Flying in the LA Area

It is intimidating. This airspace is easily the busiest I have flown in. Even the NYC area did not seem as tight or daunting. There are airspaces overlapping each other. There is local knowledge of flight areas that requires research. Even "free" areas for flight training require constant radio work and your head on a swivel. VFR flight is a constant process of watching airspaces, changing radios, checking airport information and oh yeah, looking outside for other traffic. But as a pilot it was a welcome challenge.

My base was Brackett Field. The staff there was very accommodating and had me set up the trailer near a fire fighting helicopter staging area. The pattern would put me right over our coach in the campground. It also happened to be right across the street from the Pomona Raceway. For those who know, this is the holy ground for the sport of Drag Racing. When I was much younger I followed drag racing quite a bit. I took the bicycle over to see it. The security team were not amused.

While we were disconnecting the trailer from the coach on the first day, we were spotted by a local pilot, Scott, who is interested in Kitfox aircraft. He dropped by to say hello and when I mentioned my muffler was broken he offered to have his company fix it. It came back better than new. He also joined me as a co-pilot to show me some of the local ropes. Big thanks to Scott for his hospitality.

My flights in the area took me to Cable, a local privately owned airport for fuel multiple times. From Brackett you can almost throw a rock and hit Cable. It is just out of the Brackett traffic pattern. While I had time I got my night currency knocked out. LA at night is quite the treat.

I also flew up to Big Bear in the mountains. This was the highest field the Kitfox had flown to. It handled things easily showing very little effect of the 7K ft. altitude. I went back again with Karen for lunch at the airport restaurant. Things got a little sporty as we were there mid day and the winds had picked up. But it was a great view and trip.

The Kitfox also went to Santa Paula airport on advice from some local pilots. It is a really busy general aviation airport full of small planes, many of them tailwheel equipped. The trip took me over the North side of LA providing some interesting views.