The Bay Tour

kath

kath

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Katherine
Hi folks!

Another beautiful day in California! And fathers day to boot... I took my dad for a "Bay Tour" out of Hayward Airport. Wow!

Started out with a usual instructor checkout, which was kind of half-a-Bay-Tour, getting a transition through Oakland's Class C, over the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza, over Alcatraz, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then doing airwork and coming back via Mt. Diablo. NorCal Appch was talking to a lot of Bay Tourists today. That is some flight. If you like the Hudson River Corridor, then you'll LOVE the Bay Tour. Urban wonderment! I'll post pictures if they get downloaded... San Francisco is the most beautiful skyline in the world (well, I grew up there, so I'm not biased in the slightest! :D).

My instructor was satisfied with my flying and my baby-soft landings, even to the point of accusing me of "showing off." So I bought a TAC and we took off again but this time just my dad and I. Followed the same route around the Bay Bridge & Golden Gate, only continued toward Half Moon Bay (a traditional chowder lunch stop). The bay microclimate had its own ideas, however... Half Moon Bay was fogged in, so we turned around and headed north up the coast to Pt Reyes. I let my dad take the wheel for a while (he's always been a bit of an aviation nut and plays a lot of MSFS), and we flew to Petaluma and had lunch there at a cafe called the "Two-Niner Diner". My landings were horrible. I blamed it on the fact that it was a little windy.

A few people had recommended California Airways, and sure enough, they were great. Very nice aircraft (a bunch of new 172SP's, a couple of Grummans, a Diamond... some G1000 stuff for the more ambitious... good variety), very reasonable prices, and nice people. They waived the monthly fee for me because I was going to be in town for so short a time and only able to fly with them basically once.

--Kath
 
So happy it went well Kath. Betcha you and your dad remember that for a long time.

Best,

Dave
 
Sounds like a great Father's Day gift! :yes:
 
Kath,

Awesome! What an excellent way to spend Father's Day! :goofy:

Hmmm... I've had a great aviation adventure every month this year, and the next one is already scheduled for July. August will probably produce one or even two... Maybe I'll have to go to CA in September. :yes:
 
Awesome. I had the job of flying myself and the father-in-law up to meet the women folk in Sonoma on Saturday. We left Monterey and snuck through the coastal hills then, the bayshore transition through Bravo... Both good days for flying.
 
The Bay Tour, Part II....

After the flight yesterday, I talked to my aunt who also lives here in Berkeley. The conversation went something like this:
"Oh, Jack (her father, my grandfather) used to own one third of a plane after the war... I wanted to go for a ride in it, but they wouldn't let me. They said I'd fall out."
"Fall out??"
"Well, it was open-cockpit, and I was just a little kid at the time."
"Wow! Well, if you still want to go, you can go up with me sometime."
"Oh, I'd love to!"
"Well... what are you doing tomorrow?..."

So today I took the Bay Tour again, with a different passenger, my aunt (the daughter of a pilot, but who had never flown in a small plane before). This time, Half Moon Bay was clear, so after cruising over the Golden Gate Bridge we landed there and ate at the 3-Zero Cafe before heading back to Hayward. She loved it. She got a big kick out of putting such absolute trust in the skills of a person whom she had once "bounced on her knee". Taking family up is the BEST.

--Kath
 
alaskaflyer said:
Hey, show those Californians how its done in Alaska :D
Click to expand...

Hehehe... yeah, skimming over the waters of the Bay at 1300 feet to avoid Bravo airspace didn't seem that bad. It woulda scared me to death a year ago... But I bet that water is even warm. :) :)

--Kath
 
kath said:
"Oh, I'd love to!"
"Well... what are you doing tomorrow?..."
Click to expand...

Aren't those moments so excellent? They're banged up against the impossible dream and you say "well let's go." :goofy:
 
Reminds me of when I took my father up, shortly before his passing. He was in the copilot's seat, and one of my aunts was in back. They loved being able to see things like cranberry bogs from a whole new perspective. It was a great experience, and he talked about it for the few months he had remaining. I'm glad he was feeling well enough to go up with me. It's a memory I cherish.
 
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