Traffic Alerts in the Pattern

[inigo88]

Yeah plus Hemet-Ryan has a CDF tanker base, Lake Elsinore and Perris are both huge sky diving schools (Perris Valley even has a DC-9 that they let skydivers jump out through the rear airstair door), and Perris also has an ultralight runway. Elsinore ("Skylark") is also a glider school, and they have hang gliders flying off the mountain just to the west of the lake... and Hemet has or had glider ops on their shorter runway as well. That's not even counting the military guys flying into March (who probably never notice any of the above since they're cruising in at 300+ knots haha). fholbert could probably chime in since I think he flies out of Chino, maybe it's not so bad. I had just heard from more than one person that the whole area around Corona and east to March and Perris can be kind of a zoo. I'm planning on flying some cross countries up that direction and it definitely sounds like the place to keep one's head on a swivel.

 

[fholbert]

Yeah plus Hemet-Ryan has a CDF tanker base, Lake Elsinore and Perris are both huge sky diving schools (Perris Valley even has a DC-9 that they let skydivers jump out through the rear airstair door), and Perris also has an ultralight runway. Elsinore ("Skylark") is also a glider school, and they have hang gliders flying off the mountain just to the west of the lake... and Hemet has or had glider ops on their shorter runway as well. That's not even counting the military guys flying into March (who probably never notice any of the above since they're cruising in at 300+ knots haha). fholbert could probably chime in since I think he flies out of Chino, maybe it's not so bad. I had just heard from more than one person that the whole area around Corona and east to March and Perris can be kind of a zoo. I'm planning on flying some cross countries up that direction and it definitely sounds like the place to keep one's head on a swivel.

And I was based at Corona for 6 years before moving to Chino.

Zoo is how I describe it! Why?

• For a small uncontrolled airport Corona is very busy. Much of the traffic is transit stopping for the cheap fuel. Five aircraft in the pattern is not uncommon.
• Traffic into Riverside and Chino cut though the pattern talking to the respective towers. Not on CTAF
• A lot of traffic goes by down low to stay out of class C of both Ontario and March. They are not talking to anyone.
• Traffic watch and helicopter traffic following the 91 at pattern altitude OPPOSITE direction to the downwind traffic.
• Traffic from several airports fly the north/south pass following the 15 freeway and the east/west pass following the 91 freeway. Both routes impact the airport.
• The PDZ VOR is very busy with both IFR traffic and training traffic.
• Just east of the airport is the Lake Mathews training area.
• Nearby is two very busy jump zones.

Enroute to Hemet Ryan you're okay after passing Paris. Have you seen this video? http://160knots.com/Video/HemetRyan.wmv

 

[inigo88]

Have you seen this video? http://160knots.com/Video/HemetRyan.wmv

No, thank you very much! Great write up and the video is a great resource for navigating that area (I particularly appreciated your point that staying down low around the Perris and Elsinore drop zones gives one time to see and avoid parachute canopies rather than hard to see falling people). I checked out at CRQ last year but had to take a break from flying, and have been looking for short cross country ideas. Maybe CNO or PSP via Banning Pass and then stop at Hangar One Cafe on the return leg.

And with that I think I've successfully hijacked this poor man's thread.

 

[A150K]

Don't let ATC kill you. They are human and there have been midairs at towered airports, airplanes cleared to land on top of each other, etc. Even if ATC does not make a mistake airplanes may fly through the pattern. TCAS saved me at the old Panama City airport when a GA airplane did this- flew through the pattern without talking. My first warning was an RA- "Climb, climb". Came very close to having 66 pax and crew members strewn across the Florida landscape. I'm sure congress would not have gotten involved if that happened.

Too many people blindly follow ATC instructions and it frequently gets people killed. In fact, I think that recent Cirrus base to final spin crash was a result of a pilot accepting a clearance he was uncomfortable with.