Georgi
Member
Although it was not in a gyro, but a few of our Forum guys fly in this ( not very simple) area and the pilot demonstrates very professional attitude.
Flying in South California .
- Thread starter Georgi
- Start date
PeterFromLA
Active Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2019
- Messages
- 296
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Aircraft
- American Ranger AR-1, Kallithea
- Total Flight Time
- 1,100+
Flying a gyro in this area is so much less stressful... Come see me at Whiteman airport and let's go for flight over the area...
okikuma
Member
This young aviator Josh, his perception and experience are two generations apart from mine at the same age.
Born and raised in Southern California, I learned to fly within the Southern California airspace system. The level of air traffic and airport operations were vastly greater than today.
For this discussion. there are four types of aviation operations. Military, Business (Jet / Turboprop Part 135), General Aviation - GA (Part 91 recreation), Rotorcraft / Helicopter (Police, EMS, Part 135 & 91).
During the 1970s to the mid 1980s (the peak years), the number of takeoffs and landings per year at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) averaged a little over 600,000. Today it is around 250,000 takeoffs and landings a year. During the peak, KVNY was a joint military-civil airport. Today, all civil. During the peak, there were about 12 aircraft rental / flight school operators on the airfield, each with twenty or more GA rental aircraft within their fleets. Three of the biggest flight schools had 40 or more GA rental aircraft. Around 2,000 privately owned GA aircraft were based on the arifield. Today there are around five flight schools with about 10 rental aircraft per fleet and less than 500 privately owned GA aircraft based on the airfield.
KVNY is unique whereas the operations of the two parallel runways are as thus: The 8,000 ft 16R / 34L runway is exclusively used for arrivals and departures. The 4,000 foot 16L / 34R runway is used for "touch n go" pattern work for students. During the peak years on the weekends it was very common to have 15 - 20 student pilots in the pattern of 16L / 34R performing "touch n goes." Runway 16R / 34L was "divided" into the first 4,000 ft portion for landings, and the second 4,000 ft for takeoffs. It was very common to have an aircraft land "on the numbers" while another aircraft was simultaneously taking off mid field, 4,000 feet further down the same runway. Today, the regulations prohibit is type of operation. So arrivals for 16R / 34L used 119.3 MHz, departures used 119.0 MHz, and 16L / 34R used 120.2 MHz for pattern work. Just to add, 119.0 MHz is primarily used for all helicopter arrivals and departures.
As for all of Southern California airspace, during the peak years of 1970s - mid 1980s, all of GA and Military aviation operations was two and a half times greater in numbers than it is today. This is because there were more GA and Military airfields then than today. Those of us who grew up and flew in the SoCal airspace during those peak years, that level of traffic was quite normal for us. We never thought is was crowded or stressful. One has to recongnise we all flew in this airspace without GPS, without ForeFlight, without ADS-B in and out, without glass cockpits. We all pre-planned our flights on the ground, we all flew looking out the windows with "see and be seen" always on our minds, and used flight following from ATC if not on an IFR flight plan. We always maintained situational awareness from the time we left our front door of our houses all the way to out destinations and back to our front doors.
In many ways, I am certinaly appreciative in learning to fly in SoCal during the peak years. The experience gave me the confidence to fly into many other congested airspace locations all over the world without apprehension and with great respect.
There are a few comments I certainly need to make after viewing the video. Josh's admission in his "bad decision" in flying over "inhospitable terrain" while flying direct to Santa Maria Airport (KSMX - Vance Breeze's home airport) from KVNY. Josh has demonstrated his generation's lack of situational awareness before leaving the ground. If he actively performed proper preflight planning on the ground (and created proper situational awareness within his brain), he would have chosen the longer coastal route for his flight. The perpetual belief and lifestyle that all the electronic equipment in the cockpit will make all the proper decision for a safe flight and there is no need to actively pre-plan a flight on the ground is not professinalism. The next is how he spends large blocks of time with his head in the cockpit looking at all the pretty pictures and discussing all the features his equipment has during the flight. Majority of GA mid-air collisions happen during "Severe VFR." In other words, during such high visibility flights with greater than 50 miles visability as seen in the video.
