JohnSBA
Pre-takeoff checklist
Several times in past years, watching fourth of July fireworks on the ground I'd notice a plane nearby. Before getting my PPL in 2006 I wondered what the show would look like from the air, and figured it was probably a military or police airplane and pilot. After PPL I looked into it a bit, and was pleased/surprised to find out that here in SB there are typically no TFRs or NOTAMs but still only one or two planes seem to do it at a given show. After that every year we talked about doing it with growing interest and enthusiasm.
Well, this year we went for it and let me tell you it was spectacular!! Here's a quick summary. First, I spoke with several CFIIs including one who's part-time ATC, and found no significant special considerations. Since the show is at SB Harbor below the SBA outer Class C shelf, we were talking with ATC though it was mostly monitoring freq until someone else joined us. I've found on a local website, that a few on the ground were annoyed by the moving light and even the distant engine drone (people are fun, eh?
Most enjoyed the photos, and several said they hadn't even noticed us. I of course turned off the strobes and landing/taxi lights, so we were showing only the old C172 throbbing rudder beacon plus running lights (only the beacon shows in ground photos we've seen). We flew at 75-80kias (2kRPM). We got down to 1.4kAGL over the water once, but mostly stayed above 1.7k and when another plane joined us at the end of the show they were at 2k. It was of course easy to see the other traffic, as with all night flights, and there was a slight haze at about 2.5k so city lights were reflecting back down giving ground reference about like a quarter moon on the open spaces. My plan if we ever do this again, is to stay closer to 2k and perhaps half a mile horizontally from the firework launch point to minimize the potential for annoying any drunks on the ground. The most notable differences were the near total lack of smoke obscuring the fireworks as it does from the ground, almost total lack of noise except for faint boom of largest fireworks (and of course the din of flying a 172 with window open), and most of all the breathtaking "3D" effect of circling around the show. Here's my fav pic from the flight, and you can find more on our blog and my Photo Page (where there's also a short video, though I'll probably delete that in the next few days).
Well, this year we went for it and let me tell you it was spectacular!! Here's a quick summary. First, I spoke with several CFIIs including one who's part-time ATC, and found no significant special considerations. Since the show is at SB Harbor below the SBA outer Class C shelf, we were talking with ATC though it was mostly monitoring freq until someone else joined us. I've found on a local website, that a few on the ground were annoyed by the moving light and even the distant engine drone (people are fun, eh?
Most enjoyed the photos, and several said they hadn't even noticed us. I of course turned off the strobes and landing/taxi lights, so we were showing only the old C172 throbbing rudder beacon plus running lights (only the beacon shows in ground photos we've seen). We flew at 75-80kias (2kRPM). We got down to 1.4kAGL over the water once, but mostly stayed above 1.7k and when another plane joined us at the end of the show they were at 2k. It was of course easy to see the other traffic, as with all night flights, and there was a slight haze at about 2.5k so city lights were reflecting back down giving ground reference about like a quarter moon on the open spaces. My plan if we ever do this again, is to stay closer to 2k and perhaps half a mile horizontally from the firework launch point to minimize the potential for annoying any drunks on the ground. The most notable differences were the near total lack of smoke obscuring the fireworks as it does from the ground, almost total lack of noise except for faint boom of largest fireworks (and of course the din of flying a 172 with window open), and most of all the breathtaking "3D" effect of circling around the show. Here's my fav pic from the flight, and you can find more on our blog and my Photo Page (where there's also a short video, though I'll probably delete that in the next few days).
Last edited:
