On one of the US forums I always try to calm and reassure people flying into LA for the first time how very good and gentle that airspace actually is. How they have nothing to fear. How it can look intimidating at first glance, but is in fact much easier to navigate and fly in than it appears, bla, bla. In fact, one can fly around pretty much all of LA without even having to have a radio - most of it is G and E airspace. Only have to go a few miles south to San Diego to see what nightmares are made of - talk about complex. LA is like stealing candy from babies in comparison. So as I came back from long xcountry from the east, sun shining, I was rather smug in my cockpit and confident in my 'hometown' experience.
Man, what a nuthouse.
Started with Palm Springs radar being out of service as I came over the mountains, so the overworked LA Center controller was giving VFR clearances to heavy metal as if they were Cessnas. You could tell the crews were not used to this and couldn't really deal with it, constantly asking questions that only a radar could answer. "American 1515 - just stay VFR for now at 11000ft". A mess - a million bogies everywhere, eyes on a swivel and constant altitude and traffic prods. From LSA's to MD80's. You couldn't get a word in edgewise and there was simply no way of controlling all that traffic. He had VFR traffic at IFR altitudes just to space them etc.
A bizjet overtakes me at 8 o'clock pretty close, about 500ft higher, then I see a big Southwest 737 coming at my 2 o'clock. Same altitude, but he's in a turn and got his belly up to me. Has he seen me? I stop my VFR descent from 10500ft and pull up just in case even though I'd been given the go ahead to start my descent. He passes in front and under me. Now, I get passed to SoCal controller and they thankfully have radar. As if that would improve things.
Further away, there's a primary return not talking to anyone and not squawking Mode C (although it's mandatory within 30nm of LAX) that everyone has to watch out for. Nobody see's him. Then a new bogie:
"20VE stop your descent! I have traffic at same altitude that I'm not talking to at your 10 o'clock - do you see him?".
I catch him finally - he's close, a Cessna. Passes right under me. By now, next he has a big jet turn around on a downwind for Ontario and he keeps me at 5000ft. By now I don't have very far to go and it's going to be a race to get down. I get handed off to next SoCal controller and my radio explodes again.
"Same altitude, same direction, 9 o'clock, a Diamondstar, going same speed to El Monte - do you have traffic?"
No.
"At your 1 o'clock 500ft above you, Skyhawk, also descending, slower, also for El Monte - do you have it?"
No.
"20VE - stop descent! I traffic opposite direction climbing out of 3400ft that I'm not talking to. Stay at 4000ft or higher".
I was getting seriously overworked. I finally make the traffic to my left - he was going the exact same speed and blended nicely into the background. The Cessna is converging with me, but I'm overtaking it. I finally make the opposing traffic that wasn't talking to anyone, but now I' have like 2 miles to go and needed to lose 4000ft. Yoke forward and down we go as I pull away from the Diamondstar. She hands me off to tower right after this just to get us out of her hair - and who can blame her?
Tower is madly overworked as well. I can't get my call in and by now I'm on a long base. I finally get through and he says stay north of the freeway and I'll call your turn. Except, he doesn't. So now I'm past the final, with multiple traffic going in both left and right patterns and the Cessna and Diamondstar chasing my a**. I prod. Oh, I cleared you to base, why haven't you turned final? No you didn't - or at least I didn't hear it. Well, turn immediate final now. I'm well past it, but start the turn. I'm still like an angel at almost 3000ft, so gear comes out, flaps (even though we're deploying borderline above safe speeds) - everything and I turn really steep turns to try to help lose even more. I land long and ugly with too much speed - not the best end to a long day's flying.
In my 3 years living here and flying here, this was the busiest I've ever seen it. I used to be terrible on the radio (and in life) when I had to speak 'publicly'. I always botched my calls up. I finally became better at it, but today brought me right back to that feel I used to have when things just didn't work. It's a reminder that flying, air traffic, workload, circumstances do not care if you're tired and have been flying all day. And it certainly will show you who's boss if you get too smug and complacent and familiar with your home turf.
TCAS for christmas, maybe?
What's your worst busy airspace story?