Vacation "Flight Lessons"

Cajun_Flyer

Cajun_Flyer

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Cajun Flyer
Ok, so it's not a vacation, it's a work conference. I'm going to San Diego, CA for a week and plan to take one afternoon to have some fun. Hopefully, I'll have my PPC by then, but, even if so, I'd only feel comfortable going up with an instructor - especially now that I've looked at the sectional for that area...
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LAX to the north, mountains to the east, Mexico to the south and ocean to the west. And what in God's name is going on with the airspace breakup around San Diego anyway?!! Holy wow. :confused:

I'm looking to book a cross country "lesson" out of Montgomery airport (MYF) and curious if anyone here has any feedback about the school there (Learn to Fly San Diego), or any tips on best/coolest places to fly to. Right now, I'm thinking Catalina Island.
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Feel free to post your own stories about doing local flying while away on trips to unfamiliar areas. I'm curious to see how other people work out the logistics. Do you go through a flight school? Rent a plane (after a checkout) and brave unfamiliar area alone? Make contact with local pilots before arrival and go up with one of them?
 
Once you have your PPL, you will (should) have the skills to navigate and be able to fly in unfamiliar areas (might want to avoid class B's and some C's). Now that mess around South California looks confusing, so I would probably go up with somebody familiar with that area first.
 
"LAX to the north, mountains to the east, Mexico to the south and ocean to the west. And what in God's name is going on with the airspace breakup around San Diego anyway?!! Holy wow. :confused:" LMAO. Its actually pretty well thought out. Huge improvement over the old upside down wedding cake configuration. You can fly around and see a lot of cool sights without having to get B clearances although there is no reason to avoid calling Approach and ask for stuff. They are usually a very easy approach to work with. Go to http://www.plusoneflyers.org/ , click ABOUT and then Instructor members and start making contacts and tell them what you want to do. They are all independent instructors and you'll work out something with out having to join the club. I'd take you up for a split the costs ride if I was still there but left a week ago heading north. Keeping my fingers crossed the weather stays good for you. Have fun.
 
I think you'll *have* to go up with an instructor. I doubt a club will let you take a plane on your own, but I could be wrong. I think that's true regardless of where you vacation fly.

Catalina is on my list too. Again, most clubs require a checkout at that specific airport before one can go solo.

I look at it this way... the instructor not only helps with unfamiliar territory but is also a built-in tour guide.
 
I've gotten checked out various places to rent (notably Colorado, but I learned to fly there so they were willing to accept that I knew about high DA ops and how to stay out of the mountains). Frankly, unless you're there for an extended period, just grab an instructor for your flights.

Of course, I did get checked out and flew all over Australia but I was there for three weeks.
 
Learn how to transition Class B. It's a LOT easier that way. And make sure you read the floor altitudes, 'cause the B's are only huge if you ignore that. It's not hard to fly under them.

SoCal controllers are very helpful. Read the TACs and plan your trip ahead of time. Crossing LAX requires using one of five paths (four require clearance, one doesn't). It's really not hard if you can follow instructions. Crossing Miramar and San Diego is essentially just asking. SAN has a weird hole right through its B, right over midfield, useful for a "Bay Tour." LAX has a special flight rules area right over the airport surface.

Many SoCal outfits require a "Catalina checkout" before you go there. The airport has some unusual hazards. Not hard to deal with if you know about them. But a surprise is not good. It may be cheaper to just take an instructor with you. There are several other oceanside or near-oceanside airports in SoCal -- CRQ, OKB, SMO, OXR, even SBA.

LA airspace is much simpler up high. Use this to your advantage. You can easily overfly all the Class C and D airports.
 
Thanks for all the tips so far. Please keep them coming.

My biggest concern with Catalina is how far we'd be flying over water. Anyone have any best routes from San Diego area? I've flown over water with my CFI to places like Block Island and Martha's Vineyard, but this is quite a bit further. I'd love to fly up along the coast for a bit before cutting over.
 
You also asked for stories.

I rented a 180 HP 172 in Vancouver, WA once, during a family road trip, took a 40 minute checkout (rather necessary due to the weird local procedures there), proved I could land worth a damn and that I understood what to expect at a 7000 foot ridge (checked verbally), then took the wife and kid on a two hour trip around the southern Washington Cascades, including Mt. St. Helens. It was a "four peak day," meaning I could see four of the high Cascades peaks at once -- very good, but less than perfect. That was the best one.

