Houston Bravo

OkieFlyer

OkieFlyer

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Lindsay, OK
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Display name:
Andrew L.
I'm planning on flying down to Galveston (GLS) from Lindsay, OK (1K2) when the weather warms up. A direct route would put me right down the middle of the Houston class B. I don't want to jack with it, so how wide should I fly around the airspace to avoid needing to get on the horn with Houston ATC?
 
talk to Houston, they are helpful folks, they might send you right over downtown Houston...otherwise just stay out of the bravo...(and deltas on the west side)
 
It is not very likely you'll get cleared direct through the bravo. You can go west, or east around Houston but not straight through. Personally, I'd go west and then go through the corridor (along I10) west to east under 2500 ft. If you go through on flight following, they'll navigate you through and then turn you towards Galveston and hand you off to tower. It's easy.
 
Thanks. I'll likely be on flight following. I'm not very good on the radio, so I generally don't fly places where I have to talk to controllers.
 
You will be fine. Houston ATC is a good group. The main supervisor dude is a GA pilot. I think they go out of their way to help GA.
 
fishhog said:
You will be fine. Houston ATC is a good group. The main supervisor dude is a GA pilot. I think they go out of their way to help GA.
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Good to know. I'm just a slow talking hick, and I think it frustrates controllers. Mainly, I just haven't had much practice talking to ATC, so I get kind of nervous. Seems silly for a grown man to be that way, I'm sure.
 
fishhog said:
You will be fine. Houston ATC is a good group. The main supervisor dude is a GA pilot. I think they go out of their way to help GA.
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Agree, they are a really good group. Except for the first time through I've pretty much been given whatever I've ask for which is amazing. Of course I don't ask for anything dodgy.
 
Clark1961 said:
Agree, they are a really good group. Except for the first time through I've pretty much been given whatever I've ask for which is amazing. Of course I don't ask for anything dodgy.
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I trained here and I've been flying here... and Houston has always accommodated me. Getting in to the Bravo has never been a challenge. They're a pleasure to work with, Austin on the other hand... I have less than a 50% success rate even initially getting flight following with them or handed off to them. And when I have, about half of those times, they'd drop me. I know it's workload permitting, but come on...
 
If you're on flight following, there is VERY little more to a Class B transition. Basically, know where the boundary is (which you need to know anyway), know the landmarks on the TAC, and have a plan B in case you get told to remain clear. Inform Approach of your intentions as early as you can to make it easier for all involved.

There is a constant stream of approach clearances on the radio passing through a busy Class B.
 
A couple of months ago when I was heading into Galveston from the west Houston routed me around the south side of the Bravo but they were easy to work with. I wouldn't hesitate to talk to them, I'm sure they'd prefer that to someone who wasn't talking, even if you end up going around their airspace.
 
OkieFlyer said:
Thanks. I'll likely be on flight following. I'm not very good on the radio, so I generally don't fly places where I have to talk to controllers.
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The only way to get more confident is to practice. GLS is a towered field (though the tower closes at night--check times in the A/FD), so you'll need to talk to them anyway. As others have said, Houston's B is very GA-friendly...a good place to build some radio confidence.
 
Jim_R said:
The only way to get more confident is to practice. GLS is a towered field (though the tower closes at night--check times in the A/FD), so you'll need to talk to them anyway. As others have said, Houston's B is very GA-friendly...a good place to build some radio confidence.
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Right you are. I appreciate the encouragement.

I haven't been anywhere near Class B, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Direct actually puts me through the outer ring of Dallas class B as well.
 
If it is traditional winds, I would go west as there is lots of big stuff that lands from the east for IAH. Dropping under the outer ring on the class B would keep you out of incoming traffic from the west. Use West Houston, Sugarland (class D) and Houston Southwest as your guides. There are 2000 foot towers between Sugarland and Houston Southwest
 
Don't be afraid of asking for a Bravo transition. Up in NY I've never been denied a transition.
 
One other thing to pass along, you're from Oklahoma so you know about thunderstorms. The Houston area can have weird pop-up storms that are a little concerning. I'm sure the locals can tell you about them better than I can. They aren't a big deal since they are usually small and don't move fast but ya always have to have an out when they are popping. Flying early in the day avoids them. On board weather helps a lot if you have to be there in the afternoon. The weather is another reason to be talking the ATC...
 
I don't know why people go out of their way to avoid that stuff. The controllers on flight following will help you shoot right through it if they can. At the very least they'll give you a more direct/safe route than trying to scud run under the shelves of the Bravo.
 
