People helping me to have fun flying.

[Vance Breese]

I am flying into Los Alamitos Army Airfield (SLI) this weekend and my flight path will take me very close to Fullerton’s (FUL) oddly shaped class D airspace. I will be using landmarks and a Los Angles TAC as my primary navigation. Being unfamiliar with the local procedures I called the tower about the protocol. Greg was very helpful, checked to see if I understood the airspace and the nature of landing at a military base. He said he will be on duty when I come by and will give me a frequency change approved as soon as possible so I can contact SLI ATC.
J.D. Brown (CWO retired) at SLI was very helpful in arranging my landing authorization.
I love it that so many munificent people help me have pleasure flying and are concerned for my safety.

 

[river_rat]

I am flying into Los Alamitos Army Airfield (SLI) this weekend and my flight path will take me very close to Fullerton’s (FUL) oddly shaped class D airspace. I will be using landmarks and a Los Angles TAC as my primary navigation. Being unfamiliar with the local procedures I called the tower about the protocol. Greg was very helpful, checked to see if I understood the airspace and the nature of landing at a military base. He said he will be on duty when I come by and will give me a frequency change approved as soon as possible so I can contact SLI ATC.
J.D. Brown (CWO retired) at SLI was very helpful in arranging my landing authorization.
I love it that so many munificent people help me have pleasure flying and are concerned for my safety.

The SLI VOR is on the field that makes it easier to find. It's big and not too hard to spot. Use flight following and/or stay above 2500 ft and you don't have to worry about FUL. Also LGB is nearby and also easy to spot so don't get them confused.

 

[Vance Breese]

Thank you for the help. That is part of what I love about aviation, people I have never met want to help.
I am flying from Santa Maria and will fly through the Newhall pass and then following the edge of the LA basin east until turning to a magnetic heading of 155 degrees from the intersection of the 210 and the 118 just past Bob Hope at 2,000 feet MSL. If I climbed to 2,500 feet I would enter LAX class B airspace and fly right across the approach corridor. I am flying an experimental gyroplane so I am more comfortable low and slow.
I try to stay out of heavily traveled airways because I am usually wandering along at around 85kts and have poor rearward visibility.
I can land with zero landing roll and have less than a five to one glide ratio so I fly from landing zone to landing zone rather than direct.
I have a Garmin 696 as a backup in case I become disoriented. I prefer navigating with charts and landmarks.
I do not have radio navigation.

 

[frfly172]

Good write up,however I would prefer to use the 696. People are always ready to help,if you simply ask.

 

[river_rat]

Sounds like a good plan. You might want to consider following the 210 to the 605. You can follow the 605 all the way down to KSLI. It can be hard to pick out landmarks in the LA basin expecially at low altitude.

 

[Vance Breese]

Sounds like a good plan. You might want to consider following the 210 to the 605. You can follow the 605 all the way down to KSLI. It can be hard to pick out landmarks in the LA basin expecially at low altitude.

Thank you Ron, I am not comfortable using the 696 as my primary navigation.
Using the chart over an unfamiliar area is akin to reading a mystery novel for me and I love finding the clues.
I have yet to find joy in the Garmin.
I never did find the sunken ship flying from Hayward to San Carlos and the bay did not resemble my Terminal area chart so sometimes I have to fall back on the Garmin. It is just less rewarding for me.

Thank you Greg; I looked at following the 210 to the 605 and cutting through El Monte's airspace. They have been very nice about it in the past.
I need to manage my 155 degree magnetic heading well from the intersection down.
I don’t know how easy it will be to see the Garvey reservoir off to my left and the tanks off to my right.
The intersection of the 5 and 605 should be easy to identify and then I will be running parallel to the 605 off to my right.
I feel like I don’t need to be too precise other than altitude until past that intersection. I am approaching the 5/605 intersection as a V so if I am a little off in either direction it is not so important.
I will probably call Long Beach too as I will be very close.
I on the return I will fly a little further east through El Monte’s air space to the 210; I might try your 605 follow as that would be easy to report to El Monte ATC.
Thank you for the advice Greg.