AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014 - 35

|

AERIAL ADVENTURES

|

WHAT LOCAL
PILOTS KNOW:
VIEW THE

VIDEO

VIDEO EXTRA

This online video details
how to fly in the Bay Area.
First in a series.

Frequent fog and lowlying stratus clouds that
arrive with the marine layer
can put a damper on your
plans. "When you get good
weather, you go," said one
pilot based at nearby Palo
Alto Airport.
ATC generally
approves one of three
VFR transitions through
the Class Bravo-however
they aren't published on
terminal charts.

Majestic and congested
How to fly in the San Francisco Bay area
B Y J I L L W. TA L L M A N
THE ROCK. The Golden Gate
Bridge. Sports arenas. The
Presidio. All of these sights
and more are the highlights of
a relatively short flight within
the San Francisco Bay area.
CFI and glass cockpit expert
Max Trescott calls it "the most
beautiful flying of anywhere in
the country," and-while he may
hold a certain bias, because he's
based in the Bay area-it's hard
to argue with him.
But the ability to spy all
this natural and man-made
phenomena from our unique
perspective comes with a big

fat warning label. This is one
congested area. Actually, "congested" doesn't adequately
describe the Spirograph-like
chunks of Class B and Class C
that belong to San Francisco
International and Metropolitan
Oakland International, respectively. Their shelves loom
large over Hayward and San
Marcos airports in their Class
D airspace.
Air traffic controllers
expertly separate commercial and GA traffic and keep
things moving like a well-oiled
machine. GA pilots try to return

the favor by being crisp and
professional in their radio communications; understanding
where they are at all times; and
paying close attention for their
N-number amidst all the chatter. Nobody wants to strain that
relationship. Out-of-towners
are highly encouraged to take
a familiarization flight. San
Carlos Flight Center (www.sancarlosflight.com) offers them;
they're not sightseeing flights,
but meant to educate pilots on
local customs and procedures.
EMAIL jill.tallman@aopa.org

A crosswind departure
from San Carlos takes
you across the Belmont
Slough-a waterway
that borders the edge of
the San Carlos Class D
airspace-out over the
San Francisco Bay toward
Oakland Airport. You'll see
the San Mateo bridge, but
don't loiter here. Matthew
Herbert, a commercial
pilot who conducts numerous sightseeing flights for
San Carlos Flight Center,
says he adds a little power
to expedite this portion
of the flight. "Right there
between the shoreline and
the midpoint of the bridge,
all of the approaches
going into San Francisco
go right in on top of us," he
explains. "We're at 1,200
feet and they're coming in
not even a thousand feet
above us."
You may be instructed
to circle over Candlestick
Park to avoid wake turbulence from a Boeing 777
taking off from SFO.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE
Departing San Carlos Airport to
the northwest, you'll immediately
spy a cluster of futuristic-looking
office buildings that make up the
ORACLE CORP. COMPLEX.

Turning toward Oakland Airport,
look for the double pyramid shape
of Mount Diablo to the southeast.
Overflying the city of Oakland,
you'll see OAKLAND-ALAMEDA

COUNTY COLISEUM. Turn back to

the Bay to overfly Treasure Island,
a manmade landform that was
built to stage the 1939 World's
Fair. Its naval station's auxiliary air
station was designed for airships,
blimps, dirigibles, airplanes, and
seaplanes.
Nearby ALCATRAZ ISLAND
housed the infamous high-security

prison known as "The Rock" from
1934 to 1963. Now it's a national
historic landmark. During the
2013 government shutdown, the
National Park Service closed the
site-but aerial tours continued,
providing the only means to get a
good look at the island.
Overfly the GOLDEN GATE
BRIDGE, which turned 75 in

May 2012, and you may see a
seaplane several hundred feet
below you touring the same
landmark. Then head south to
spy the Presidio with its historic
Crissy airfield.
Follow Highway 101 south back
to San Carlos, and glimpse the
reservoirs and the SAN ANDREAS
FAULT en route.

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 35
http://www.sancarlosflight.com http://www.sancarlosflight.com http://www.aopa.org/pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014
