Work trip to Los Angeles - What should I go see?

[matkey]

Hi folks,

Ive got a work trip to LA coming up in a couple of weeks, of which I should be able to blag the weekend of as well. So what in the LA/San Francisco area should I go see aviation wise? Already been on the SoCal CAF website to see what rides I can take (P51 Mustang looks mouthwaters!) but what else should I be looking at?

Cheers in advance!

Mat

[Genghis the Engineer]

Western Museum of Flight - Aviation Museum

You've also got the Robinson factory very close; I have been around it, but I'm not sure how easy that is to arrange if you're not "in the trade".

G

[Zulu Alpha]

Santa Paula. especially if its open hangar/museum day which is the first Sunday of each month. Welcome to the Santa Paula Airport

The museum at Chino is nice as well

[chevvron]

Not aviation, but if you like Westerns, there's a little known Wells Fargo Museum in downtown LA at the Wells Fargo Center. There's also Universal Studios (reached by Metro nowadays) . If you like films and special effects, the backlot tour is great; there's also a place to stay there called 'The Bates Motel'!

[maxred]

LA

If you are a pilot, go to Van Nuys, book a 1 hour session with instructor, and do the VFR corrider over LAX, wonderful.Even if you are not a pilotthen worth the 130$ or so.

Take a road trip thru Topango, down to Malibu. Great places to eat and walk the beach - fantastic.

If you have the time,pop to Vegas for the weekend - bonkers.

Mojave also great, used to get in amongst the planes, not so sure regarding access now, our US residents may elaborate on the current position.

I lived there for a time - so much to do and see

[Sir George Cayley]

Ventura Hiway.

Redondo Beach

Spruce Goose

Universal

San Francisco

Six Flags

Carmel

West Coast Custom

That should keep you occupied.

Sir George Cayley

[chevvron]

Sir George - you forgot Monterey and 17 mile drive. Just across the road from Pebble Beach golf course with its herd of deer grazing there's a rocky foreshore containing ground squirrels; off shore there's Sea Otters playing in the kelp, and Sea Lions and Seals basking in the sun on a rocky outcrop.

[pulse1]

If you can, get out to Chino. It's a bit like Duxford x 1000. I have never seen so many and such a range of warbirds flying in one day, even at an air display. They ranged from P51 (so many they were a bit boring) to T33, T38 and even a Gnat. For me, the best was a formation of 3 Stearmans, mainly because I was in one of them.

Incidentally, this was a quiet Winter weekend.

[Flying Lawyer]

"the LA/San Francisco area"

Bear in mind that they are almost 400 miles apart.
If you fly (airline) it's at least 2 hrs - including getting to/from the airport at each end. About 6-7 hours by road, depending upon traffic. More if you take the (stunning) coastal route via the famous Highway 1 because it's slower and because you'd want to stop to explore en route.

"aviation wise"

The VFR corridor over LAX is well worth doing, as Maxred says.
However, if you can arrange it, a helicopter flight is even better. In a f/w you fly it at (from memory) 3500 feet one way and 4500 feet the other. In a helicopter you can approach to a high hover over the runways and then land on the rooftop helipad. The 'Beach Departure' is great fun - the Tower keeps you low level until you clear the airspace - past the shoreline. I haven't done it for several years so you'd have to check if it's still possible. If so, it wouldn't cost much in an R22 from Long Beach. Trial lesson?

Catalina Island (about 20-25 miles off the coast)

Finals for 'The Airport in the Sky'
Not a great picture but it gives an idea. The buffalo-burgers in the airport cafe are worth trying, assuming they still do them - and assuming you're not a veggie.

Flying down the coast from LA to San Diego is a fabulous trip (about 100/120 miles each way depending upon whether you go from Long Beach or Van Nuys) and the San Diego bay area is spectacular - one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the world.
If traffic allowed and the controllers were in a friendly mood it used to be possible to negotiate with North Island Naval Air Station and San Diego International to get clearance to fly across the bay near the Coronado Bridge but I don't know if that's still allowed.

The Robinson factory at Torrance is interesting as GtE says (if you're interested in helicopters) but, even if you could arrange a visit, I don't know if it would be available at a weekend.

California is wonderful. You'll enjoy it whatever you do.

FL

[Mark 1]

Lots of good suggestions above. Camarillo is worth a visit even if you don't take the P51 ride. Flabob (riverside) usually has a good selection of aeronautica around. Orange county (John Wayne Airport) has a museum with some nice exhibits, as does Palm Springs.

There's also an upcoming B17 tour with $400 rides available.

If it's not Sun'nFun week, then drop me a PM and I might be able to offer a bit of RV'ation in the area.

[KKoran]

The Spruce Goose was moved to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, in 1993.

[matkey]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Forgot to say on the initial post that I know the San Fran area and Santa Monica areas fairly well as spent a LOT of time out there on work trips. But this will be the first since learning to fly.

Ideas of trial lessons = genius. Hadn't thought of that one!

