Oroville Update 9 May Construction Fly Over "One Last Spill?" 

It's been a few days. I have been anticipating a Oroville dam update. Keep it up with the awesome content Juan!

Wow! You have a family, a demanding job, and still manage to cover this situation as though it was your only job, my hat's off to you!

Juan, you really ought to get a Pulitzer Prize for your coverage of this. It is SO refreshing to see and hear the information in clear, concise manner without the hysterics and fear-mongering some other sites are doing. It's a clear testimonial to your personal ethics, and your family and employer should be extremely proud. Thanks!

Juan, the happy relaxed expression on your face when you're flying that little Luscombe tells us what your #1 joy in life is.

I live in Canada so the dam situation doesn't really concern me but I've been watching your updates on the situation since the spillway failure. I will keep watching your updates till the situation is resolved because you are doing a fantastic job at informing the public. 2 thumbs up!!!

Thank You very much Juan..

Really enjoyed this video Juan! Thanks for sharing these with all of us!!

Juan, I watch these from the East Coast. Find them very informative and no-nonsense. Thanks for investing your time and dollars to keep everyone informed. Great job!

Thank you, Juan!! And there seems to be a new idea for the spillway reconstruction. They are starting at the very bottom of the spillway! That's the lower portion in rebuilding the spillway. Exciting, changes every day.

Thank you for providing a voice of sanity in reviewing the operations. You are to be commended for your efforts to learn and to share what you have learned without hyperbole or exaggeration. As an engineer and geologist, I am impressed by your reports and turn to you as a reliable source.

Thanks Juan ,enjoyed the flight and the top notch commentary as usual,that Go Pro tech is awesome as well!

Love watching these videos as my grandfather was a Colonel in the Corp of Engineers and had a part in the original construction. I can tell you knowing his experience that the design probably wasn't his originally! I so wish I could get his thoughts now!

Good shooting. If the crushing and concrete equipment was there you'd be able to see it somewhere. You can't hide that stuff.

excellent ,what a beautiful place to live.Thankyou for the air tour.

Thanks for the flyover, Juan. How lucky we are that you're a pilot AND an internet reporter for the Oroville situation.

You do a fantastic job of reporting! I enjoy your trips in your Luscomb. I flew a BC12D Taylorcraft for many years and could not get it to catch a Luscomb, had a lot of fun 60+ years ago.

Thanks for the great reporting, explanations of the site, continuity that is lacking in the news media, and the great flying skill.

The bottom of the main spillway gates is at 813ft. I don't think "scouring of the inlet" was ever a serious concern. I think the reason they haven't let it go below 835ft up till now is that (according to the discharge curve on page 99 of the archived Oroville design/construction doc) there's not enough head pressure to maintain more than 30K CFS flow when the level drops below that point and that means increased erosion below the break in the MSW. If the next spill is intended to be the last one for the season, then they may go ahead and run it all the way down and not worry about a little added erosion below the break.

You have done it again. Nice job! I enjoy this report so much. All your stuff is great. This will be history forever.

Wow, just wow! How extraordinary is it that our citizen journalist has an airplane at his disposal to fill us in on what's really happening? We are so lucky to have Juan.

Thank you for continuing to post. I lived in Quincy and my father worked for the State Department of Water Resources. He took my brother and I when we were in High school to see the dam under construction.

beautiful Arial video of the dam. THANKS for sharing

They are building the concrete plant just to the right of the flood control gate structure (at the same elevation), looking up the spillway. They've at least cleared the area I think, visible in your video. The only other thing I would have liked to see if I were piloting is the forebay and afterbay just to get a better understanding. Super job Juan - thank you. That canyon looks like it is 250' deep maybe!

Great video and thanks for the virtual ride in the Luscombe !

Now this is the way to get the true news.Thanks so much.

After seeing hundreds of photos of this horror to be yours is the most professional and fantastic, thank you soooooo much for sharing this with us.

thanks for the plane ride! when i was a kid my mom had a boyfriend who took us up just about 1000 ft. i've always loved the look of the world from a small craft! great update too.

Thank You for showing this view. It shows how massive this undertaking is..

That prop looks longer than most props ,Thanks for the fly over great to see the whole dam ,those white rock bags bags in the parking lot boat launch hole and along the dirt EM spillway.

