Flying to California-

Hello Sina,

this is my first post on this message board, so I will try to make it a good one :D
Flying IFR in SoCal is pretty easy and straight forward. If you look into the A/FDs you will find the Tower Enroute Control (TEC) section at the end. This is something unique in Southern California and will give you an easy IFR clearance from VNY to SAN. No need to file in advance. Just tell the controller: "Request Tower Enroute to SAN via November xx routing". I love it...

Concerning San Diego: As others already suggested, I would rather fly into MYF. Gibbs provides very good services and you might get a parking sport for free. While at Gibbs you can walk across the street and say hi to Marv Golden. His store is always worth a visit.
If you still want to fly into SAN, be aware that you might get squezed in very tight. I flew there once in an old taildragger and had to circle for almost 20 minutes until they gave me a landing clearance just seconds behind a big jet...

Enjoy your time in SoCal and flying at sea level is pretty much the same flying that you do. The only difference will be the power that the 172 can all the sudden produce :D

Always happy landings,
Sandiegoflyr
 
Socal321 said:
Are you serious? If you want to deal with it, VFR can be more rewarding than IFR....
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Yes. Because at 250 hours, I was looking for all the time "in the system" that I could get. I'd had 220 hours (or whatever the difference is between 250 and the minimum for an IR ticket at a 141 school) of VFR flying at that point.

I'm sure this guy is in the same boat.
 
I like them more...
 

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TFaudree_ERAU said:
Yes. Because at 250 hours, I was looking for all the time "in the system" that I could get. I'd had 220 hours (or whatever the difference is between 250 and the minimum for an IR ticket at a 141 school) of VFR flying at that point.

I'm sure this guy is in the same boat.
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Sounds like he's sight seeing in socal. But I see your point on why you would rather fly IFR than VFR.
 
TXTBOOK said:
Expect to ask for 16R as they will almost certainly give you 16L if you're a 172. Van Nuys controllers are usually pretty chill, should be no problem as long as there is a lull in the congo line of jets on the ILS.
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We actually just went into VNY in a 152 and got 16R without asking.
Macguire Aviation North @ VNY was really cool with us, I think they even waved the ramp fee even though we couldn't get more then 30 gallons.

As far as the VFR corridor and IFR, no, you don't need to be IFR to do the corridor, there's a whole little section about it on the LAX sectional. We had left SBA VFR and tried to pick up IFR in the air to get through the basin, but LAX Approach were not being cooperative....so instead of wasting gas circling up around Pt. Mugu, we just shot it VFR down to Carslbad.
 
Just a word of caution...be careful flying to Catalina. I've done it quite a few times now and the runway is quite the adventure and can really take you by surprise if you're not prepared.

Regardless, have fun! Hopefully the day you come down here it won't be too hazy/smoggy. On a clear day with visibility >10, Southern California is a really beautiful place to fly. However, as it starts to get more towards summer, you'll see the vis drop down to 4 miles and lower due to the haze. Can't really see much in the air when that happens.

If you want to go out of your way a little bit, fly into CMA instead of VNY. They have a great cafe there with a wonderful tri-tip. :cool:
 
Persian_Pilot said:
Awesome,

Thanks guys.

I guess the over night fee is $12 with fuel purchase at land mark. I was expecting it to be a lot higher given the airport.
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Make sure you get the name of who ever is quoting you at Landmark in SAN.
I was quoted half their normal ramp fee ($25 normal) if I bought half their min fuel (20 gals min). When I had to pay, they charged me the full ramp fee unless I could tell them who quoted the fees.
 
ozziecat35 said:
We actually just went into VNY in a 152 and got 16R without asking.
Macguire Aviation North @ VNY was really cool with us, I think they even waved the ramp fee even though we couldn't get more then 30 gallons.

As far as the VFR corridor and IFR, no, you don't need to be IFR to do the corridor, there's a whole little section about it on the LAX sectional. We had left SBA VFR and tried to pick up IFR in the air to get through the basin, but LAX Approach were not being cooperative....so instead of wasting gas circling up around Pt. Mugu, we just shot it VFR down to Carslbad.
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Were you VFR? I was referring to VFR in my post as I'm not IR. 95% of the time I get 16L but then again I usually arrive from the east so it's closer.

