaFly parachute.

Tower Based Surveillance Systems

Tower based surveillance systems that will use radar, infrared, acoustic and image technology to detect and surveile hostile forces. These components can be mounted to stationary resources for larger FOBS or to mobile trailers for expeditionary forces.

Both configurations are powered by renewable power resources (solar, wind) to reduce dependence on fossil fuels in operational environments where supply chains are thin.

Don't Forget To Look Up!!

Red Rock Pass

Forestry To Seek Out Ideas

The public

Is asked to comment March 1 on the Red Rock Pass required by the Coconino National Forest in Sedona.

Flagstaff's U.S. magistrate judge found the Red Rock Ranger District's requirement of a fee to use some backcountry areas illegal under federal law last year, and now the Forest Service is attempting to decide what to do as a result.

It has suspended the requirement of a Red Rock Pass in some areas.

Red Rock District Ranger Heather Provencio will take comments on March 1, beginning at 4 p.m., at Red Rock High School, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road (West Sedona) Map.

The Forest Service is also accepting comments by e-mail, at http://www.redrockcountry.org/, by following the link under "Red Rock Pass Changes."

BACKGROUND

The region is the destination of a large number of visitors, many of them coming to hike in the Coconino National Forest or stay at the campgrounds in Oak Creek Canyon. While the Forest Service has for a long time charged fees for use of the campgrounds, the agency established the Red Rock Pass Area after the passage of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (RFDP) by Congress in 1996. This large 160,000 acre area included all of the National Forest land around Sedona, and for the first time hikers had to pay a fee just to park on National Forest land and go hiking. The new fee program was controversial. In 2002 the Sedona City Council passed a resolution by a 5-2 vote to request that the U.S. Congress end the RFDP. One of the two dissenting council members opposed the fees but voted against the resolution because he thought it was ineffective and "says nothing."

Congress responded to widespread opposition to the new recreation fees by repealing the RFDP in 2004, and in its place enacted the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA). The FLREA authorizes the Forest Service to charge an amenity fee for an area that has a required list of amenities, such as picnic tables and a permanent toilet, all of which must be present. In the FLREA, there are specific provisions that prohibit the Forest Service from charging a fee solely for parking in an undeveloped area, or for hiking across the National Forest.

The Coconino National Forest issued a news release in June 2005 stating that the Red Rock Pass Area qualified as a High-Impact Recreation Area (HIRA) under new agency guidelines, and that a recreation fee would continue to be charged whenever a person parked on National Forest lands. As far as the Forest Service is concerned, the 160,000 acre Red Rock HIRA is a qualifying "area" under the FLREA, since there are places within the HIRA that contain picnic tables, public toilets, etc. The prohibitions on charging fees for parking at undeveloped trailheads and walking across National Forest land are ignored.

On November 2, 2009, Jim Smith from Sedona received a violation notice while parking at the Dry Creek/Vultee Arch trailhead without displaying a Red Rock Pass. The closest picnic tables, public toilet and trash receptacle--all amenities required for charging an amenity fee under the FLREA--are 7 to 10 miles away from this trailhead. Since the Flagstaff court is closed during the winter, Jim used the winter months to prepare a Motion to Dismiss (MTD) challenging the legality of the Forest Service's use of the HIRA to charge a recreation fee. His MTD was submitted to the court in April 2010. Following the filing of a series of legal documents by both sides, Magistrate Judge Mark Aspey dismissed the citation on September 14th, and ruled that the Forest Service's use of the HIRA designation to charge fees throughout the entire Red Rock HIRA is contrary to the clear statutory language of the FLREA.

You can read the legal filings in the case and media hole storie HERE

UPDATE OCTOBER 14, 2010

See You On The Trails!

Granite Basin

Injuries Declining In The US

Mountain bike-related

Mountain bike-related injuries are down 56 percent according to a new national study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital. With the decrease, 15,000 cases are still treated each year in US emergency departments.

The study covered a 14-year period from 1994 to 2007. At its peak in 1995, 23,000 mountain bike-related injuries were reported. In 2007, just 10,000 were reported.

"The large decline we found in mountain bike-related injuries is likely due to a combination of factors," said Lara McKenzie, PhD, principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

"While some of the decline may be explained by a decrease in the number of people riding mountain bikes, there have also been a number of improvements to the bicycle design, such as disc brakes and dual suspension systems, that give the rider greater control of the bike and may help to reduce the incidence of injuries."

According to the study, appearing in the February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the most frequent diagnoses were fractures (27 percent), soft tissue injuries (24 percent) and lacerations (21 percent), while the most commonly injured body parts were the upper extremities (27 percent), shoulder and clavicle (20 percent) and the lower extremities (20 percent). Falls (70 percent) or being thrown off the bike (14 percent) were the most common mechanisms of injury.

Several differences in injury patterns were found among subgroups. While the majority of injuries overall were sustained by boys and men, girls and women were more likely to sustain an injury severe enough to require hospitalization. In addition, bikers aged 14 to 19 years old sustained twice as many traumatic brain injuries than bikers of other ages.

"While the number of mountain bike-related injuries has decreased, they continue to be a concern,"

said Dr. McKenzie, also a faculty member at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. "The gender and age differences we found represent opportunities to further reduce injuries through focused injury prevention and increasing use of protective equipment."

This is the first study to examine a nationally representative sample of mountain bike-related injuries treated in US emergency departments. Authors of the study said further research in necessary to thoroughly understand mountain bike-related injuries and the role injury prevention intervention can play in reducing them.

Data for this study were collected from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), which is operated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The NEISS data set provides information on consumer product-related and sports and recreation-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments across the country.

The study did not address the relationship between competition and mountain bike-related injuries.

Cycling news for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world.

McDowell Sonoran Challenge

3rd Annual Challenge

Take the Challenge! Bike, Hike, or Run in State Trust Land designated for conservation, and help spread the message that the Preserve needs to be completed.

The timed Challenge was held on Saturday, February 28 at Alma School Road, north of Dynamite. Parking was provided at the shopping center on the corner of Alma School Road and Dynamite thanks to Hurd Real Estate, and a shuttle was available to take people to the trailhead. Separate courses for mountain bikes, trail runners and hikers would lead participants through beautiful mountains and desert. Hikers experienced the historic Brown’s Ranch on their 9 mile trip, riders biked a 22 mile course past Granite Mountain and Balanced Rock and runners raced 15K past Cone Mountain.

The post-challenge fitness expo and celebration was held from 9 a.m. until Noon and included food and beverage, music, merchandise and fun for hike, bike and runner enthusiasts of all ages.

McDowell Sonoran Challenge - 15K Run Race Results

McDowell Sonoran Challenge - 20 Mile Bike Race Results

McDowell Sonoran Challenge - 9 Mile Hike Race Results