A New GA Activity

Oh I saw the info for this flight. A CFI Sue was organizing it I think. Thought about going, looks like I missed out but I was working with students that day
 
Well, if we're turning this into a "closest" thread :p

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kimberlyanne546 said:
Look at the Southwest Jet! So close I can almost see the pilot rolling his eyes because he has to wait for a 182 to take off.
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I have a somewhat funny story about holding up Southwest at KSJC...

I moved my plane from South County airport to San Jose in August of 2012 when a hanger at SJC became available. The story I was told by the previous owner about my plane, a 1989 Bellanca Super Viking, is that the 1st owner (I'm the 4th owner) was supposedly a former Blue Angel, and he had specified a paint scheme which is reminiscent of the Blue Angel's scheme. Anyway, on one of my first flights out of SJC, I had a conversation with ground control that went something like this:.

Me:San Jose ground, Bellanca 89EL, GA West with Alpha, need a run-up
Ground: Bellanca 9EL, taxi to run-up via Charlie, Whiskey, advise when run-up's complete
Me:run-up via Charlie, Whiskey, I'll stay with you.
Ground: (when I was in the run-up area) 9EL, that is a beautiful plane, are you a Minnesota fan? What's the story?
Me:9EL, no, the story is that the 1st owner, blah, blah, Blue Angel, blah, blah,
Ground:Love the paint scheme, blah, blah, blah, when did you get the plane, etc., etc., etc.
Me:Thanks for the compliments, loving the plane, got it in May of 2012, ...

That's when Southwest came on and said something like...
Southwest:San Jose Ground, Southwest flight 1234, beautiful plane and all, but if you guys are finished, we're ready to push from gate 1
Ground: Push approved, taxi 30R, via ...

Me: (after completing the run-up) Ground, 9EL, run-up's complete
Ground: Taxi 30L at Charlie, via Whiskey, have a great flight

So, bottom line is that we held up a whole plane load of Southwest passengers for a bit while SJC ground was complimenting my plane. I can picture the captain making an announcement:

"Folks this is your Captain, we experienced a slight delay while ground control was talking to some yahoo about his tiny little plane, however, we should be able to make up the time and get to wherever on time"

You're right about the security being somewhat strict at SJC, but I really like the airport. It's 5 minutes from home which is a BIG plus, and the controllers are very friendly and helpful. Many times I get a nice "Welcome back" when I first contact tower on arrival, and they also give out a lot of "Have a great flight"s before sending me to departure. Prior to moving my plane there, I called up the tower's phone to get any tips about procedures, etc., and they suggested a tower tour. That was nice, and they're a great group of people. They did mention that they'd like more GA traffic, pointing at the fairly empty airspace around them and contrasting it with the very busy airspace at Palo Alto.

Jim
 

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kimberlyanne546 said:
Here is one (yes, the whale is the tiny white dot, and yes, the windows in her 182 need to be washed - which I did after we landed):
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If you remove the one phillips head screw on the window hinge the whole window swings up and out in flight. It is held without any vibration whatsoever by the slip stream.

Jim
 
Double-check the sectional regarding altitude around Monterey Bay. There are zones where flight below 1,000 AGL is banned because it might scare a seagull or otter or something, but the 2,000 foot minimumis only a requested altitude. People fly well below 2,000 all the time.

Even the 1,000 foot zones are a crock, because the FAA ceded their authorit over airspace to NOAA. To be fanged for flying below, a NOAA employee has to witness the act. Of course, with the fine beng $100,000, it's probably not worth it to most of us to chance it. One pilot, who has vastly more resources at his disposal than me, including attorneys, is confident that the law is unenforceable and will not withstand legal scrutiny.
 
Neat pictures of the California coast and wales. I made my first trip to shelter cove a few weeks ago, flying over the ocean is unbelievable. I have also been following the Baja Bush Pilots and plan on making my first trip south in 2015 to see the wales (if I can pass the check ride)
 
He's not going fast and is pretty far off. Boats don't seem to bother whales a bunch the come up next to me pretty frequently.
 
Jeremy Zirkle said:
Neat pictures of the California coast and wales. I made my first trip to shelter cove a few weeks ago, flying over the ocean is unbelievable. I have also been following the Baja Bush Pilots and plan on making my first trip south in 2015 to see the wales (if I can pass the check ride)
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I never got to fly the coast in my training! Lucky you! Shelter Cove was a little gem that I got to see only after my checkride! My training was somewhat boring and made the "after the checkride" stuff that much better!
 
Wingsofglass said:
I'm assuming this is at someone's private hangar on the field? At the FBO, I've never had this kind of scrutiny at SJC or any other C. I don't even get it at KLAS and KSLC, two B's I fly into and out of regularly. I'm sure you feel much safer now when you fly commercial.
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Do you fly professionally? Just wondering why you're in B's. I've done practice approaches at DTW (my local B, off peak time) to minimums but did not land. ATC was great, and I had a blast!

I have a feeling it's a California thang (or maybe they have a grudge against local hangar tenants & their pax). I'm at MDW pretty frequently, as well as nearby airports like DPA, UNG, and back here at PTK and YIP. I've never been stopped walking out of an FBO to the airplane with the ramp full of biz jets, or pausing to admire other airplanes.
 
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