If anyone is planning on VFR with Pt. Mugu App (I know, he wants IFR) be sure to plan on Pt. Mugu not accepting you for VFR radar services. They are only providing services to IFR traffic at this time.
 
Well, I just landed at Van Nuys and I'm chilling at PentaStar while waiting for my friend to come pick me up. It was a long but very interesting flight. As expected, it was fairly straight forward to North Las Vegas but that's where all the fun ended and the work began. :D

Vegas departure decided to give us a new clearance while we were over KLAS (I can live with that) and once handed to L.A center, they welcomed us with another clearance as well. :D It was a pretty bumpy ride from Vegas to Van Nuys which made me really tired toward the end. Socal approach cleared us for LYNXX8 arrival followed by ILS 16R. Yes we got 16R without asking but there wasn't any jets on the approach at that time.

One thing for anybody who's planning to fly to Van Nuys (small guys :D), avoid Signature at all cost. Once landed, I was so tired that I forgot the name of the FBO I wanted to go to (PentaStar, based on TLD's recommendation). So I asked ground and they directed us to Signature. They wanted to charge me 100$ over night fee :O :O even with fuel purchase.
I walked out, got on my Iphone and logged-in to JC :D then called ground again and asked to taxi to PentaStar (Cool FBO with super duper nice people, and pretty hot CSA girl :D :D).

Sorry for the long post but I figured I should write this, just in case if someone else is planning to fly to Van Nuys.

P.S love the performance of 172 down here :D

Pictures to come. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N2330R
 
Jshutt64 said:
Just a word of caution...be careful flying to Catalina. I've done it quite a few times now and the runway is quite the adventure and can really take you by surprise if you're not prepared.

If you want to go out of your way a little bit, fly into CMA instead of VNY. They have a great cafe there with a wonderful tri-tip. :cool:
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They charge $20 if your wheels touch the pavement.

I agree about CMA... the airport cafe is excellent! I recommend the open face turkey sandwich - in fact if my wife weren't sick today, I'd head down there with her on a date and get one right now for dinner.

Heading down to San Diego you should REALLY take the mini route - it's 2500' over LAX. It's kind of intimidating even for locals - especially their first time so here's what you do: when you depart VNY ask for freq switch to SMO tower - tell SMO tower that you are coming over the pass, (which is the 405 freeway through the hills - look for a circular white building in the middle, that's the 'Getty') your type aircraft, and you want clearance through the mini route, tell them your destination - they will call LAX tower and help coordinate. SMO will get you your squawk and give you a freq change. When you call LAX tower let them know that you are ~3 south of SMO - or wherever you are - for the mini route. Don't enter the B unless you get a clearance (although, there is NO radar coverage @ 2500' due to radar clutter) and fly over LAX @ 2500 feet. They only let one person in at a time, so you might have to do a couple of turns around the marina, no big deal, Venice beach is right below you, and it is mighty cool. When through, ask for a freq for SoCal and get flight following to San Diego... take the coast, watch out for the area around Camp Pendleton, and have fun.

Attached are some (older, from '05) pics to help convince you.
 

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ClearedForOption said:
They charge $20 if your wheels touch the pavement.

I agree about CMA... the airport cafe is excellent! I recommend the open face turkey sandwich - in fact if my wife weren't sick today, I'd head down there with her on a date and get one right now for dinner.

Heading down to San Diego you should REALLY take the mini route - it's 2500' over LAX. It's kind of intimidating even for locals - especially their first time so here's what you do: when you depart VNY ask for freq switch to SMO tower - tell SMO tower that you are coming over the pass, (which is the 405 freeway through the hills - look for a circular white building in the middle, that's the 'Getty') your type aircraft, and you want clearance through the mini route, tell them your destination - they will call LAX tower and help coordinate. SMO will get you your squawk and give you a freq change. When you call LAX tower let them know that you are ~3 south of SMO - or wherever you are - for the mini route. Don't enter the B unless you get a clearance (although, there is NO radar coverage @ 2500' due to radar clutter) and fly over LAX @ 2500 feet. They only let one person in at a time, so you might have to do a couple of turns around the marina, no big deal, Venice beach is right below you, and it is mighty cool. When through, ask for a freq for SoCal and get flight following to San Diego... take the coast, watch out for the area around Camp Pendleton, and have fun.

