Palm Springs TRSA

RalphInCA

RalphInCA

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RalphInCA
There is a TRSA denoted by grey lines surrounding the Palm Springs area.

If I wanted to fly out of Bermuda Dunes and then to Palm Desert for some sight seeing (my parents live there) do I need to stay in contact with Palm Springs Tower, some other agency, or I am just free to fly?
 

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No.

Longer answer: No, you don't.

Think of the TRSA as Class D+. They have radar services if you want them, but you aren't required to talk with them in the TRSA. However, some TRSA facilities "require" you to talk to Approach before talking to tower when landing at the primary airport.
 
Nope, don't need to talk to anyone, it's voluntarily, however I always get radar services, just stay out of PSP's delta.

Also be advised there are plenty of people who have money and nothing better to double an whine, so careful of your altitude and..check your transponder
 
In my opinion Palm Springs has a TRSA because there is a lot of traffic there that tends to be restricted by topography.

I feel it is useful service and doubly so when sightseeing.

Just talk to them like you would approach in class C and they will give you a squawk code and traffic advisories.
 
Thanks guys, that's what I thought: radio contact with Palm Springs tower is optional although encouraged.

And I know about the wealthy people in that area - tons of money. Even Bill Gates has a house in that area.
 
RalphInCA said:
And I know about the wealthy people in that area - tons of money. Even Bill Gates has a house in that area.
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I wish I understood that. I really hate Palm Springs. There are many more interesting places to visit in the desert (in a more appropriate season).
 
It's absolutely stunning in the winter. Unbearably hot in the summer.

And most of those super wealthy people don't live in Palm Springs, they live in the surrounding areas up in the foothills.


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the snowbirds only live there from Nov to April..............since AC came along its a little less pronounced.......soloed at PSP in 1969............I would be talking to somebody while sightseeing Palm Desert.........you're right on the approach path
 
RalphInCA said:
Thanks guys, that's what I thought: radio contact with Palm Springs tower is optional although encouraged.

And I know about the wealthy people in that area - tons of money. Even Bill Gates has a house in that area.
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You'll be talking to SoCal not tower, also not that much traffic as far as airspace goes.

Salton Sea & Big Bear are the only two airport I really enjoy over there
 
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RalphInCA said:
Thanks guys, that's what I thought: radio contact with Palm Springs tower is optional although encouraged.

And I know about the wealthy people in that area - tons of money. Even Bill Gates has a house in that area.
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Unless you are planning in entering the dashed blue class delta at PSP, you're better off calling SoCal Approach on the appropriate frequency (looks like 126.7) since they handle the radar work in the TRSA--not the folks in the tower.
 
Vance Breese said:
In my opinion Palm Springs has a TRSA because there is a lot of traffic there that tends to be restricted by topography.

I feel it is useful service and doubly so when sightseeing.

Just talk to them like you would approach in class C and they will give you a squawk code and traffic advisories.
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Palm Springs was one of the TRSA's that didn't meet the criteria for an ARSA when ARSA's we're invented. Before that TRSA's were all over the place. There are still a few out there that were like Palms Spring, busy enough to have had a TRSA but not busy enough for an ARSA. Then ARSA's were renamed Class C. If you get Radar Service in a TRSA you will be separated from other participating aircraft. You can say "Negative TRSA Service" and you will not be separated. If you don't also say "Negative Radar Service" then you should be handled like any other aircraft receiving Radar Traffic Advisories(flight following.) Why you'd want to do that I don't know. TRSA separation isn't that much and shouldn't get you delayed very much. If you told a controller "Negative TRSA Service but I do want Traffic Advisories the biggest delay would probably be trying to get your point across.
 
luvflyin said:
If you told a controller "Negative TRSA Service but I do want Traffic Advisories the biggest delay would probably be trying to get your point across.
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Does not compute. You're either participating or you're not.
 
Brad Z said:
Does not compute. You're either participating or you're not.
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Yeah, it's a pretty fine point. By "participating" I meant aircraft participating in TRSA service. Any pilot can say "Negative TRSA Service." TRSA service is separation. It is done in addition to Basic Radar Service For VFR Aircraft. There can be some VFR Aircraft in a TRSA who are participating in TRSA Service and some who are not because they have said "Negative TRSA Service." All of them can be receiving Basic Radar Service.
 
I've flown over that area a few times, unless your parents just wanna see their house from above I'm not really sure what sightseeing there is to do. I'm with MAKG though, totally don't get the appeal of that place. It's just a bunch of sprawling suburbia, but with the addition of scorching heat and lot of old folks waiting to die.
 