1K2
DAS Daisetta VOR
KGLS

This will only add a few min. to your trip and keep you outside class B in Dallas and Houston.
 
jordane93 said:
Don't be afraid of asking for a Bravo transition. Up in NY I've never been denied a transition.
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AustinPilot said:
I don't know why people go out of their way to avoid that stuff. The controllers on flight following will help you shoot right through it if they can. At the very least they'll give you a more direct/safe route than trying to scud run under the shelves of the Bravo.
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These things aren't common here. You MIGHT get bravo to 2500' and that's about it. They will vector you through the corridor and then turn you south, or possibly send you south around Sugarland.

You won't likely be flying through the Bravo anywhere close to IAH or HOU. I flew over IAH at 4500 ft one time in 5 years and it was Saturday early evening.
 
Just stay to the eastside like above but I suggest giving them a call even outside the Bravo...The Houston guys are good about getting you where you want to go...
 
1K2 -> TS35(keep slight east) -> GLS. Descend to 2700' and squawk 1200. You don't need to talk to anyone if you don't want to. If you want FF, then get it, but be prepared to be pushed even further east. Like Liberty T78.
 
I fly out of Houston Executive on the westside under the Class B. Use Houston Approach all-the-time, their supervisor is a GA pilot, I know him and his family, great great guy. Great group of controllers. Just tell them, what you want to do....if they ask...coming in from the north on flight following to Galveston, they may just tell you to descend and maintain 3,000, and clear you into the Bravo. Probably have you go west of IAH and HOU as most of the time, IAH lands from the east. Heck, they may not say anything to you other than clear you into the airspace.

I was coming from the east, transitioning to the west a few years ago, and they had me decend, 2,000 and then cleared me into the IAH surface area, they took me on a tight pattern downwind of their active east-west runways, and I just continued on westbound. It was a great view BTW.
 
Clark1961 said:
One other thing to pass along, you're from Oklahoma so you know about thunderstorms. The Houston area can have weird pop-up storms that are a little concerning. I'm sure the locals can tell you about them better than I can. They aren't a big deal since they are usually small and don't move fast but ya always have to have an out when they are popping. Flying early in the day avoids them. On board weather helps a lot if you have to be there in the afternoon. The weather is another reason to be talking the ATC...
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Sounds like a typical spring afternoon in OK. Thanks for the warning. I hope to have a Garmin 696 by then, though I haven't decided on getting the XM subscription yet.

AustinPilot said:
I don't know why people go out of their way to avoid that stuff. The controllers on flight following will help you shoot right through it if they can. At the very least they'll give you a more direct/safe route than trying to scud run under the shelves of the Bravo.
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In my case, I'm inexperienced and I've never been near Bravo airspace. Being from the country, I rarely ever see another aircraft in flight or hear another voice on the radio, so it gives me pause to go mix it up in busy airspace. That's why I'm asking questions. In addition, one of the handful of times I've been in controlled airspace, a T6 Texan came within about 200 feet of ending my life. Been a little leary ever since.


Thanks for all the good info, y'all. Sound like it's not as big a deal as I imagined. Please excuse a poor country flyer's ignorance :)
 
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I say this from time to time.

It's harder to dodge Class B than it is to transition it.

You get separation services in Class B from all aircraft even while VFR. That Texan won't get near you, at least not without an earful from Approach.

Besides, it's cool to overfly large aircraft. :) I flew over an A380 last time I went through SFO B, and my kid got a real kick out of that (and so did the controller, judging from the tone of his traffic call).
 
I'm not a big fan of flying over Galveston Bay. So here's what I would do:

1K2
INNIS (under 2000, 1500 is recommended)
7TX6

Bonus: You get a nice flyby of the San Jacinto Monument and flyovers of the Fred Hartman bridge and Kemah Boardwalk. Avoid Class B entirely.
 
MAKG1 said:
I say this from time to time.

It's harder to dodge Class B than it is to transition it.

You get separation services in Class B from all aircraft even while VFR. That Texan won't get near you, at least not without an earful from Approach.

Besides, it's cool to overfly large aircraft. :) I flew over an A380 last time I went through SFO B, and my kid got a real kick out of that (and so did the controller, judging from the tone of his traffic call).
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Agreed. Personally, flying almost 80 nm at low altitude below Class B near IAH, and HOU (and Ellington) would not be my first choice. :no: I would try to either enter Bravo (best) or skirt around it at a more comfortable altitude if needed. As indicated by others, the folks at Houston Approach are generally some of the most accommodating controllers out there, though they do get pretty busy. If you ever wanted to try transitioning through a Class B, I think that this is the right place to give it a whirl.
 
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