Bubba makes his first trip to the big city (Los Angeles)

[Chino Tom]

I've been flying in SoCal my entire adult life and to this day ALWAYS have and use a current Los Angeles TCA chart. The scale makes it much easier in this complex environment. Although I don't use SoCal Approach very often, i do moniter the appropriate freq. That being said, Chino is on the fringe and most of the airports I frequent are also on the edge. I do avoid the belly of the beast unless necessary. Going into some of the busier airports like John Wayne and Long Beach where there is a lot of jet traffic SoCal Approach is almost a must. The others can be navigated to without any delays much easier. It can get frustrating being told by SoCal to call back in 5 minutes but if your unfamiliar, at least they won't let you go somewhere you shouldn't be. In the 35+ years flying around in the LA basin, the closest encounter (dangerous) I've had with another aircraft was in the center of the San Joaquin Valley (Hanford) where you would least expect it (of course on final at OSH you do expect it as they turn in from all directions ).