The worst was just recently, renting a Cherokee 180 in Cairns, Australia. IMC between the target and the airport. Moderate turbulence at the destination airport (their TAFs include that). And I discovered that instructors in Australia are not required to be instrument rated, and mine wasn't, and neither was the aircraft appropriately equipped. So, no go. Would have been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
Thanks for all the tips so far. Please keep them coming.

My biggest concern with Catalina is how far we'd be flying over water. Anyone have any best routes from San Diego area? I've flown over water with my CFI to places like Block Island and Martha's Vineyard, but this is quite a bit further. I'd love to fly up along the coast for a bit before cutting over.
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If you cross over from San Pedro, it's only 25 miles. At 7000 feet, you can glide to one shore or the other at any time. But the shorelines are rather treacherous, so you may want a bit more altitude than that.
 
MAKG1 said:
If you cross over from San Pedro, it's only 25 miles. At 7000 feet, you can glide to one shore or the other at any time. But the shorelines are rather treacherous, so you may want a bit more altitude than that.
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Thank you!
 
AVX is a piece of cake. The distance over water is not that far and people make a bigger deal out of the approach and the hump in the runway than is necessary.
 
I've flown from SNA to Catalina Island. Same situation as you, on vacation.

It's an awesome airport. I concur with SkyDog, the distance over the water is not that far, however the approach is tricky and plays games with your eyes. Some rental outfits in SoCal prohibit flight there without a checkout.
 
@Cajun_Flyer - In your shoes, I might try to grow your edges on the radio and airspace work as long as you have a CFI with you. Maybe try the LAX Bravo transition, for example - a slight deviation from going directly to Catalina, but maybe worth it for the experience? If you do it, chair-fly the thing beforehand, check in with each controller while sitting at your desk watching the sectional, visualize your altitudes, and get the whole thing down mentally before flying it. Then with a CFI beside you, you'll work your growing edge while they help you stay safe.

As far as over-water goes, I'm more conservative than most - I like lots of altitude, plotting glide distance to know when the turnaround point is, and I wear a life jacket with a handheld marine band VHF.
 
I'm definitely doing it with an experienced instructor at my side. I think as long as I make my aiming point a bit further down the runway than I would typically to account for potential downdraft, it should be a landing like any other. I get that there are illusions due to the hump and people get psyched out about the cliffs, but I think as long as you're aware of those things and the way they could mess with your head, they should be non-issues.

I LOVE landings... I love the challenge of them and how no two are the same. Thinking nailing one at Catalina will be a great logbook entry! :) Plus, the restaurant there looks awesome.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
I'm definitely doing it with an experienced instructor at my side. I think as long as I make my aiming point a bit further down the runway than I would typically to account for potential downdraft, it should be a landing like any other. I get that there are illusions due to the hump and people get psyched out about the cliffs, but I think as long as you're aware of those things and the way they could mess with your head, they should be non-issues.

I LOVE landings... I love the challenge of them and how no two are the same. Thinking nailing one at Catalina will be a great logbook entry! :) Plus, the restaurant there looks awesome.
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So when are you going to be here? I'm a local-to-San Diego CFI with aircraft access. Let me know if I can help. I even know the way to Catalina. :cool: :)
 
So, Catalina is not looking promising. I made the plane reservation for Monday @ 9:00 am not knowing that it stays foggy and cloudy here until at least 11:00 every day and the school doesn't have any other availability this week. I reached out to htaylor, but if there are any other CFIs in the San Diego area willing to go up with me one afternoon this week, send me a pm! Otherwise, will just have to plan smarter next year.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
So, Catalina is not looking promising. I made the plane reservation for Monday @ 9:00 am not knowing that it stays foggy and cloudy here until at least 11:00 every day and the school doesn't have any other availability this week. I reached out to htaylor, but if there are any other CFIs in the San Diego area willing to go up with me one afternoon this week, send me a pm! Otherwise, will just have to plan smarter next year.
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Plusoneflyers.org. About. Instructor members. Start calling. Go to Gibbs aviation at MYF. There will be instructors hanging out. You should be able to come up with something. The weather your talking about is known as "June Gloom." It's a marine layer and usually burns off pretty quick. Even if it makes the Catalina flight a no go there is a lot of cool stuff to see from the air Inland and airports to fly to with stuff to see and eat.
 
Thanks for the tip. There's an airport more inland that I am considering as a backup... Would still be a fun flight. I really just want to log my first post-checkride PIC cross country while I'm here. Realized too that now that I'm past my checkride, it doesn't have to be a CFI I go up with.
 
