SFO Bravo VFR Transition Advice

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boydbischke

Filing Flight Plan
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Boyd
Hey all. I've read that there is a common North-South transition along 101 flying mid field of SFO.

However, I'm planning on flying to Half Moon Bay in a couple weeks and would need to transition from the East. I see there is about a 1.5 mile coordidor where I could fly under SFO and SJC. However, I'm betting that is pretty congested.

I'd like any advice from Bay Area veterans on this transition. Does SFO allow an East-West VFR transition, and if so where? Or am I better off flying under and around SFO?

Thanks much.
 
The backside of the TAC says it all.
 
Thanks for the response. I'm using Foreflight, so don't have a paper TAC. I did find a Flyway planning chart that just says how to go around and under. For some airports Foreflight has a TAC supplement, but not SFO.

Anyway, I'll just plan on going under the air space unless somebody else tells me otherwise.

Thanks.
 
There is no official transition although norcal and sfo tower will often authorize SFO transitions if you stay west of the 101. Usually easier just to go under. To get to Hmb I either go north around the golden gate Bridge and then down the coast, or south through the Bay as low as 1400 ft. You'll need to be talking to Norcal anyways since you'll be flying through class C most likely, so if you just tell them where you're going they'll give you instructions and you won't have to worry about it. Or file IFR.
 
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its MUCH easier to transition from the north, rather than trying to dodge. Call NorCal and ask for it. As long as you stay across 101 at or below 3500 and there isn't too much VFR traffic, they'll let you through.

From the south or east, you'll have to fly under. If you're good with nasty airspace, you can transition Oakland and San Carlos (exactly at 1400), but it's a lot easier to cross San Jose to OSI VOR and fly up the coast.

But you'll probably need an instrument clearance anyway because that airport is almost constantly under marine layer this time of year. All three IAPs start inside Class B.
 
boydbischke said:
I see there is about a 1.5 mile coordidor where I could fly under SFO and SJC. However, I'm betting that is pretty congested.
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If you're talking about the gap between the 2500 foot shelf of the class B and the SJC class C, I don't think there's any congestion there at all. I think most people who want to cross there just ask Palo Alto Tower for a transition. However, tower frequencies around here get very congested on weekends, so if that's when you're planning to do it, you might be better off flying through the class C. Your initial call to Norcal Approach would probably be on 125.35. Just tell them you're VFR to Half Moon Bay, stay out of the class B unless cleared, and if they give you any routing instructions, follow them.
 
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boydbischke said:
For some airports Foreflight has a TAC supplement, but not SFO.
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I'm not sure what you are seeing on Foreflight. I downloaded CA out of curiosity, and there most certainly is a TAC built in for the SFO area. If you are zoomed out sufficiently you can see the white border around the area. Zoom in and it brings up the detail of the TAC. Unless I don't know how to use Foreflight? :dunno:

But, regarding transitions, the Flyway is better anyways.
 
The FLY-chart on the back of the TAC can be selected in skyvector.com and gives a selection of recommended VFR routings.
Crossing the bay below Bravo is not difficult. Either get a transition from PAO or SQL or you can sneek between them if you're sure of your navigation. Then climb over the skyline ridge and drop into HAF.

You could also go below Bravo through the Golden Gate and down the coast. Norcal will help you until you turn down the coast.

As others have said, keep an eye on the coastal weather especially during the morning.
 
Yup that's the easiest route straight across the south bay from Coyote Hills to the point where the Dumbarton Bridge meets 101. The summer coastal weather isn't really a problem, it's not really "weather" in the strict sense, it's a mostly stationary marine layer that is either there or it isn't. It's not something that's going to sneak up on you and get you in trouble, no high winds, turbulence or icing or anything like that. The worst it could do is maybe move in late afternoon or early evening and trap you if you weren't paying attention while in town.
 
Silvaire said:
Yup that's the easiest route straight across the south bay from Coyote Hills to the point where the Dumbarton Bridge meets 101. The summer coastal weather isn't really a problem, it's not really "weather" in the strict sense, it's a mostly stationary marine layer that is either there or it isn't. It's not something that's going to sneak up on you and get you in trouble, no high winds, turbulence or icing or anything like that. The worst it could do is maybe move in late afternoon or early evening and trap you if you weren't paying attention while in town.
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I thought he was talking about above the Palo Alto class D. I think the heavy concentration of traffic is lower than that.
 
One "gotcha" with HAF AWOS -- it seems to routinely underreport visibility.

If there are no clouds reported, but 4 miles vis, go. It's probably 10 times that…

If there are clouds, that's a problem. They can get very low.

Silvaire, regular nasty winds are not common there, but there are occasional issues with the surrounding terrain. I've caught a strong rolling moment on upwind at 400 feet that I could have sworn was a wake turbulence encounter, except there was no traffic for miles. Much more common is a land breeze at pattern altitude and sea breeze at the surface, but that's generally pretty smooth.
 
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