Houston tour

I know it is hard to believe, but some people just want to ride in a plane and don?t care anything about if it is an RV or a spam can. They have no interest in how it works or how to fly. They just want to go up and see the scenery.

So does anyone have a good idea as to where to take someone like this in the Houston Area? Is there a "Houston tour"? What do some of the introductory flights cover in Houston? I would like to keep the flight to about 1-2 hours.

Thanks!

One to two hours in an RV? Go to the hill Country and back....

No, actually, I generally give folks a chance to see Galveston Island - head for the southwest end, then fly up the beach to the Houston Ship Channel. Fly up the Channel (the center of the bay) until you get to the San Jac monument - that is nice to circle, but watch out for traffic at La Porte. Next, take the I-10 corridor right across the north end of downtown, back to the west side - great views of the city!

You didn't say where you're starting, so obviously, you can enter that little circle anywhere. Of course, in that one to two hours, you could easily pop up to Brenham for a burger and a malt - that will hook just about anyone on what an airplane can do for you!

Paul

I'd second Paul's question - where do you want to start? To me, anyway, the more interesting things about Houston are the size (massive) and the different styles of building that are present. I'd recommend starting off one end, working your way around and heading out.

For example, here's an example waypoint list:

* IF COMING IN FROM THE WEST, start at TME (new airport, sort of out in the boonies). Head East and watch the Burbs grow.

* IWS (in the thick of the Katy / West side 'burbs). Follow I-10 East (can't miss it!) and take it to downtown. One of my fav stops in Houston for gas or overnighting.

* IF COMING IN FROM THE N or NW, hit EYQ and continue SE along highway 290, then pick up I-10 east to downtown.

* Downtown @ 1500 AGL. Stay clear of the Class B!

* For the extended tour: Skirt the western edge of the SFC Class B, go near Rice University, past the Galleria area, turn south, check out the Astrodome in the distance, WATCH THE TOWERS and wind up at AXH. Watch the city stretch out but finally tail off and give way to coastal marshes and range land.

* From there, turn to about 110 to hit San Louis Pass (Western end of Galveston) and watch the landscape change. Fly over Galveston and check out the state of the Island. Pass GLS and go to the Bolivar penninsual and check out the devistation. If you've really got time, land at GLS and check out the Island.

* When you've had enough of Galveston, head towards MHF and T41 and check out Galveston bay. Seabrook and Kemah are home to the third largest sailboat fleet in the US. Wave hello to NASA and Paul just on the south end of the EFD Class D. EFD can be an interesting stop, rub elbows with T-38s. Don't be surprised to see Feds in the FBO terminal.

* From T41, work north past the refineries and chemical plants. You will get a LOT of strong thermals from plumes and more than a few funny smells if you're below the mixing layer, which you probably will be, given the Class B starts at 2000 MSL. Use caution for SWA departures from HOU, as they normally egress through this area. Ponder the environmental impact of everyday things like plastic cups - this is where the raw materials are made.

* Check out the San Jacinto Monument. Taller than the Washington Monument, no Texas tale that. Site of the key victory of the Texans over Mexico.

* From there, you can either egress north, avoiding the IAH Class B (very little chance of clearance through there) or take the I-10 corridor back across the city and egress to the west. Either way, head to 11R for lunch (fried catfish and a blue bell malt).

Short tour: TME IWS Downtown T41 GLS MHF VPTNE and your choice of egress.

My other notes from my visits there:

Watch the Class B! It has many funny corners and layers.

Don't expect much help from approach. They are focused on getting commercial traffic in and out of IAH and HOU. If you're lucky, they will give you a code and point out traffic. These guys are really busy and just don't have much time to fool around with us.

Watch for towers. The terrain there is totally flat, meaning that the towers are tall. Several are to 2000 AGL.

Enjoy the trip and welcome to my home town!

TODR

Thanks!!

Thanks Paul and Doug!!
This is just what I was looking for. I will most likely be starting from DWH.
Looks like a good route would be through the I-10 and down to the coast, fly west and then back up to DWH making all the flybys you guys recommended.

I love to give people rides, but I hope I wont be too boring to non-pilots by going over the "how to fly" routine. If they are interested that?s great, but most people I have given rides to just want to look outside for the first few times. I hope to hook more people on the best hobbie in the world.

Pardon my ignorance guys but how exactly can i find more info on the proper way to fly through the I-10 corridor. When i was training my instructor and I flew from AXH over towards EFD then started north on a night flight. After a futile attempt to try and make a touch and go at Bush Int(think they honestly laughed when we called houston approach and asked them to ask if it was to busy)we went through the I-10 corridor but had flight following and actually were in Bravo the whole time. My instructor stated that the corridor can get pretty congested and it would just be easier to have the clearence. Now I'm based out at IWS and don't want to fly all the way down and around the Bravo for HOU.

If you wre flying the corridor and "in" Class B, then you were above 2,000', or your instructor wasn't giving you the correct information.

The I-10 corridor is really simple to fly - follow the highway, stay below 2,000', and you are clear of the Class B. Call up Houston Approach if you want flight following - if they are too busy to talk to you, you can still fly the corridor - just watch out for traffic. "Busy" is a relative term - look down at I-10...now THAT'S busy!

The Houston Terminal Chart shows all the airspace and landmarks - Piece of Cake.

Paul

Yep, what Paul said. I-10 is hard to miss. 5+ lanes in each direction in many areas. The coridor CAN get congested - head on a swivel and consider flying at a slightly "odd' altitude - 1650 MSL or the like.

And get a Houston TAC - money well spent! If you want a sneak peak at it, go to skyvector.com.

TODR

Thanks for the info guys. I just wasn't sure if it was something that needed atc approval or what.

Paul
I don't think the instructor was mistaken as we did fly the same route as the I-10 corridor but we were in Bravo the whole time so technically no we didn't fly the actual I-10 corridor but the same route yes.

I lived in Houston for about 8 months. (Ironflight, you remember me leaving my card on your door after Ike? you had just bought your house and I was responding to an add, in which I thought it was still listed?) I was having a hard time visualizing the corridor but jumped on G-earth and loaded the "Aero_Charts" overlay. Really neat! I found it here on the VAF forums and think it is an amazing tool for familiarization with complicated airspace. I was able to find and fly through the corridor on g-earth. Wish I had known about it when I was out there. Looks like a very cool flight through it. I always went around.

Back when I owned a J-3, a good hour-long flight was to take off from home base (KLVJ) just south of Hobby, go east around Ellington, turn north to I-10, fly the corridor until I got to the 610 loop on the west side, then head south and back east to base. Essentially, I circumnavigated the lowest tier of the Class B around hobby. Very scenic (if you like cities), great for passengers that wanted to see Houston - and I knew every high School and college football field along the way - I knew i could set a J-3 down in about 300 feet if I had to, and the engine decided to take a break....

Paul