Mike set me up to reply, but before I saw the thread, everyone's covered it completely.
We arrived from the East at night. Shot for the gap in the ridgeline and were on Flight Following w/Center who kindly worked a handoff to KLAS TRACON who (amazingly, as I found out later...) cleared us into the Bravo and direct KHND before I really wanted to turn South. I started the turn watching the black ridgeline for any sign that the lights behind were creeping up the windshield.
(You can see the lights of the city and the outline of the ridge so you know you're going to clear it.)
But LAS wanted us lower than I was comfortable with in the dark. LAS was landing north and he needed to put us head-to-head with a SWA 737. I'd been watching the 737 on the other side of the valley making his downwind and knew he was headed my way.
First time I came really really close to just saying "unable" but I replied with "need about another mile to clear the ridgeline".
The controller switched to Plan B - "Traffic 12 o'clock 4 miles a Boeing 737 will be turning northbound, do you have that traffic in sight?". This was as the 73 put on his best imitation of a 747 with his landing lights aimed my way and I could see he was just doing one continuous turn all the way around to northbound final.
Ahhh... The controller needs the magic words for separation! Now I get it!
"Traffic in sight, and we'll come another ten left, 79M."
And the expected reply... "Maintain visual separation from that traffic, descent at pilot's discretion, Henderson airport now 11 o'clock, do you have the airport in sight?"
"Affirnative and already monitoring the CTAF, 79M". (About this point we'd just descended out of the Bravo if I recall, had finished crossing the ridge and I was working down to pattern altitude and gently slowing up.)
"Skylane 79M, squawk 1200, radar service terminated, frequency change approved."
Very pro controllers at LAS but they have a tough job with the narrowness of the valley.
They're not known as being super friendly to VFR inside the Bravo but will work with you if you need it. Have you radio game up to speed. They're busy.
As far as the airport, HND's ramp is huge and also usually pretty full on a clear weather Friday night. Californians in town for the weekend, I suspect. A lighted follow me van was waiting at a row and the guy helped us tie down and grabbed the luggage. (I always tip and I always feel awkward, I pack such that I can carry my luggage myself. Ha.)
Fuel was ordered at the desk inside and they ask for your departure date and time. If they top you off when you arrive, the heat will expand the fuel and you'll lose some on the ramp. They also like to keep the fueling to the overnight hours because it's cooler for the line guys.
We grabbed a cab and it wasn't outrageous.
When we came back to leave they offered a van ride but we ended up pretty close to the building so we hoofed it out. They'd not only fueled it that morning but had the windows spotless. A nice touch.
Takeoff (now with the tower open) was a non-event but you do need a healthy climb to turn East over that same ridgeline.
Only other item to note: Look at the jet transitions depicted on the VFR chart. They really are there at those altitudes and they really will run you over.
We popped up for Flight Following on the East side of the ridgeline and the Center controller started calling out the jet traffic descending on that depicted route north of our route. There's just not a lot of ways into the LAS valley from right there so it's a bottleneck.
That's my story. Loved our LAS trip and want to do it again to go see Mike.
Last time I landed at VGT was around 1994 as a passenger in a Cessna 337. Even back then it was the older, dustier airport, but closer to the Strip.
Approach pointed us at the Stratosphere as soon as the pilot said he wasn't familiar with the area and the airport was easy to spot coming in from the northeast.
We proceeded to then have a landing gear problem that was the first of many in that ass-hat's airplane.
I learned how and why to say, "I will never get in that guy's airplane ever again.", on that trip.
But that's another story... let's just say VFR, snowstorm, Rockies, intermittent radios, near collision with a B-1B, and two separate gear failures with a planned single-engine landing and fire trucks at the end. And some of the worst aeronautical decision-making I've ever seen.
Study the chart. Be ready with the radio skills. Have a plan to avoid the big iron at LAS, and I think either HND or VGT are great. HND worked out better for me.
Both are a far cry from a crop duster paved strip a mile or two from civilization (a golf course and country club) with a locked quonset hut hangar and a buzzing pay phone I diverted to once in north-central Texas! Plenty of amenities!
Have fun in Vegas!