Thanks for the aerial tour! Nice little bug smasher ya got there :)

Best Oroville Dam coverage available- how real news should be covered

a good friend of mine is a pilot. while he was in school years ago I went with him while he was practicing. I had to have him put it down quickly!!!!

Nice update, thanks. There seems to be minimal new debris at the base of the spillway which is good to see. No big erosion at the cfs speed they used. Stay safe.

What a beautiful plane! That shiny, pristine green control panel!

Juan Brown, Thank you very much for this video! This is a unique perspective that no other media outlet can provide. Please do more of these if you can Paul

Another dandy from the best dam reporter I know. Thanks, Juan.

Great coverage from day one. I rode across the construction of the dam 1/2 done and flew over in a 172 in the 80's a few times. Thanks!

I think it would be great, Juan, if you could borrow your 777 and fly over the Oroville dam area with all your subscribers as passengers. I'll even bring some wonderful Sonoma wine to make the trip even more interesting!!

I've been trying to keep up with your show. I really appreciate the flight!👍🏽great job with the video

So glad you are updating. God bless you and protect you as well....thanks a bunch! You are a great reporter.

Thanks for all your work and time, Juan. You are really about the only one I will watch and feel the info is intelligent and well presented. 👍

Nice simple aircraft, open windows no less ;-) I'm glad you mentioned the green spot, the doomsayers are using that for attention. Nice report.

Sure is a pretty shiny dash panel in that Luscomb!

Awesome views and a better understanding on how things are going to go, thanks Juan, our No1 reporter 🏆👍🏼😊

Juan, This whole series that you've done has been great. I'm a water nerd so I've been watching this one from the beginning. Thanks so much for spending the time on this to keep us all up to date without all the silly fluff and panic that so many others tend to add. I only have one 'number' that I think we disagree on. You state that the bottom of the spillway inlet is around 830 feet but I believe it's 813 feet. Agreed that the scouring issue appears why they don't drain down that far. Keep up the great work!

Great video of the dam layout and issues that they will be dealing with. Makes you appreciate the shear size of the project that needs to be completed.

Your videos of the dam and spillway are incredible! Thanks so much for doing this!

Great Thanks to Juan Brown on the Blocholirio Channel coverage not just on the Damn but ENTIRELY!

Of all the videos on the Oroville dam your site by far is the best. Nice video from the air. Keep up the good work as your narrative is informative and easy to understand.

Great video and it really puts the whole project into context. These are the best videos about Oroville and the forthcoming project on the net.

I always love your rides, so full of explanations and descriptions. Thanks for the update!

The theme music by Aram Bedrosian really makes your videos stand out

Thanks for the update Juan and the breathtaking footage. I've been keeping tabs on this since it happened & have watched just about all your videos on the dam. I live in Colorado and I'm a chef and people don't realize what a huge problem this is could be for our agricultural community, we're already suffering the effects from just the rain alone that I can see from my produce deliveries & produce reports from my distributor. Also thank you for the aviation knowledge really enjoyed your "Dutch roll", you got some beautiful toys!

Thanks for all the work in getting this video online. Technical explanations are most welcome. Looks like there are years of construction work needed to prevent another near-catastrophy in the future. P.S. I didn't get airsick.😃 watching the horizon.

Great video ! Best flying I ever did was in the back of a C-130 sacked out on the cargo ramp... Till the Cargo Master came by to wake me up for the landing. Thank you for the video ! tjl

Juan, new toys are amazing in clarity! Thanks again for you great coverage!

Good work again Juan. A really clear view of the current situation on the ground both around the main dam and further downstream at the diversion dam as well. Made a nice change of pace from wrestling with all the flow numbers. Excellent video.

Excellent video Juan, you flew right over my house! We always enjoy your videos!

by far one of the BEST videos I have seen and heard about the dam thank you so much. I watch quite a few videos of yours and of others and I'll say it again this is the BEST one thank you for the information ✌

These updates are the best and the only ones that I follow and are worth following great content and great footage!

Excellent job. You spend a lot of money keeping us informed. Thank you.

Awesome as always Juan.Thank you.Rob

Thanks Juan, time spent flying is not deducted from your lifespan.

