Los Angeles visit RIR, BUR pireps

eshazen

eshazen

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Eric
My plans are converging for crossing the country from Boston to LA in June.
Thinking about staying in LA area for 3-4 days and catching some sights.
Tentative plan is to base at RIR (Flabob) since it looks like a nice airport
and the hotels nearby aren't too expensive.

Many things we want to see are aviation-related and we can get there by
plane (SMO, TOA, CNO, RIV). Question is, if we want to head downtown to
the LA County museum and things like that, where's the best airport to park
our Cherokee for the day with easy transportation? Looks to me like BUR
with Uber is the quickest but pretty expensive all-around. Any thoughts?
 
Coming from the east, El Monte is easy. There is a Metro Rail station not far away.

You'll like Fla-Bob. Great little airport with a rural feel and a lot of history.
 
Depends on the time of day for arrival and departure. I have been to BUR quite a bit but the traffic between BUR and LA can be brutal. EMT is a good option but I find myself at HHR for most downtown LA trips then just Uber over.
 
Flabob is a little hard to find from the air. Familiarize yourself with the terrain using satellite images and be spot on with your navigation. But it is worth it. Neat little airport
 
Flabob is a fun airport, chances are you’ll be landing 24. Cross midfield and turn downwind and use the antenna on top of the mountain as your aiming point and turn parallel to the road. Do not overfly the trailer park, fly between them and the houses. Keep it tight and continue final turn for runway 24.

Landing on the grass strip is fun also. Hopefully you can see some DC3s takeoff.
 
Also remember when departing 24 you have KRAL airspace that comes quick and you have to turn left after takeoff for terrain.

You have KRAL SURFACE TO 2,699 AND KONT class C 2,700 to 5,000.
 
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Thanks for all the great intel.

What's a good way to pick up flight following when departing KRIR?
 
eshazen said:
Thanks for all the great intel.

What's a good way to pick up flight following when departing KRIR?
Click to expand...

If departing 24 its left traffic so you will veer left after departure to avoid terrain and do a downwind North East departure. Contact SoCal Approach 135.4 with request. This gives you time to get setup before entering KONT Class C
 
This is great info, thanks for all sharing!
 
eshazen said:
Tentative plan is to base at RIR (Flabob) since it looks like a nice airport
and the hotels nearby aren't too expensive.
Click to expand...

Flabob is a cool little airport that can sort of transport you back in time. But there is a reason nearby hotels are cheap. The area outside of the airport gates is ghetto. Stop in for gas, food and a walk around the airport. Cafe is under new ownership and has been cleaned up. But I wouldn't plan on staying close to the airport. If that area is your destination, I'd consider Corona, Chino or Cable. If going to downtown LA, Burbank is best. Closest to both business center(s) and tourist attractions like Universal Studios, Hollywood Bowl, Chandler Pavillion and such. Shopping and good hotels nearby. A quick flight to either John Wayne or Fullerton if you want to go to D-land or Knotts Berry Farm. You have to plan around traffic anyway, so stay close if downtown is your destination. My 2 cents as a 45 year Socal based pilot and worth exactly what you paid for it. :D
 
Whiteman is a nice airport, WHT, and pretty close to downtown L.A. It is cheaper than BUR and more of a GA airport. Easy in and out. I parked my plane there for a about 5 days, while I went to a conference in downtown L.A. I don't think I would base in Riverside, if most of what you want to see is elsewhere. Spend a few extra bucks on lodging and enjoy the trip a bit more.
 
As a long-time Riverside resident I would completely agree with the above comments about Flabob... it's a great place to visit but not a good choice to stay overnight. Here is my suggestion: head for KSNA and park the Cherokee at ACI Jet - these folks are fantastic and very GA friendly. In advance contact the Enterprise FBO service - they will have a rental car waiting for you at very reasonable rates. Airport hopping in So Cal ain't what it used to be, but here are a few suggestions: with luck the airport on Catalina Island will be re-opened with a new runway in time for your trip - it's a neat spot. Next, plan a trip to Camarillo (KCMA) have breakfast or lunch at the Waypoint Cafe, then take a tour of the Commemorative Air Force museum. Also make a trip to Chino and stop in a Flo's Cafe, then walk around the airport. The rest of the LA area might best be seen by car. I recommend that any time you fly in So Cal you request flight following, even for a short hop. ATC is usually very helpful and there is just so much traffic you want all the help you can get.
 
WHP has infamously obnoxious ATC, isn't in a nice part of town and is kinda far from DTLA. If you want DTLA, your best choices are EMT, BUR or even SMO, which is surprisingly close. That part of the 10 is consistently slowish, but consistently moves (unlike other freeways in the area) and you can generally make it downtown in half an hour (or even less). SMO has the best approach, EMT has slightly cheaper gas and no landing fee (though, the SMO landing fee isn't much), BUR has the best public transportation (but gas is obnoxiously expensive). BUR is actually not super busy, from an operations perspective.

Flabob is a place I've still not gone, but the history there is great. Watch out for the mountain and airspace, as others have said.

KSNA is a great suggestion for GA friendly options, though ACI's one issue there is that they do charge an overnight fee that you might not get elsewhere.

KCMA is in my home town and the Waypoint is the best airport restaurant ever. It gets VERY busy there, with 4-5 planes in the pattern, lots of itinerants and the rest. Still, great services.

Oh, and get flight following on every, single flight. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. ATC will hate you, your fellow pilots will hate you and your insurance carrier will hate you if you don't. The airspace is too busy, too complex and too filled with terrain to be the jerk who they aren't talking to.
 
We're back from our trip. Some photos and travelogue posted here:
http://ohm.bu.edu/~hazen/flying/West19/Photos/
Just wanted to give some feedback on our SoCal experiences.

First, we did base at Flabob and it was fine. What a great airport! They have a hangar full of racing planes which is worth finding someone to show you. Go on the weekend, lots of activity.

We stayed at America's Best Value Inn in Riverside, and was a $5-$7 Uber ride. Indeed one might not feel comfortable walking outside the airport, but downtown Riverside itself (across the river from Flabob) is a great town and we felt completely comfortable there. The old Mission Hotel is quite scenic and worth visiting, and there are other sights like the Californial Museum of Photography. Lots of cafes and places to eat. Don't miss Tio's Tacos!

One issue with Flabob is you cannot exit the airfield on foot after around 5:30pm when they lock the gate. The only way out is to find someone with a car to open the automatic gate. Due to this we relocated to RAL (Riverside) the last night so we wouldn't get trapped.

We chose to fly around the basin. Due to "June Gloom" it was IFR most mornings, and IFR into the afternoon near the coast. Flew to Torrance (TOA) to see the USS Iowa and Queen Mary. A short Uber from the airport, and certainly less stressful and probably faster than driving. Another day we flew into SMO and Ubered to the Petersen Auto Museum and other sights, had a great time. Then flew to CNO to see the excellent Planes of Fame museum (highlight of the trip, IMO).

We did go by Uber to Marsh Field from Flabob, as the hassle of flying such a short distance IFR seemed not worth it. We did not get to BUR... not enough time.

Flying the TEC (Terminal Enroute Control) preferred IFR routes was a snap once we got the hang of it. It was a little challenging to combine the ODB with the TEC out of Flabob, but SoCal approach rescued us with a vector before we actually had to enter the hold over PDZ.

Catalina was below minimums the whole time, sadly.

Fantastic trip! Highly recommended!
 
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