Keep them coming

[172driver]

Night VFR over L.A. Must be the closest you'll ever get (as a PPL) to feeling like a 'Starship Captain'. Go up with an instructor from Santa Monica or Van Nuys. You can do the grand tour, if so inclined, taking in the LAX VFR route at late afternoon light, then turn around and go along the coast to the Ventura area. If you time it well, it should be night by then and you can return via the valley and the Van Nuys area. Coming back into L.A. that way is quite simply spectacular! You can then trn East and go along the Hollywood hills, right over Downtown and then do a loooong straight-in to KSMO, or if started from Van Nuys, back via the KBUR area. Enjoy !

[Ultra long hauler]

Boneyards in LA area

Originally Posted by matkey

Keep them coming

Matkey,

I will probably be going to the LA area too, at some stage this year.
My idea was to visit the boneyards……..Victorsville etc.

But reading up on it, it turns out that very few boneyards (or more accurately "none") allow you on their site, to walk around or to go inside the planes, buy a part etc.

The Mythbusters do………..but that´s apparently another myth busted--> without special permission you can only take pics of the planes from the outside of the premises, correct? Unless there´s places that I missed while Googlin´.

Someone please correct me………

###Ultra Long Hauler###

[matkey]

Re the B17 ride; on a previous trip I woke up on the Saturday morning to see them advertising the Watsonville airshow that day. Bimbled down and saw you could get a ride in a C47. Was straight out of Uni at that point so didnt have much spare dosh around (and have kicked myself forever since). However a plan was forming. So I arranged a subsequent trip to make sure I was out for the airshow again. And this time I had some spare cash. So hour long B17 flight it was! Ended up landing in the bomb aimers seat approx 6 feet from the runway which was a bit amazing!
So ive already got a B17 flight in my mental logbook

So far its looking like either an hours R22 helicopter trial lesson or the evening/early nite flight over LA.

[Hants Eaglet]

Where to begin?

All the suggestions are great, my faves:

Chino, not as good for a casual visit as it was years ago, but Planes of Fame is a must especially on a display weekend. Try Flo's airport cafe. Try to ignore the smell of cow dung.

Van Nuys, great bar E side of 16L threshold for watching the activity and enjoying a beer/snack. Riverside Flabob - same remarks as Chino, interesting to fly to though, there's a mountain in the downwind leg at pattern height. The LAX VFR corridors (only in America!), ditto class G overhead San Diego Airport - you can fly from LA area to Brown Field San Diego without talking to anyone if you plan it right and can navigate accurately (apart from the start and finish towers of course). Catalina Island is an experience or get a ride up to Big Bear - remember density altitude - it's over 6000ft up.

Mojave - quite a long drive, but easy to fly to, avoid the Edwards restricted airspace! Boneyard tours should still be available, just ask at the admin office. High desert flying is brilliant, great cafe at Hesperia! Dry lakebed flying at El Mirage is worth trying, especially in a vintage taildragger! March AFB museum, well worth the trip out just past Riverside for that. Corona's interesting, lots of classics there, but was flooded out a few weeks ago (regularly happens). Good helicopter museum at Ramona near SD. Central LA - the Science and Industry Museum, near the Olympic stadium, lots of aeroplane stuff. Small Western Air Museum used to be good when it was at Hawthorn, now at Torrance. Palm Springs museum is excellent.

On the way back have lunch at the Proud Bird just by short final on Aviation Boulevard at LAX, or the INandOut burger joint just N of LAX has a good view I'm told.

Enough for a weekend I'd say. Have a good one!

Makes me want to book a flight just thinking about it!

[paulc]

The Robinson factory tours are open to the public and run on a Tuesday and Thursday. Myself and 2 others did the tour last November and it was very interesting. No photography is allowed in the factory but is allowed in the delivery area. They do a good range of merchandise as well but it did take a while to get it (needs a shop in the foyer)

There is also an aviation museum at Torrance as well.

[david viewing]

A long time ago, pre-911, I had a few hours to kill at LAX and so I called up the tower and asked for visit. Fascinating it was, observing that they had a big red light that came on intermittently. "What's that?" I asked. "Oh, that comes on when there's a VFR aircraft in the flyway along the shore. We hold off arrivals and departures when they are there".

None of that VFR traffic was talking to anyone. As for tower visits, I did read that they had been re-instated - it might be worth a call.

[KKoran]

The requirement for a transponder doesn't seem ambiguous to me.

(2) All aircraft. In all airspace within 30 nautical miles of an airport listed in appendix D, section 1 of this part from the surface upward to 10,000 feet MSL;
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(2) of this section, any aircraft which was not originally certificated with an engine-driven electrical system or which has not subsequently been certified with such a system installed, balloon or glider may conduct operations in the airspace within 30 nautical miles of an airport listed in appendix D, section 1 of this part provided such operations are conducted—
(i) Outside any Class A, Class B, or Class C airspace area; and
(ii) Below the altitude of the ceiling of a Class B or Class C airspace area designated for an airport or 10,000 feet MSL, whichever is lower; and
(4) All aircraft in all airspace above the ceiling and within the lateral boundaries of a Class B or Class C airspace area designated for an airport upward to 10,000 feet MSL; and

[Flying Lawyer]

Hants Eaglet

the INandOut burger joint just N of LAX has a good view I'm told.

It does.
Not worth a special trip IMHO (unless you're a keen spotter) but if you're passing en route to/from LAX ....


The In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda



Pilots' view of the same location