You could head over to Borrego Springs or up to French Valley. Both are relatively short flights but I enjoyed both locations when I was living out in Torrance.
 
Banning pass is scenic and an interesting view of the geology of the west. The "Oasis" view of Palm Springs and the Wind Farms is impressive. Just flying around the whole area going from airport to airport shootin touch and go's can be fun and instructional.
 
I don't recommend Banning Pass in summer unless the winds are light. And Palm Springs is HOT AS HELL.

The usual trick to dodging marine layer is to move inland. It doesn't take much.

If you really want a cross country, go to LA. But a local San Diego bay tour would be more scenic.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
Thanks for the tip. There's an airport more inland that I am considering as a backup... Would still be a fun flight. I really just want to log my first post-checkride PIC cross country while I'm here. Realized too that now that I'm past my checkride, it doesn't have to be a CFI I go up with.
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Which one?
 
I'll pop back in later... presenting at my conference today.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
MAKG1 said:
I don't recommend Banning Pass in summer unless the winds are light. And Palm Springs is HOT AS HELL.

The usual trick to dodging marine layer is to move inland. It doesn't take much.

If you really want a cross country, go to LA. But a local San Diego bay tour would be more scenic.
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Yeah. There is a serious case of Hot down there. I'd recommend planning for earlier in the day flights. Banning pass can get bumpy when it gets breezy. Its kinda scenic though, flying between 2 11,000 foot mountains 18 miles apart. Up the road is Big Bear (L35) which will be a little cooler but Density Altitude will be an issue. It's another SoCal "ya gotta do it someday" like Catalina. Perris Valley (l65) is a fun place when the "Meat Bombs" (parachutists) are active but thats usually just weekends. There is a great restaurant/bar there with a swimming pool. You call ahead on the phone and let them know you're coming. If you decide to head up Northbound tell your CFI you want to do the Miramar transition if you want to see the jets on the ramp there. You might even see a flight of them doing the "break" underneath you. It's a left 270 off of 28 at MYF and then over NKX. The San Diego Bay tour is very scenic. No matter what else you come up with to do, ya gotta work that in if the weather allows.
 
Plusone is a great outfit. If you're still concerned about the airspace, Carlsbad is a little quieter. I started flying there after a move to Escondido and I really liked it, although you might have to do a couple of laps over the airport to get high enough to shoot the gap to the East if it's hot. If you want to run the coast, it's pretty easy from there.
 
I own a flight school up here in Orange County (KSNA) I'd gladly come down to meet you in SD and let you fly all over so cal with either myself of one of my great instructors. $100/hr airplane GPS Equipped PA-28 $30/hr instructor. Typically we charge $120 and $50 but I am all about helping out other POA/CF members and people who are visiting. If I fly with you personally depending on date, you will just pay the regular rate on the plane and pay me nothing. PM me or email me thru our site TRCAviationAcademy.com This goes for all the rest of you travelers this summer as well.

-Thomas
 
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mscard88 said:
Warning warning! Whoop whoop! Pull out, I mean up.... ;):D
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Not sure I understand? Is that post against forum policy or something? Im just trying to help people find a plane on vacation. I rent on EVERY trip I go on and it's a pain sometimes finding a plane.
 
Thomas R. said:
Not sure I understand? Is that post against forum policy or something? Im just trying to help people find a plane on vacation. I rent on EVERY trip I go on and it's a pain sometimes finding a plane.
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I think he was just poking fun at you for using the term "hooking up" when the OP is an attractive lady. I think it's great that you are willing to be both helpful and generous with your time.
 
Ahh I had no idea she was an "attractive lady" I'll go rephrase that now. I forget this is the Internet sometimes haha
 
SkyDog58 said:
I think he was just poking fun at you for using the term "hooking up" when the OP is an attractive lady. I think it's great that you are willing to be both helpful and generous with your time.
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I always "hook up" students at my flight school guys and gals. I'm known for popping in the office and putting $100 on account of whomever is there at the time. I ♡ sharing aviation and making it affordable. I need to come up with a better phrase.

Thomas
 
Thomas R. said:
Ahh I had no idea she was an "attractive lady" I'll go rephrase that now. I forget this is the Internet sometimes haha
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Well to be honest, the attractive part is optional for some of the guys on here. All she would really need is a pulse.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Well to be honest, the attractive part is optional for some of the guys on here. All she would really need is a pulse.
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Hey I resemble that! :eek:;)

But Cajun is an attractive and obviously bright woman.
That should get me a few points. :happydance:
 
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