Where to go?

[jstew15]

Not long until I fly out with my friend to LAX. We will be based in Long Beach and hope to fly 40 hours in total (20 each) in a Warrior 2. The first few will be checkouts and famil but after that we hope to go away for about 9-10 days with the aircraft.

Has anyone got any suggestions for a route? I know that it will be a long one but someone must have done this before.

Thanks

JS:)

[FWA NATCA]

It depends on what you want to do when you're not flying, or what in particular you are wanting to see.

Some states have VFR charts that show scenic areas, good airport restraunts, and lodging. Since you are starting out in California I would suggest contacting the tourism office or their state department of aviaition.

Mike
FWA

[typhoonpilot]

JSTEW15:

I hesistate to suggest a route but have some good ideas for places to stop. I would have others but in a Warrior you will be somewhat limited on where you can go especially if you come in late August of early September. There are mountains all around and with the high temperatures the Density Altitude at many airports can be a serious consideration in a Warrior. It kind of eliminates the Grand Canyon and Lake Tahoe to name a couple of nice places to fly to.

Never fear though there a plenty of lower altitude airports that are quite fun to visit. Still you must be careful crossing the mountains or going through the passes out of the Los Angeles basin. I am sure the CFI who checks you out will have more to say about that. Going up the coast from Long Beach ( through the LAX corridor ) to Santa Barbara is a treat that you shouldn't miss. Park over by Santa Barbara Aviation and have lunch at the Elephant Bar. You could fly from there to Santa Maria and then up the coast again to Monterrey passing Hearst Castle along the way. Cut inland from there to the South County airport ( south of San Jose ) where the Wings of History Musuem is located ( www. Wingsofhistory.org ). Cross over the central valley to Columbia for a nice town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. You can walk into town form the airport. It is a quaint old western town with shops and restaurants. Coming back down the central valley is Harris Ranch alongside Interstate 5. It is a restaurant along the freeway that has really good steaks and other ranch products. Camarillo Airport houses the Commemorative Air Force Hanger which includes a beautiful P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning, and F8F Bearcat to name a few. Chino also has a musuem, Planes of Fame West, that houses a good assortment of WW II aircraft and other oddities. Flying out to Catalina Island is interesting but it is a long bus ride to the town of Avalon if you decide to do that. Down the coast to Sand Diego is also quite scenic.

If you really want to travel a long way then in a Warrior I would most likely recommend going up the coast to Washington. The scenary is great and there aren't the big problems with mountains that you would have going inland. The coast is quite rugged in places though so one must be careful. Fog can be a consideration as well but late August and September are much better than May and June when the fog seems to sit for days on end. If you do go up the coast the Spruce Goose is now in McMinville, Oregon. I haven't been so can't be more specific, but it is an intersting piece of aviation history worth seeing.

Hope that helps,


Typhoonpilot

['%MAC']

Geez and I was going to advise to fly into the mountains. You won’t get that kind of experience anywhere in Europe. Just as we don’t get your incessant rains and congested en rout airspace. Get a good mountain check out and you can go over to Lake Havasue, where the London Bridge resides and you can get a seaplane rating on the Colorado river. My advice is to experience things you can’t back home, like hot and high elevations. Have fun.

[typhoonpilot]

%Mac:

I wast just trying to caution about the dangers of Density Altitude in a Warrior. I grew up flying in California and have been a member of the Civil Air Patrol for twenty years. As a Search and Rescue pilot I have seen first hand the many crashes that occur in the mountain passes and high desert of California. Further I rebuilt the engine of a Beech Sport that crashed on takeoff from Lake Tahoe airport while in college. That was a classic Density Altitude accident.

You are absolutely correct in that the flying here in California will be unlike a lot of Europe but caution is necessary to avoid any unpleasent experiences. I've experienced downdrafts near the mountains along the Colorado river that exceeded the climb capability of the aircraft. Fortunatly I was expecting it and had planned my flight path to escape if necessary. A trip out to Lake Havasu is certainly feasible and would be an enjoyable part of a flying adventure in California. While out that way pop into Bullhead City if you want to try a little Nevada style gambling and enjoy a cheap casino buffet.

Sincerely,

typhoonpilot

[weasil]

California has some very scenic landscape to fly in.
Beware of the Density Altitude in the Summer but dont let that stop you from going places.
Lake Tahoe is a great place to visit, Las Vegas another.
THe coastline also makes for some great flying. Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and of course flying over the golden gate into the bay area are all great places to visit.

If you want to continue further north the Shasta Volcanic area is awesome! 14000' peaks with snowcaps are just amazing at sunrise/set.
Beware of the coastal fog which can keep you from landing or taking off. It can sometimes run all the way down the coast. Not much worry about thunderstorms though.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

[a pilot]

do a few in the la basin then big bear(watch density) then north vegas-page-lake powell-cal black memorial arprt-monument valley-durango colorado,leadville,back thru the grand canyon and so on...many places you can take a ride to town and cheap hostels,motels...

[weasil]

good point, most FBO's in california have a car you can use to get down town for a bit or they will give you a ride.
It's a great system

[willbav8r]

Head on up to the SFO area. Nice sightseeing. Tahoe is not far. Columbia etc to the East. Castle AFB museum (B52, Vulcan, F111 etc). Half Moon Bay, Monterey. Vegas? San Diego. Heck, you could even Fly up the valley, and back down the coastline. The air alone affords plenty to see - without landing (other than re-fuel/de-fuel)

Whatever way that you take, it sounds like a fun trip. If I can help in the Bay area, E-Mail me.