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Santa Monica local flying

Radioflyer

Well Known Member
I'm not from the area, but might have the opportunity to be flying an RV out of Santa Monica for a couple weeks in the fall. The flying will be leisurely, VFR, 1 hour or shorter flights. The airspace in the region looks daunting to me, even though I regularly fly in and around a class B. I still have to study the charts more carefully but, in the meanwhile, what is the general sense for ops in this area?

Is the KSMO tower unfriendly or limiting about staying in the pattern?

Except for the special corridors north/south, must one just stay low level under the class B going east, e.g., to Upland, or does SoCal readily give out codes for entry into class B?
 
LA Coastal VFR Traffic

Even when using VFR flight following, you are told to stay away from the LAX class B airspace. There are a few published VFR transition coastal routes but most of them will require ATC to clear you into class B. The only VFR route that doesn't need any ATC clearance is the one in the picture below.
 

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I learned to fly just over the pass at Van Nuys. My dad, (who went on to a distinguished career in aviation), learned to fly at Santa Monica. It shouldn't be daunting, but be prepared to talk. You can fly the coastal route, but you will be asked to avoid the LAX Bravo. I'm not sure which RV you'll be flying, but there's good flying along the beaches, and a practice area over the water of of Palos Verdes which is great. (As always, keep your head on a swivel, and talk a lot.). If you can get cleared into the Hollywood transition, it's a straight shot to the PV box. As was pointed out, you can use LA Special Flight Rules to cross LAX without a clearance, and one end of it is actually the SMO VOR. (Please self announce at reporting points in both directions.)

There's a nice LA Basin Hotspots presentation here:

https://scauwg.org/hotspots

Have fun. It's no big deal!
 
There's a landing fee at SMO, so like, do touch and goes at another airport. Pattern work at SMO is gonna be expensive.

Jump over the hill up to the high desert and you pretty much have the whole airspace to yourself and a couple F-35s.
 
There's a landing fee at SMO, so like, do touch and goes at another airport. Pattern work at SMO is gonna be expensive.

Jump over the hill up to the high desert and you pretty much have the whole airspace to yourself and a couple F-35s.

Nobody I know ever pays the fees, and nothing has ever happened to them or their airplanes.
 
Smo

Cpm is about 10 minutes away. It is an uncontrolled field with little traffic. You will have to go thru the special flight Corridor but it is easy. I learned at SMO in the mid 70’s. At that time if you were # 10 it was a good day.
 
Hawthorne

I preferred Hawthorne for touch and go practice. ya it has tower, but really lite traffic. The traffic is so lite, it doesn't deserve a tower, but being next to LAX, they have one. Controllers are really cool and easy to deal with. Most of the time I was cleared to land while on downwind.
 
HHR

Was based therefor 20 years. After management started bring in corporate the downwind leg was extended to the 110 for jet traffic. Moved to EMT and have a 42x36 hanger I share for $ 350 a month.
 
Really rare

Was based therefor 20 years. After management started bring in corporate the downwind leg was extended to the 110 for jet traffic. Moved to EMT and have a 42x36 hanger I share for $ 350 a month.

Unless it is a holiday weekend, I rarely am asked to extend my base 3 miles out. But whatever, just a thought. I think hawthorne is more pattern friendly than torrance or santa monica. I dont like compton because it is uncontrolled, but that is just me. YMMV. Everyone is free to their own opinion.
 
From Santa Monica if you want to go to Cable or Brackett I would basically head direct to the Rose Bowl. You can stay out of the Bravo and Burbanks Charlie at 4900' but I would be on flight following reguardless. Then fly the 210 freeway east. The Los Angeles FLY chart shows all the prefered VFR routes and altitudes in the LA basin.
For leisure flights, you should also head north/west up the coast to Camarillo and Santa Paula, both have nice restraunts.
 
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Santa Monica is the only airport Ill never fly into again. The controller was a piece of work. KSBA is an awesome airport. No fees for touch and go’s. Ramp fee, but used to be waived with fuel. Call ahead to verify. Cable airport to the east is nice. Busy though. KAPV is a great place to practice. Not a lot of traffic. Restaurant on the field.
 
SMO

The citizens & City Council of the People's Republic of Santa Monica have been slowly shuttering Clover Field/SMO for decades. Sad to see, my folks met there in 1942 while working at Douglas on the Dauntless. My grand parents also lived on a 2 mile final to 21...we spent many days on the observation deck.

FWIW, enjoy the flying if you can. I haven't flown GA in the LA area for years but Camarillo & Oxnard are just over the hill if the marine layer isn't too bad...
 
These are really great and helpful responses. Thank you. I'm looking forward to the experience of flying in the area, though it sounds like it is not a care-free airspace.
 
Not care free, but I'd rather fly into Santa Monica than to fly the Hudson river SFRA. Probably because I live out here and it is less of an unknown :)

Torrance, Fullerton, and even Long Beach (all near by) I've been in and out of many times and are really painless once you know the drill.
 
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