Robinson Helicopter Factory
Pretty funny now looking back on this day; one of the test pilots there at the factory wanted to know who hit us over the head in order to get us to fly an R22 that far north to Alaska. Little did I know what the next five days would hold for me, at the time I was ready to do whatever it took to get that little R22 back up to Alaska. Let the journey begin...
If you click on SkyVector.com link below you will see the LA West helicopter chart and Zamperini Field in Torrance, California where we started from. I was feeling apprehensive about getting out of the L.A. area and I knew this was going to be complicated dealing with Air Traffic Control (ATC) especially getting through LAX and the Class B airspace.
Flight Planning at SkyVector.com
Helicopter Route Chart-Los Angeles
The marine layer was set in all along the coast and it was a gray day with low ceilings. This was not going to make it easy for us on our first leg out of Southern California. We wanted to follow the coast up to Washington but the whole coast was completely socked in making that route nearly impossible to navigate, so we chose the California Central Valley instead.
Torrance gave us clearance to proceed with the prevailing winds favoring runway 29 with a westerly heading to the coast. We transitioned NW up the shoreline with the first landmark being Redondo Harbor. We contacted LAX tower and asked for a shoreline transition through their Class B airspace. I later found out we should have contacted Heli control on 119.8 but ATC was friendly and worked with us newbie’s trying to get the hell out of the area. So, LAX Tower gave us clearance at or below 150' along the shoreline transitioning LAX airspace. It was weird because we had jumbo jets departing right over our flight path. You can see the Heli routes and dark purple/blue on this chart. We saw a lot of piers and stayed out beyond those and were basically skimming above the ocean at 75 to a 100 feet just west of the LAX runways. Cool!
We reported Marina Del Rey and I sighed a breath of relief, I had just experienced a Class B (LAX) airspace transition along the shoreline, so far so good. We continued along the shoreline and reported to Santa Monica Tower requesting a transition through their Class D airspace along the shoreline. Request approved, we had no problems getting through their airspace. I do remember seeing Venice Beach along here also. The next landmark was the Santa Monica Pier which meant it was time to turn north and intercept the 405 to the I-5.
The Santa Monica Pier as we fly by just after passing LAX
Our goal here was to try and make California’s Central Valley which we new was clear and sunny. The day before flying in on Alaska Airlines I could see the Valley was clear and the coast line was socked in completely with the marine layer. Weather reports were still showing this to be true. We found the 405 and proceeded north up through the Sepulveda Pass. Now remember the ceilings are low and visibility is only about 2 miles and here is when things started getting a little dicey heading up the pass. We know we have intercepted the 405 because we see the Getty Center a major landmark, pretty cool to see from the air.
The Getty Center as we pass by on our way up Sepulveda Canyon
Sepulveda Pass on a nice day
Working our way up Sepulveda Pass, N bound 405; Photos taken by Corey
Crap, the ceilings start dropping, actually the terrain is rising, as we proceed up the Sepulveda Pass and we can't quite get above the tops of the Santa Monica Mountains as we near the Van Nuys Airport. This is not looking good because now the visibility is down to about a mile as we pass Mulholland Drive. At least we can see through to lighter skies as we look north beyond the pass. And then they appeared, transmission towers with power lines stretching across the canyon, can things get any worse. So what seemed like forever dodging low lying clouds and power lines we finally make it over the pass and see the Van Nuys Airport looming ahead on our left. We make a call to the tower and again are informed we need to be talking to Heli Control on 119.0 since we are following a heli route north up the 405, we switch over to 119.0 and are cleared through the area. As I near the Van Nuys Airport I'm straining to see the runways. One in specific I want to see is the famous 16R; I see it and smile to myself. It's famous and has a lot of history. If you've never seen the documentary "One Six Right" do yourself a favor and go watch it, you won't be disappointed. 
Passing by Van Nuys Airport (VNY) out there in the distance
The rest of the day we headed north through California’s Central Valley basically following 99 passing through Bakersfield, Visalia, and eventually landing at Fresno-Chandler Municipal Airport for fuel, and then on to Yuba County Airport, Marysville California near Beal AFB where we stayed overnight. We landed in the dark around 8 PM. I was done, cooked! I was thankful we made it this far. My butt was hurting, let’s just say the little R22 seats are not conducive to comfort. I should mention that while we were landing at the Yuba County Airport another helicopter was landing also, a Reach EMS helicopter. The pilot, I believe his name was Pat, was kind enough to give us a ride into the little town of Linda and took us to a Comfort Inn. In fact during the whole journey everyone was extremely helpful all the way up to Alaska. We logged 5.6 hours on the hobbs and traveled approximately 364 nautical miles or 419 statute miles on the first day. What a day! I was wondering what the next day would hold for us as I laid there in bed trying to sleep still hyped up on adrenaline.
One thing I learned about the Yuba County area, they grow rice here, tons of rice, apparently producing up to 95% of the rice grown in the state and 80% of the rice grown in the country. It was amazing how the rice fields seemed to never end.
Hobbs schedule for the day:
Zamperini Field, Torrance, CA, Robinson Helicopters (KTOA) - General Wm J Fox Airfield, Lancaster, CA (KWJF) 1.3 hours
General Wm J Fox Airfield, Lancaster, CA (KWJF) - Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, CA (KFCH) 2.3 hours
Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, CA (KFCH) - Yuba County Airport, Marysville, CA (KMYV) 2.0 hours
Total 5.6 hours 364 NM's
Jeff, I'm from the Sacramento valley. Glad you got through our area just fine. Your travelogue is awesome, keep em coming.
ReplyDeleteMost of the rice grown in the USA is from this valley. When they are flooded with water, they can be quite pretty. In the fall, after the rice is harvested, a lot of what is left is burned and it is terrible.
Maybe there is a market for a special butt cushiou for the R22 seat....
Thanks Bob, I looked up the rice statistics and put in a little change in the posting. It's amazing all the rice grown in the Yuba County area.
ReplyDeletePollux up here in Wasilla Alaska also rebuilds the R22's and they have the seats made locally and are more comfortable then the factory seats. The Robinson R44 (four seat version) is more comfortable and a better helicopter for long trips.