Bay Area airspace

[jhoyt]

Planning a trip this summer from Washington to SF Bay Area, VFR, KYKM going through Klamath Falls and then Redding into Central Valley. Wondered best way to make my way over to peninsula, and working around KSFO, KOAK, KSJC airspace. Rec on Palo Alto vs. San Carlos fields. Are there procedures to fly over Golden Gate for SF tour?

--Jim Hoyt

 

[uncreative]

What is your destination? Generally you will be kept out of Bravo airspace, so plan to go east or west of it. Transitioning over OAK and SJC airspace is usually not a problem. There aren't any established procedures but there is something known as the 'bay tour'. It's basically remaining clear of bravo north of the city over the bay, flying out over the golden gate, and then down the coast under the bravo shelf. You'll get a good view of SFO going this way and probably have 1 or 2 heavys fly over you.

The controllers are friendly but busy so know what you are going to say before you key that mic!

 

[asicer]

Follow the freeway to KVCB, then KCCR with Travis Approach, follow more freeways to VPWAL, VPDUB, VPSUN then down into either KPAO or KSQL. KSQL has more transportation options but KPAO has free shuttles into town Mon-Fri (one is operated by Stanford and the other by the city).

If sight seeing, the keyword to use with the local controllers is "Bay Tour". This generally means 1500-2000MSL through KSFO Bravo. KSFO will want you south&west of of hwy101 and KOAK will want you along I880 so familiarize yourself with those 2 freeways. From KOAK to KPAO/KSQL they'll want you over the KOAK 30 numbers and then to midspan of the San Mateo bridge (VPMID) or vice versa in the opposite direction. When passing to/from VPMID being over the sunken ship (marked on the TAC chart) helps with keeping out of the 100/15 bravo shelf. "Bay Tour" generally describes all or part of anything south/west of hwy101, along I-880, north of the Bay Bridge but south of the Richmond Bridge and south of the San Mateo bridge but north of KSJC. However, you don't have to fly the entire circuit to be on a "Bay Tour". For example if you using a "Bay Tour" transition to depart KPAO/KSQL for KYKM that generally means you're going to go through KSFO bravo at or below 2000MSL south/west of hwy101. Once over the bay between the Bay Bridge, the Richmond bridge and west of Berkeley you're pretty much free to wander about until you tell the controller you're done and that you want to go somewhere else.

 

[MAKG1]

Getting Class B clearance over the Peninsula is beyond easy. Don't bother avoiding. Almost always, they will want you at 1500 or 3500 and to stay west/south of 101 (that's the highway directly alongside SFO). That gives you half the airspace to deal with.

Oakland Center won't give it to you, though. You have to wait for the NorCal handoff. You can ask for an early frequency change if you want.

Basically, head straight for SAU VOR and visit the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and downtown as you prefer. Aim straight for Crystal Springs (long skinny lake pointed directly away from you) after you enter Class B (most of the city is below the 2500 shelf).

The only real gotcha is the stadium TFR. If the Giants are playing, downtown will be off limits.

You can also go through the Oakland C, but the altitudes are lower, it's more susceptible to mechanical turbulence, it is MUCH more constrained, the SFO B is very close above (NOT the usual 4000 and you are not likely to get clearance in that part of the B), and you have to know the visual checkpoints, especially the Coliseum and Mormon Temple.

 

[uncreative]

Coming from the northwest, I've had bad luck getting cleared through the bravo, and in a dozen tries have only gotten cleared when on an IFR flight plan. I prefer going over Oakland since it gives you some places to land (oak, hwd). When you don't get cleared, they keep you under 1500 over the ocean, and that is uncomfortable for me.

 

[MAKG1]

The trick if you don't get cleared at 3500 is to try it at 1500 (and contact SFO Tower instead of NorCal).

Or do it when there is marine layer and you can say "unable below 1500 due to clouds."

Believe it or not, waiting 5 minutes can do it, too. BTDT. There appears to be a maximum number of VFR transitions allowed.

You may be over ocean if denied clearance, but you can do that transition within gliding distance of the cliff tops, even at the low altitude. The surface area boundary is the shoreline. There is one short segment that is problematic (Devil's Slide), but there is much more than that flying over Oakland at low altitude. Landing on 880 will not be possible most of the time.

Another possibility is to overfly the B and ask for a VFR descent. They won't let you do it over the Bay, but I've gotten permission elsewhere. Palo Alto is a bit close in for that, but it's possible.

I can't explain it, but my record is a whole lot better than yours.

 

[asicer]

BTW, watch out for the marine layer. MAKG's route could put you over/in it. Sight seeing is no fun if you can't see the sights thus wasting those extra few minutes of circuitous routing and small added complexity.

 

[MAKG1]

BTW, watch out for the marine layer. MAKG's route could put you over/in it. Sight seeing is no fun if you can't see the sights thus wasting those extra few minutes of circuitous routing and small added complexity.

Marine layer is not usually a problem northeast of the mountain peaks, except in early morning and after midnight. If you want to see Half Moon Bay, you may be SOL, and the Golden Gate Bridge does get obscured on a cool summer day. But I've done that transition quite a lot on nice summer days.

It is NEVER as high as 3500. Tops are 2500 on a real bad day.

The cool part is, marine layer gives you a nice excuse to reply with "unable" if you hear the dreaded "remain clear of Class B."

If Palo Alto is reporting clear, I won't hesitate to overfly a finger of marine layer over San Francisco. And it does look really cool, as you're generally looking just at the edge of it, and things poke through it, like the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge towers, and Sutro Tower.