By Eric McCarthy There we were, climbing out of Paso Robles (KPRB) in my friend’s Cessna 172, joining our course line to the Fellows VOR (FLW). We had completed our photo mission in the Central Valley, refueled the plane at Los Banos (KLSN) and ourselves at Paso, and now it was time to head home. We contacted Oakland Center to request VFR Flight Following for the 233nm, two-hour flight back to Palomar (KCRQ).Our course would take us over the mountain range just north of Santa Barbara on Victor 485, to OHIGH intersection where we turn east to enter the LA basin. On a calm, clear day, you can get over the coastal range safely at about 7,500’ although I usually prefer to carry extra altitude and make the crossing at 9,500’, both to escape the orographic turbulence and to provide greater glide range in case anything goes awry–those mountains are pretty rugged and unforgiving.Passing Fellows it became clear that 9,500’ was not going to be enough to get over the cloud layer that had developed along the coast and the mountains ahead. They began as widely scattered fair-weather cotton balls and progressed to thick cumulous billows as we got closer to the mountains. Ok, up we go! Rich broke out the oxygen cannulas as we climbed through 10,000’.There was plenty of space between the clouds, and we could see that it was clear beneath them, but they kept rising as we approached the mountains. Our next “hemispherically-correct” altitude of 11,500’ came and went as we continued our climb to clear the cloud tops. Hmm–hope we can make it to 13,500’… It took some time, but we did indeed get to 13,500’; unfortunately, the clouds kept up their climb as well, so we continued ours as well–slowly! Weaving around the larger buildups, we eventually reached 14,000’ (actually 14,200’, but I didn’t get a picture of that…), whereupon LA Center suggested that we descend to 13,500’ to be at an appropriate altitude for our direction of flight. We explained that we had climbed to maintain VFR, and we would descend when able. That’s when he asked it:LA Center:
“99700, LA Center: are you guys pressurized or on oxygen?”Pressurized? In a 172? I don’t think so…Me:
“No sir – we’re not pressurized, but we are on oxygen!”
As we cleared the mountains south of Ojai, LA Center handed us off to Point Magu Approach. The cloud tops began to lower, and I thought about descending to 13,500’ and staying there to clear the LAX Class Bravo airspace, but we spotted a large break in the clouds and decided to descend through it, rather than risk getting stuck on top further down the coast. We informed Point Magu of our decision to descend and received the usual
“VFR descent at pilot’s discretion.Down we went, shedding almost 7,000’ in two gentle circling turns, dropping from just more than 14,000’ to 7,500’ where we were able to slip beneath the clouds and continue to Filmore VOR (FIM).
Los Angeles Special Flight Rules AreaSpoiler alert: I didn’t like it!The plan was to fly to CHATY intersection and fly through the Class Bravo at 5,500’ on the Coastal Route, but you know what they say about “best laid plans…” The clouds squeezed down on us, so we decided to fly through the Special Flight Rules Area (SRFA) at 3,500’. In hindsight, we probably could have made it through at 5,500’, but that wasn’t clear to us as we approached the area.Centered over Los Angeles International (KLAX), the SFRA is defined by the shoreline on the west, Manchester Boulevard to the north, the 405 freeway to the east, and the Imperial Highway to the south. The southbound route begins at the Santa Monica VOR (SMO) and proceeds southeast on the 132
° radial across LAX. It is recommended that you make position calls on 128.55 to let your fellow travelers know where you are.Class Bravo airspace begins at the surface at LAX, but not far north or south of the runways it lifts to 5,000’; you’re only in Class Bravo airspace for a couple of miles when you transition through the SFRA. Interestingly, you do not need an ATC clearance to operate in the SFRA; in fact, controllers will tell you:
“Radar service terminated; squawk 1201” – note the ‘…01’; apparently they continue to monitor your progress, but they will not call out traffic to you. And I can see why: it’s a bit of a circus in there! It wasn’t a particularly busy day when we were there, but there were still several other aircraft traversing this narrow airspace with us. And I do mean “with us!” It’s a bit disconcerting when you hear someone announce his or her location––and it’s your location!
“Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area, Red and white Cessna, 3,500’ over LAX 24 Right, Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area”Wait! That’s where we are! Do you see him? Where is he? Wait–I think that’s him half mile ahead, over 25 Right!
“Orange and White Skyhawk, rock your wings–I think I’ve got you about a half mile ahead of me…”We rocked aggressively–whatever it takes to be seen and avoided!
“Ok, orange and white Skyhawk, I’ve got you in sight. We’re going to pass off your right wing as we descend into Torrance. That other guy’s about mile ahead of you at your 2:00.”What other guy? Ok, I’ve got him. Didn’t even know he was here…“
Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area, Blue and white Bonanza, southeast bound at 3,500’, Ballona Creek, Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area”Crap! He’s gonna run us over! Hope he sees us! All our lights are on, right? (That’s one of the few requirements to operate in the SFRA; that, a Mode C transponder, and a current LA TAC.)
“Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area, Saratoga 7 X-ray November, northbound over Imperial Highway, Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area”’ Hope he’s at 4,500’ where he belongs! Oh wait, I’ve got him! 12:00 high and a mile–uh, wait–that’s a twin! Where’s that Saratoga? Whoa! There goes that Bonanza!And so it goes… there’s a lot of chatter on the frequency as both north- and southbound traffic report their positions in a desperate attempt to avoid meeting a fellow flyer up close and personal! I was very happy to get out of there and back in touch with SoCal Approach–it’s just too hectic, and it can be very difficult to pick out traffic against either the densely populated cities below or the solar glare of the setting sun over the Pacific. As long as the weather cooperates, I’d much rather go through one of the approved VFR routes through the Class Bravo with the controllers calling out traffic to me. It really makes you appreciate the services provided by ATC controllers!
Another confession…Years ago, shortly after receiving my Private Pilot Certificate, I took a couple of friends up for a sightseeing trip. At the time, I was flying out of Norwood Airport (KOWD), about 15 miles south of Boston. One of my passengers went to school up on the North Shore and had rented an old mansion on the water– literally––as I recall, the ocean waves crashed against the foundation! He shared the ‘Manchester Men’s Club’ with five or six other students, each contributing about $100 per month–such a deal! Anyway, we decided to see what the North Shore coastline looked like from the air (it’s spectacular!). To get there, we had to go around the Boston TCA (Terminal Control Area, now Class B) airspace.The Boston TCA/Class B airspace is one of the classic “upside-down wedding cakes,” circular in design with ‘shelves’ that start at higher altitudes as you progress further from Logan Airport (KBOS). For the most part, the circular boundaries follow easy-to-identify landmarks, such as the circumferential highways, 128 and 495, that encircle Boston. This makes it pretty easy to navigate, and that’s how we got up to the Gloucester area, north of Boston. As I mentioned, it’s a beautiful coastline–very different from the west coast’s, but beautiful in its own way. We found his mansion and college and decided to head back. To mix it up a bit, I decided to climb over the TCA and provide my friends with a view of Boston they’d never forget!It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set as we came over Boston. Norwood is located under the outer shelf of the TCA, so this meant we had to extend our flight south before we could descend. The further south we went, the darker it got. By the time we reached a point where I had calculated that we had cleared the TCA (we didn’t have GPSs or any other kind of moving map back in the ‘80s…), it was dark. I made a sweeping right turn, letting the altimeter unwind to get us down to get under the TCA. When I rolled out at 2,500’, I suddenly realized… I didn’t know where I was! Yikes! Nothing looked familiar–it was dark, so it was definitely more difficult to identify landmarks, but nothing I was expecting to see was there!Blue Hills–a semi-prominent 600’ hill on the approach course to Logan and just three miles from Norwood airport wasn’t where it was supposed to be! The Needham Towers, a cluster of 1,200’ radio and television towers seven miles north of Norwood, were nowhere to be seen! Wait–is that them over there? No, it couldn’t be; if that was them to the west, then I’d have to be near Boston–that can’t be right… that’s not the Charles River below me–is it? Sure is dark…Then I spotted the green and white flashes of an airport beacon–I didn’t know where I was or whom I should be talking to, but if I overflew the airport, maybe I’d recognize it… As I flew toward the beacon, I realized that there was no tower––whew! I keyed the mic seven times and was rewarded with lights illuminating what appeared to be a nice long runway. There was no other traffic, and the windsock was limp, so I entered a downwind for the southwesterly runway. I made a nice, smooth landing, cleared the runway, and started to look for something that would tell me where I was… I think it was a sign for the FBO, or maybe it was the 20-foot tall airport name painted on the taxiway–whatever it was, it was now clear to me that we had landed at Fall River Airport (KFLR)! (Sadly, it is now an industrial park…)My friend in the backseat was horrified that I had gotten lost and immediately unbuckled his seat belt and requested, rather forcefully, that I let him out!
“I’ll walk home! I’ll hitchhike! Just let me out!” he yelled.
“Buckle up–we’re taking off!” I told him.He quickly strapped in and snugged his belt. He wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t about to leave him in Fall River to find his way home; I quickly taxied to the runway and took off.As soon as we got to about 1,000’ I could see the beacon at Norwood barely 30 miles distant. We were back on the ground about 20 uneventful minutes later. My friend was mad at me, but he got over it–I think!I’m not sure how I managed to get so disoriented on that trip. Perhaps as we descended I picked up more groundspeed than I had anticipated, moving me further south than I had planned. Or my descent took longer than I thought it would and covered more ground than I expected. Or maybe it was because I was “entertaining” my friends and just got distracted from the task at hand. Probably it was a combination of all of the above. Lesson learned: as PIC we need to remain focused–fly the plane and maintain situational awareness at all times! It’s a lot easier today with our GPSs, iPads, and moving maps.Until next month – fly safe!