Wayne
Born and raised in Southern California, I learned to fly within the Southern California airspace system. The level of air traffic and airport operations were vastly greater than today.
For this discussion. there are four types of aviation operations. Military, Business (Jet / Turboprop Part 135), General Aviation - GA (Part 91 recreation), Rotorcraft / Helicopter (Police, EMS, Part 135 & 91).
During the 1970s to the mid 1980s (the peak years), the number of takeoffs and landings per year at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) averaged a little over 600,000. Today it is around 250,000 takeoffs and landings a year. During the peak, KVNY was a joint military-civil airport. Today, all civil. During the peak, there were about 12 aircraft rental / flight school operators on the airfield, each with twenty or more GA rental aircraft within their fleets. Three of the biggest flight schools had 40 or more GA rental aircraft. Around 2,000 privately owned GA aircraft were based on the arifield. Today there are around five flight schools with about 10 rental aircraft per fleet and less than 500 privately owned GA aircraft based on the airfield.
KVNY is unique whereas the operations of the two parallel runways are as thus: The 8,000 ft 16R / 34L runway is exclusively used for arrivals and departures. The 4,000 foot 16L / 34R runway is used for "touch n go" pattern work for students. During the peak years on the weekends it was very common to have 15 - 20 student pilots in the pattern of 16L / 34R performing "touch n goes." Runway 16R / 34L was "divided" into the first 4,000 ft portion for landings, and the second 4,000 ft for takeoffs. It was very common to have an aircraft land "on the numbers" while another aircraft was simultaneously taking off mid field, 4,000 feet further down the same runway. Today, the regulations prohibit is type of operation. So arrivals for 16R / 34L used 119.3 MHz, departures used 119.0 MHz, and 16L / 34R used 120.2 MHz for pattern work. Just to add, 119.0 MHz is primarily used for all helicopter arrivals and departures.
As for all of Southern California airspace, during the peak years of 1970s - mid 1980s, all of GA and Military aviation operations was two and a half times greater in numbers than it is today. This is because there were more GA and Military airfields then than today. Those of us who grew up and flew in the SoCal airspace during those peak years, that level of traffic was quite normal for us. We never thought is was crowded or stressful. One has to recongnise we all flew in this airspace without GPS, without ForeFlight, without ADS-B in and out, without glass cockpits. We all pre-planned our flights on the ground, we all flew looking out the windows with "see and be seen" always on our minds, and used flight following from ATC if not on an IFR flight plan. We always maintained situational awareness from the time we left our front door of our houses all the way to out destinations and back to our front doors.
In many ways, I am certinaly appreciative in learning to fly in SoCal during the peak years. The experience gave me the confidence to fly into many other congested airspace locations all over the world without apprehension and with great respect.
There are a few comments I certainly need to make after viewing the video. Josh's admission in his "bad decision" in flying over "inhospitable terrain" while flying direct to Santa Maria Airport (KSMX - Vance Breeze's home airport) from KVNY. Josh has demonstrated his generation's lack of situational awareness before leaving the ground. If he actively performed proper preflight planning on the ground (and created proper situational awareness within his brain), he would have chosen the longer coastal route for his flight. The perpetual belief and lifestyle that all the electronic equipment in the cockpit will make all the proper decision for a safe flight and there is no need to actively pre-plan a flight on the ground is not professinalism. The next is how he spends large blocks of time with his head in the cockpit looking at all the pretty pictures and discussing all the features his equipment has during the flight. Majority of GA mid-air collisions happen during "Severe VFR." In other words, during such high visibility flights with greater than 50 miles visability as seen in the video.
Wayne
Last edited:
PeterFromLA
Active Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2019
- Messages
- 296
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Aircraft
- American Ranger AR-1, Kallithea
- Total Flight Time
- 1,100+
My first solo was from KVNY to KSMX... took the coastal route, stopped at KSBA... still love that route, done it few times in the gyro as well.
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