Flying around the LA area

[Jinkster]

I am flying out to LA in November and lucking to find aircraft rental hopefully at ADP. Can anybody suggest and areas that are a must to visit around the LA area.

Does anybody know about the Islands of Catalina?

Jinkster

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Jinkster,

Ah you've seen the lines I drew on the chart from Brackett to Catalina Island via the Air Base just south of John Wayne... ??

The airport at Catalina Island is interesting. The runway is around 3000'(?) long on a 1,500' hill with visual references a little confusing thus leading to an interesting approach.

ADP will require you to take an instructor to Catalina on your first visit as well as Big Bear City (top right hand corner of the L.A. VFR Terminal Area Chart).

Buffalo Burgers... mmmm Buffalo Burgers.

The "terminal" at Catalina is very picturesque.

It was also one of the few landing fees payable in the States... $10 if I remember correctly, but most definately worth it.

Not sure if I'd like an EFATO at Catlina... taking off to the west your glide angle would probably put you in the hills below, not in the sea... probably the same taking off to the east.

I'll scan some pictures of Catalina Island / Airport into my computer this evening and post them on a website. I'll post a link later on today.

Nearly forgot to mention other places to visit...

Big Bear City (will be your checkout place anyway). Sits at around 6,500' MSL in the mountains to the east of L.A. Nice large lake, excellent dinners at the cafe restaurant.

Santa Barbara: A small airline terminal, but very pleasant and again picturesque. Again nicely designed, the views flying into Santa Barbara are excellent. This was the first cross country I did after getting checked out at ADP.

Palm Springs: Go in the morning as the thermal activity in the afternoon is... well it has to be experienced to be believed!

San Diego: About an hours flying time south. Land at the International airport and use the FBO on the north side (the only G.A. FBO on the field anyway). Walk straight out of the FBO, cross the road and up the side street to the tram station. Two - Five minutes on the tram and you're in the centre of San Diego... excellent!

Chino: Five minute flight from Brackett (stretch it to 10 minutes with flap and 70 kts!). Plams of Fame museum, lots of warbirds on display, etc.

Hawthorne: Two miles south east of LAX Intl Airport. Fun going in there. Talking of LAX you can get into LAX if ya want - its been known.

A bit more further afield are:

Monterey: A nice town on the Pacific Coast. A couple of hours flying up there. Its about 70-80 miles south of San Fransisco.

Talking of San Fransisco: The bay tour - the controllers if they have time will give you a guided tour (as in they will point things out as your fly around the bay and they track you on radar, they'll tell you were to look!). ;-)

Bakersfield: A town in the the middle of nowhere really. But nice ice cream at the terminals cafe. This is the bigger Meadows Field (not the Bakersfield Muni - the cafe there burned down or at least it looked like it did when I taxi'd around and shut down - oops!).

Santa Monica: Just went there to have a look down on the beach and pier on afternoon.

Blythe: About 100 miles east of Palm Springs. In the middle of nowhere in desert. It'll be visible for miles. I turned up and three other aircraft from ADP turned up at the same time - not arranged! Mini fly in! ;-)

Las Vegas: Use McClarran Intl. Ten minute walk to the strip. If you're staying at one of the numerous hotels then they'll pick you up from the very posh G.A. Terminal. I defiantely felt out of place both occassions in my shorts and t-shirt. Takes just over 2 hours to get there from ADP.

Grand Canyon: What more do I need to say about this place? About 3 hours flying from Brackett.

Sedona: About an hour away south from Grand Canyon... excellent rock formations / scenery. If you go to Sedona from Grand Canyon (like I did) then fly via the Meteor Crater, its a little to the east of track.

That'll keep you busy for a while!

Best wishes,

Richard.

[Jinkster]

Thanks very much Richard - thats just what I was looking for - a good rundown on the local airports.

LAX - hmmm looking at the chart I'll leave it to the Virgin Atlantic Captain whos taking us there in November ;)

All the best

Jinkster

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

Don't forget to search pprune. This subject has been covered fairly extensively in the GA Forum over the last 12 months.

If you go further afield (towards Vegas) then Death Valley / Furnace Creek Ranch is a scenic overnight stop. Airfield is next door and owned by the Ranch which has a mixture of accomodation and a good restaurant.

TG.

[Keef]

If you go to ADP, don't bend the Arrow! I might be looking to rent it for a week or two next Spring...

[Jinkster]

Warrior for me - its the cheapest however the Arrow would be a dream to fly - be good to get some practice in as I will be flying it for CPL.

Jinkster

[topper2]

Here's some more great places I'd recommend....

Kern Valley: Idylic little uncontrolled strip by Isabella Lake (turn right at bakersfield and about 50nm into the mountains) Great burgers, but watch out for crosswinds!