I flew to Bermuda Dunes (KUDD) on my long XC and flew through the TRSA on my way to Redlands (KREI). After departing KUDD to the west I was over the top of the KPSP Class D waiting patiently for a break in the radio traffic so I could check in with SoCal and get radar services. As I was waiting, I heard SoCal tell an arriving commercial flight about me (I could tell based on the location and altitude), and mention that he wasn't talking to me. Immediately after that I was able to check in and was vectored directly over the top of KPSP and then to the west. It went exactly as I expected, and given the volume of traffic and the fact that all the GA traffic was channelized by the terrain and the wind coming over the mountains (it was a windy day), I liked the comfort factor of getting radar deconfliction.
 
RalphInCA said:
There is a TRSA denoted by grey lines surrounding the Palm Springs area.

If I wanted to fly out of Bermuda Dunes and then to Palm Desert for some sight seeing (my parents live there) do I need to stay in contact with Palm Springs Tower, some other agency, or I am just free to fly?
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No I go to Bermuda Dunes semi-frequently, whatever that means, and when I leave to the north I will listen but won't talk unless they aren't busy at all. Just make sure you stay clear of the Class D airspace.

The TRSA is just ATC politely asking for you to join in on the fun.
 
StinkBug said:
I've flown over that area a few times, unless your parents just wanna see their house from above I'm not really sure what sightseeing there is to do. I'm with MAKG though, totally don't get the appeal of that place. It's just a bunch of sprawling suburbia, but with the addition of scorching heat and lot of old folks waiting to die.
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"...old folks waiting to die." Whoa, I may have made a mistake in moving here.

But after living in 12 cities spread across 5 states I can say that the people that I've met in Palm Springs, the waiters/waitresses, grocery store clerks, bankers, the gardeners, telephone repairmen, pool guys, i.e., everybody that you come in contact with on a day to day basis, are among the friendliest people I have ever met. And its only a couple of hours by car to downtown LA if you need that fix. Couple that with condo prices that are less than 50% of what we looked at in San Diego, hangar prices that are reasonable (yes, there are hangars available at PSP for GA airplanes with no waiting list) an active group of GA pilots, an airport with great service to many places when you need to go commercial, no traffic congestion on the streets...... and I think there are enough pluses to offset the heat in the summer.

On the other hand last June it was a 115 degrees at noon (on its way to 124 for the day) when I landed here in my single place Pitts with no air vents. Everything has pluses and minuses. :)
 
Thanks for the PIREP!
 
Sunbird said:
"...old folks waiting to die." Whoa, I may have made a mistake in moving here.

But after living in 12 cities spread across 5 states I can say that the people that I've met in Palm Springs, the waiters/waitresses, grocery store clerks, bankers, the gardeners, telephone repairmen, pool guys, i.e., everybody that you come in contact with on a day to day basis, are among the friendliest people I have ever met. And its only a couple of hours by car to downtown LA if you need that fix. Couple that with condo prices that are less than 50% of what we looked at in San Diego, hangar prices that are reasonable (yes, there are hangars available at PSP for GA airplanes with no waiting list) an active group of GA pilots, an airport with great service to many places when you need to go commercial, no traffic congestion on the streets...... and I think there are enough pluses to offset the heat in the summer.

On the other hand last June it was a 115 degrees at noon (on its way to 124 for the day) when I landed here in my single place Pitts with no air vents. Everything has pluses and minuses. :)
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Yeah, but you can get all that in Tehachapi, too, but it's 20-30 deg cooler in summer. And the airport is a whole lot cheaper, too.
 
The two times I got closest to a midair were between Palm Springs and Thermal. That was before the TRSA and I was taking lessons through a flight club at PSP. After the second one I asked the instructor what was going on. He said that it was because we were flying a straight line between PSP and Thermal at 1500' and that's the altitude everyone flew at between those airports. I fired him shortly after due to a couple of other examples of his stellar planning and thought process.

I'd use the separation if I were flying in the area covered by the TRSA but wouldn't fly at 1500'

Gary
 
GaryV said:
The two times I got closest to a midair were between Palm Springs and Thermal. That was before the TRSA and I was taking lessons through a flight club at PSP. After the second one I asked the instructor what was going on. He said that it was because we were flying a straight line between PSP and Thermal at 1500' and that's the altitude everyone flew at between those airports. I fired him shortly after due to a couple of other examples of his stellar planning and thought process.

I'd use the separation if I were flying in the area covered by the TRSA but wouldn't fly at 1500'

Gary
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Is that your Cardinal?
 
TRM is a shiatshow when it gets busy. Cheap fuel, lots of Ag traffic during lettuce season. I ride in a BE350 a lot to there and IPL in the winter and it's always nuts.

Seriously, if you're in the area, pick up Flight Following from Socal. That way you'll keep yourself from becoming one with a twenty-something flying an RJ or the overly polite westjet canucks.


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