GA in the Bay Area/San Francisco

[cassicha]

Happy new year everyone!

I've just been shipped out of Blighty to San Francisco on a corporate secondment for the next six months and would love to do some flying in California.

I was wondering if there was any knowledge here of local flying clubs (there seem to plenty from a google search); any specific recommendations? I already have a reciprocal license from the US on the back of my JAA license.

Best
Charles

[tdbristol]

Hi, I flew from Reid Hillview in San Jose a few times a few years ago. Seemed a good GA airfield; with good quality planes to rent. I flew with Tradewinds Aviation - seemed very professional; and all rental planes in excellent condition.
Not surprisingly the folks there were well used to fitting in with the SFO and San Jose traffic for bay area flying [for practice in a busy area], but also easy to fly over the mountains and south to places like Watsonville where you could do touch and gos in a quiet place. Great views in the bay and down the coast.
I would recommend a G1000 plane with TCAS in that area as fairly busy airspace and as all the planes will have transponders the traffic awareness it gives is really useful.

[BHenderson]

Reid-Hillview is a good little airport, though can get very busy at peak times. I flew with Aerodynamic Aviation in the Autumn with no complaints. Their definition of a high altitude airport (1400ft IIRC) is rather different to mine.

I have also flown with Attitude Aviation at Livermore. The most professional GA outfit I have come across.

[Mark 1]

If you're in the peninsula area, then Palo Alto and San Carlos airports are your closest bet. West Valley club operates out of both and has a very large fleet available.

Other clubs at RHV, HWD, OAK, CCR and LVK. Your preference may depend on where you are based. LVK has more reliable weather (and HAF the least), though it's seldom a problem around the Bay area.

I'd suggest visiting some clubs when you arrive and making your choice then.

I fly out of Hayward, but don't use a club.

[n5296s]

my 2 cents... as Mark 1 says, there are operators everywhere, and if you just want to bimble around and take a look at the scenery while logging some flight time, to a first approximation they are all as good as each other.

I learned to fly at Sundance at Palo Alto, and still keep in touch with them - they're a good place, PAO is handy if you're in "Silicon Valley", and they have a good sized fleet and instructors to go with it.

If you want to do something really exceptional, go to Attitude at Livermore. They are in a completely different category, both aircraft (e.g. a Pitts and a Marchetti) and instructors. Get some aerobatic time, you'll love it.

Whatever you do, you'll need a fair amount of dual time. The airspace round here is REALLY complicated, in places there are half a dozen different airspaces (with ATC to match) at different altitudes. I guess in your case if you mess up, nothing terrible can happen, but it's best to avoid it.

One thing you should do while you're here (most likely with an instructor) is a Bay Tour - fly from wherever up/down to the city and around it. Most visitors can't believe this is even possible. There are several articles about it on the web, including one I wrote, type "n5296s bay tour" to your favourite search engine.

Have fun!