Oceano: Small strip on the coast near Santa Maria. U can walk onto the beach (about 5mins) and theres a restaurant that serves great clam chouder. Sometimes hard to get into if theres coastal fog.

Bulhead City: A truly bizarre place! Its like a mini Vegas with loads of cheesy casinos just across the river (Colorado) U get a free boat ride from the airport (in Arizona) to the complex (Nevada). Accomodation is cheap too. About 2 hours from Brackett.

Lake Tahoe: About 4 hrs in a Warrior. Great for a stopover if u can. Like Big Bear its about 6900' so u need to watch for density altitude if its hot. The scenery is fantastic!

Oh, and if you fancy something different, fly into Long Beach. I flew in there daily to pick up one of my friends while hour building. Kept parking outside Airflite amongst all the bizjets until they finally insisted that I pay their $10 parking fee. I think my little cherokee might have been cramping their style!

Have fun!

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Keef,

If you mean the Arrow III we flew to Grand Canyon / Sedona a couple of years ago then please don't bend it!

I'm very tempted to go back to ADP next summer to hire the same aeroplane to do some IFR touring! (ADP say there is now a DME and the HSI OBS doesn't wander 5 degrees in as many seconds anymore!).

NAC next March though for the Multi CPL/IR upgrade.


Jinkster,

I'd try and get N2925Q if I were you (green/white), its an Archer and will be a bit better for the high density altitudes with its 180HP. You'll be grateful for it as well. Its also a nicely equipped aeroplane, definately IFR equipped (still nice even if you're VFR). But I haven't flown it for three years so others may have a better suggestion.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[Keef]

Hiya CZ - yes, N47455. There's another Arrow, I'm told, which is said to be as nice.

The alternative is to fly from somewhere further East, and to come at Grand Canyon from the other side: maybe see Colorado, Rockies, and all that.

Still cogitating...

[englishal]

Don't forget to pop into Compton airport, which has two cute parallel runways, right in the middle of "boys in the hood" land. I don't recommend you stay over night though.....

EA:D

[Sensible]

When I was at ADP in April, flights to Catalina and Sedona were no longer permitted because the ADP insurers were getting twitchy about the incidents of aircraft damage due to pilot error – the approach to both airports is a test on the nerves- downdrafts, wind shear and flying at rock faces causing pilot distractions and hard landings.

Page, Arizona is a really picturesque destination and overnight
stay.

[Aim Far]

You could do some sightseeing at the same time - try Mariposa which is right next to the Yosemite park or Merced which is a little further away from it. Death Valley is also good for an overnight. Don't be scared of LAX. And take your swimming kit to Palm Springs

[Keef]

That is a great shame about Catalina and Sedona - two brilliant places to visit! Was it "all landings there are banned", or did it depend on pilot experience?

I know at least one airfield that is PPR - and won't give that permission unless the pilot has over 250 hours and experience in short fields.

[Sensible]

That's a blanket ban I'm afraid - an exception may be with an ADP instructor but I'm not sure.

[T/O]

100% agree with Charlie Zulu and topper2 - these places were also my favourits!

I would add
- Santa Ana/Orange County, John Wayne Airport and Van Nuys
Lots of General Aviation traffic, I was very impressed.

- Half Moon Bay: small uncontrolled airport near San Francisco, there is Maverick's, the place where surfers from all over the world come to

- Camarillo: nice café next to the airport

For the San Francisco visit I used Oakland, they (Kaiser Air) offer courtesy transportation and with the train (called bart) it's only a few minutes drive to San Francisco.
Las Vegas McCarran is a great experience, probably late afternoon or early evening is most interesting for the approach (but then you should expect a few minuts delay) ...

You should also check San Diego Montgomery Field, there is an EXCELLENT (!!) restaurant - 50 meters from the apron via a door.

I did about 60 hrs and was also in Arizona (from Page southbound via Flagstaff, Sedona, Phoenix, Tucson, back to California via Blythe and Palm Springs). No idea how many hours you want to do, for me personally, I would recommend to stay in California if you don't have the time to do everything - CA is much more interesting and nicer.
AZ is mostly desert, flying straight ahead and nothing to see or nothing to do ... at least generally, of course, Sedona is nice, lots of airports around Phoenix.

I never used 2925Q (or whatever the name was) but often 8103X or 8395L.

As mentioned, Big Bear is your check out place. Sedona and Catalina Island are generally not allowed. But if you ask Mr Webster, he will allow you with instructor, it shouldn't become the rule.

Archer and Warrior = same price

I've also been there from Nov to Dec (last year). The weather was very good. A beautiful sunrise eary in the morning (about 6 a.m. if I remember right), blue skys, sunset about 5 p.m.
There were only two days with gusty winds and (too) big crosswind components, and one day with IMC in the late afternoon (a bit too foggy), all other days VMC.
But nearly every day haze.

Have fun!