Attached are some (older, from '05) pics to help convince you.
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I'm not the OP, but thanks for the walkthrough... I've heard a lot about the mini route but never really knew how it worked (never looked on the terminal chart for it). I'm looking forward to taking my Dad on the mini route as he's convinced it's 100% illegal for any plane --commercial or not-- to fly on top of LAX.
 
TXTBOOK said:
I'm not the OP, but thanks for the walkthrough... I've heard a lot about the mini route but never really knew how it worked (never looked on the terminal chart for it). I'm looking forward to taking my Dad on the mini route as he's convinced it's 100% illegal for any plane --commercial or not-- to fly on top of LAX.
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It really is pretty cool, and one of the best views in aviation - especially if you time it during some of the big pushes, you'll be right on top as 74's and 76's are taking off and landing. (Late morning... around 11ish I think is a good one)

I used to make all of my students use it multiple times during training to 'upgrade' their communication skills. (In Santa Monica, you wold request the mini route on the ground and they would coordinate it for you...) Also, because they just got too good at the pattern in SMO so I'd take them to Hawthorne for 10 bounces. (Which is a blast too, as you can be on final with a Jumbo on your right landing at LAX, just stay inside of the 110) Or, sometimes to Torrance... flying on the south side is wierd if all of your training is done up north.

ATC makes it so easy... but most local pilots don't use it because they fear the communication. They prefer the 3500/4500 corridors... because they don't have to talk to ATC. The mini route is so much safer. (in fact we had a wings seminar at SMO once where the whole topic centered on flying the route because no one was)

Anyhoo... to expand on my post, just remember that HHR tower or SMO tower will coordinate your passage though the route. If they are closed, contact LAX tower on the frequency, be precise in your initial call, wait for the clearance in to the B, and sometimes they forget to switch you out (because the controller is working metering/ground/etc at LAX) so watch your altitude as you approach SMO and HHR's airspace. Or, just give them a courtesy call... 'Cessna Blah Blah Blah, frequency change to SMO?'
 
I'd stay away from North Vegas (VGT) of you are going in that way. Try to avoid the Vegas class B at all costs. Those guy up there are mostly jerks. Last time I was there, I departed VGT, and got six frequency changes before I finall told the last controler "you guys need to get your act together. This is the sixth freq. change for help in the last two minutes." He started to say something, but I was too pissed to deal with them anymore. I had to stay at '500 agl at the outer rim of the valley to stay out of class B untill we were clear. Go to either Henderson or Bullhead if you can. VGT is a dump, far from the strip, and the controlers there are always grumpy.

As for VNY, it's a very busy airport, so be ready to be on your radio game. So-Cal is also very busy. You can either skirt the mountain around the back side, or just deal with it. If there is a marine layer forcast during you time of arrival, then deffinatly file IFR. Otherwise, you won't be able to get help during any kind of "push" hours. They will simply be too busy. If you have any questions, PM me. I have grown up in So-Cals airspace. I'd be happy to give you any tips/tricks to get what you need from approach.

P.S. I have been out to Vegas a bunch too.
 
Persian_Pilot said:
Vegas departure decided to give us a new clearance while we were over KLAS (I can live with that) and once handed to L.A center, they welcomed us with another clearance as well. :D It was a pretty bumpy ride from Vegas to Van Nuys which made me really tired toward the end. Socal approach cleared us for LYNXX8 arrival followed by ILS 16R. Yes we got 16R without asking but there wasn't any jets on the approach at that time.
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Typical experince. I didn't read the entire post, but saw this. Vegas controlers are notoriously horrible. I hate going in there anymore because it seem they just don't know how to handle the traffic. It's no bussier than So-Cals airspace, yet they always eff stuff up.
 
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