Scenic highway 1 and flight seeing in California

[take_0ff]

Hi ppruners,

In September I will make a trip to California and drive from San Francisco to LA on the scenic highway along the coast.

I am holding an FAA PPL and therefore I would like to rent a plane somewhere on the way for a day and do some flightseeing. Does anybody know a good place to rent something like a C172 or a PA28 in a decent condition?
I need to do the flight review as well, but I guess that this can be done at the same time as the checkout and won't take to long.
Can somebody recommend a place and maybe share some (recent) experiences?

Where should I fly to and what's worthwhile to visit? How is the weather in early/mid September?

What about renters insurance? Are there any places where it is included in the rental rate? Can one buy insurance just for one day or one month rather than a whole year? I don't want to pay a couple hundred dollars for one or two flights, especially not, if I am not even sure whether I can do the flights at all (e.g. due to the weather)!
What would you do?

Does anybody know a good and large pilot store in that area to do some shopping?

Any other ideas, comments and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

take_0ff

[AdamFrisch]

Having driven the coast many times, I can tell you that it starts to get really pretty mainly after Morro Bay/San Simeon and north from there on. Problem is that most of that area lack airports should you want to stop. Big Sur area has no real good coastal airport. However, if you venture up the coast north of San Francisco, along Hwy 1, the scenery is stunning and in my opinion even prettier than Big Sur. It's also full of airstrips. Don't miss Shelter Cove and Half Moon Bay is a good way to get into SF with a small plane.

I'd start in LA and do the whole coast up to the Oregon border. The huge 2000 year old Sequoias up in Humboldt State Park/Avenue of the Giants will just silence you. It's impossible to speak in their company - they're just majestic.

[Humaround]

I've rented in Sacramento (Executive Flyers) and flown a bit of this route north of San Francisco as far as Fort Bragg - wonderful.

Also rented from a small outfit in Petaluma with instructor and done the SF Bay Tour.

Both well worth the modest cost.

Have driven the route north from SF a few times, again - wonderful. Surprisingly deserted for the most part - if you're used to crowded, commercialised scenery in the UK.

[Zulu Alpha]

Its probably easier to rent with an instructor, this saves all the bother of being checked out and renters insurance etc.. I'd recommend the bay tour (assuming they still let you do it). Round San Francisco bay viewing all the sights. You can probably combine this with your renewal

If you do it on a weekday when the school isn't busy you can probably stop somewhere for lunch and I've found that the instructors will often only charge you for the hours flown, especially if you buy him/her lunch.

Palo Alto airport is one good place to start. There are several schools there and a pilot shop.

If you want to fly further I would visit Columbia, a nice trip from the bay area.

Driving from San Francisco to LA is the best way to do it as they drive on the right. This means you will be driving on the sea side of the road and will see all the sights and can pull over for a photo etc.

As you get south towards LA, I'd also recommend a visit to Santa Paula, especially on one of their open days when all the hangars are open, their website has details. You can also get some aerobatic rides/lesson there!!

[custardpsc]

I am holding an FAA PPL

You don't say where you come from but I presume you have a regular FAA standalone licence or at least one of the plastic hologram credit card style 'issued on the basis of foreign licence' certificates. I got a shock when I was looking at a similar trip and found my paper cert had been invalid for a year and had to visit the FSDO/get validation letters etc ... You probably knew that or it doesn't apply but worth mentioning just in case...

[take_0ff]

Thank you all for your replies.

Also rented from a small outfit in Petaluma with instructor and done the SF Bay Tour.@Humaround: Do you remember the name of the company?
(Sacramento is too far away)

With that in mind, you could stop at San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo looks very interesting. Do you/ Does anybody know http://pcfaviation.com (http://pcfaviation.com/)?
What about Santa Barbara? Is it too busy to rent a plane there?

Palo Alto airport is one good place to start. There are several schools there and a pilot shop.@Zulu Alpha: Can you recommend one of the schools?


I understand that fog is a problem in the sf-area, is that correct? Is it also an issue further in the south?


@custardpsc: Yes, it is a standalone licence made out of solid plastic.;) Did it two years ago, that’s why I need a biennial flight review. Thanks for the hint, though.


Any other suggestions? Keep it coming…

Have a good weekend
take_0ff

[TangoZulu]

Palo Alto is very easy to fly from. I used Sundance Flying Club last year when I did an 8 day trip around the Southwest and they were very helpful.

Sundance Flying Club, Palo Alto, CA - Affordable Flight Instruction (http://www.flysundance.org)

[bubo]

anyone having experience with getting renters insurance for a limited time ? I saw just the one from AOPA and it was for a full year.

[Mark 1]

As for the Pilots' shop; you couldn't do better than a trip to Aircraft Spruce, near Corona Airport about 30-40 miles east of LAX.

Some outfits have special arrangements for renters' insurance. It may be worth asking around.

I'd also suggest checking out Squadron 2 at Reid-Hillview (http://www.squadron2.com/fleet.html). No personal connection, but I've heard a few reccomendations.

Lots of good destinations within a short flight - Catalina, Big Bear,Kern Valley .... Do a search here and you'll find plenty of good recommendations.