POWELL BUTTE, OR -- The Oregon National Guard’s base in Powell Butte hosts night flight- training missions. The crews flew in Wednesday night.

“You may hear or see Black Hawk helicopters, about 3 to 4, that will be coming through from Washington into the Redmond area. Just the normal rotary aircraft that you, that you would hear,” Biak Training Area Manager Michael Paul says it’s a standard drill, “It’s an active-duty army aviation unit out of joint base, Lewis-McChord out of Tacoma Washington, its active-duty post. They've just asked to do some training in our training area down here to keep their pilots and their back seaters as well mission ready for any real-world missions that they might have.”

He tells KBND News night-training missions are important, “They do have to fly in blackout conditions because obviously real-world missions, combat environment sort of requires that. So that does get them ready for those type of events. That's why they're flying at night. It gets not only the pilots situated to that but also their soldiers in the back seat as well.”

Operations were scheduled all week but due to forecasted weather conditions, they expect to only go out again Monday night, April 29th.

People may hear or see the helicopters from sundown until Midnight in the Powell Butte Area and at the Redmond airport, where they re-fuel.