Thank Juan. it,s a job that,s never seems that never to get done,

Juan, I'm down in Australia so this stuff doesn't affect me directly, but I've gotten hooked on your updates, just geeking out on all the engineering and flood-control detail. We here in Tasmania have most of Australia's high dams, so I'd like to hope there is someone here who'd do even half as good a job as you should something ever go wrong. Keep it up buddy

Love the up close and personal fly bys over Oroville

Thanks Juan! Excited to see the progress in the coming months

Wonderful pictures in this flyover, Juan. Great job. Thank you

Great video! The new Karma grip has made a huge difference. :) Thanks for the all the updates. I look forward to seeing your productions.

Wow fantastic views from above . Thanks for the ride Captain !

thanks for the tour Juan your the best

Thanks Juan, great video. I too am looking for the batch plant, didn't see it though, could still be in pieces. I lived in Oroville in the 1950's what a change.

Watching these video posts I have come to recognise what a great Ambassador Juan is for what often seems like a crazy place the rest of the World calls the U.S.A. Juan shows us that most Americans are solid dependable warm-hearted people.

Thank you for this wonderful views of the site. I still follow the dam data and your videos and informations here from germany and i am fascinated about your detailed infomations provided on your channel. Keep going and I stay tuned. Thank you.

ever since this damn dam story burst, i have watched your youtube analysis and decided that this is what youtube creators should aspire to. 98% crap 2% quality. you make the 2% for sure. greetings from canada. i live near the 2 nd largest manmade lake + hydrodam in my province.

Thank you for sharing your amazing video. God bless you and your family

With a lot of other channels shouting 'the dam is about to collapse, it's gushing water!' I just thought, if it's anything to be worrying over Juan will tell us. Since you didn't....no need to worry. Thank-you Juan.

With the auxiliary spillway, I was thinking of adding a 1 to 2 foot mound from the edge of the spillway left past the parking lot so it can force water over the auxiliary spillway and not over anywhere else.

Hi Juan, love the detailed reporting, from so many angles. A fan request would be to make a summary video, if thats of interest. Cheers

Thank you Juan for the update in the Luscombe!

You are a great videographer / journalist / researcher / host. I would watch you cover anything really .. You always get the interesting behind the scenes scoop ..

Flying and filming at the same time...is it kind of like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time....lol. Thanks for the fly over.

Thanks Juan. Great reporting as always.

Thanks Juan. Fun trip on a nice sunny day in Cali. Don't work too hard.

Awesome video. Love the aerial view of the dam. Thanks Jaun

Juan, just found this video, great production! Very much enjoyed the information, your aircraft, presentation and videography. I'll be sure to take a look at your other video's and future updates.

Great update, as usual. Thank you, Juan!

Excellent reporting...as usual! Thank you for keeping the info flowing.

Thanks for the awesome video once again Jaun, you are obviously putting in a lot of time and money to produce these videos that we love watching so much.

Thanks for the video and I have been watching your videos from Oroville issue started.

Very good video, nice picture quality and information for those who are not familiar with the area

Excellent update Juan, thanks.

Great series of videos, straight information is such a refreshing change. Thanks.

Juan, thanks for the update and safety issues with the green growth.

Another fascinating video that is both informative and well put together. Some nice flying as a bonus! Look forward to the next one.

Beautiful. Thanks for doing these.

B ack in the early 60's an Uncle brought into the Destin, FL airport his eXperimental aircraft, one he'd started building on his Persian rug, and then moved down to the basement of his home in Boulder, Co. We all had a chance to fly it some once he got it off of the ground. He was following IFR and with the restricted air space around Eglin AFB it was needed. We flew above the 108' antenna at the house and was told he'd encroached on restricted air space, that was not marked on the maps. He was met at the Destin airport by a FAA representative who found out the maps the airport was giving out didn't have it clearly marked so nothing came of it, so nothing more was done. This plane he took to Oshkosh and was caught in a cross wind and walked away with only the propeller. The important thing was that he walked away from a crash.

Juan, really enjoying your coverage! That stabilized mount made for some great video. Keep it up!

Great job, Juan. Thanks.

That green patch on the dam face follows the compaction process when the dam was built. I suspect that the soil has more minerals and nutrients supporting the green grass. Perhaps that soil is richer in clay and water retaining soil than other places causing the green patch to thrive. Had it been distributed vertically perhaps leakage would be a factor. The fact that it has the horizontal cut off shows that its just a zone of a different grade of soil, not proof of seepage.