From Willy J. Fox, grab flight following on the ground and then fly to SMO. My guess is SoCal will want you at 5500 over the BUR C, and you need terrain clearance anyway. Then descend to 3500 through the Sepulveda Pass and toward the SMO VOR, to intercept the SMO132, or set your GPS to SMO-PIJIN. If you fly the route a lot, you can probably figure out the visual cues, but I wouldn't bother. SoCal, probably on 134.2, will cut you loose to the corridor. You squawk 1201 and communicate on 128.55 - you must have and use strobes, along with recogs, and I keep my landing light on too. You are supposed to communicate, but the check in points are kind of your call. I always call SMO, Balona Creek, Lincoln Blvd/North Complex, Imperial Highway/105/South Complex and then one more call when exiting. Remember that you are only required to stay on the radial when essentially directly over the airport, but LAX has these oddball Class D "shoulders" and I'd keep at 3500' till you are clear of either side. You can call HHR for a transition and then make a nice leisurely descent into KTOA's airspace. Aircraft departing IFR from HHR turn left to 210 on departure, and they basically only allow left downwinds and crosswinds for VFR, so you shouldn't conflict when descending.
This all sounds more complicated than it is - it is easy, especially if you have a GPS and are comfortable talking on the radio.
If you’ll be arriving from the north, fly over LAX through the LA Special Flight Rules Area. It’s easy and fascinating. No clearance is necessary, but you have to be at 3500’ (going south) and on a designated LAX VOR radial which you can mimic by using SMO and VPLSR as GPS waypoints. Also, announce your position several times on a specified frequency. During the week, I see other planes in the corridor only rarely, though I’ve been told it’s busy on weekends.
If you’ll be arriving from the east or south, get Flight Following and plan to stay below the LAX shelf. ATC will guide you into KTOA. It’s a great airport: two runways, and it’s location is visible from miles away because it’s at the foot of the Palos Verdes Peninsula which sticks up clearly from the surrounding area.
The radial is off SMO, the SMO132. SMO-VPLSR is actually the Mini Route, which is the SMO128 radial, and hasn't been available in about a year, due to staffing shortages at LAX. PIJIN is the more "precise" GPS point, but lots of people still use VPLSR, cause you really wouldn't have a traffic conflict, even if the Mini Route was open, due to altitude.
That plane ^^ looks like one of the crappy models I used to glue together badly as a kid.
IIRC KTOA has microphones at the airport and a rather odd/strict noise abatement procedure.
https://www.torranceca.gov/our-city/community-development/environmental/noise-abatement
It was well-posted in the little pilot lounge last time I was there, appx 2 years ago. I can't find the little kneeboard-sized pictograph of the procedure, so I'd grab a copy or a photo of it in the pilot lounge. It is mainly concerned with takeoffs, you'll be ok on landing.
KTOA has microphones all over the departure path, and they recommend that a lot of planes depart VFR because of them. The procedure is actually diagrammed on a big sign at the departure end of the runways pointed in that direction. You basically fly runway heading to the outside of the hospital, then turn a continuous crosswind to downwind over Hawthorne Blvd, which you absolutely cannot miss. I recently flew in there for the first time and it was pretty easy. If you fly a 210, pull your prop back to 2600 as soon as you have a positive rate - our club's 210 is 1 violation away from a lifetime ban.
