Point Loma Tour

The "Point Loma Tour" is an a fun way to give your passengers incredible views of San Diego,  see below for notes on how to do it...

Passing the Queen Mary and the Blimp as we go southeast bound

my co-pilot

KMYF

Casa Machado at KMYF

Point Loma Tour

View of Southwest Airlines and KSAN from the "Taxiway Delta" transition

Coronado Hotel

North Island NAS

Point Loma

Belmont Park and Mission Bay

Passing Dana Point on the shoreline ride home

After a lunch overlooking the field at KMYF at Casa Machado restarurant, we departed, and did the Point Loma tour, it goes like this:

• Tell KMYF ground your planning on a KSAN "TAXIWAY DELTA" transition, they will call KSAN.  
• After departing KMYF, turn south, and contact Lindberg tower on 118.3, they will clear you to enter the Class Bravo at 1,500' southbound over their taxiway Delta.   
• Next contact North Island tower on 135.1, request low level transition to HOTEL DEL, then to POINT LOMA.
• Expect 800' feet to Point Loma (VPSPL)  
• After rounding the point and turning northbound along the shoreline. Contact KSAN tower on 118.3 to get Class B clearance northbound transition along the shoreline.
• Expect 500' feet to CRYSTAL PIER (VPSCP).  Don't confuse this pier with OCEAN BEACH pier which you'll pass first on your way to Crystal Pier.  
• Report crossing Crystal Pier. 
• You can continue north along the shore to La Jolla Shores, the Childrens Pool, La Jolla cove, (watch out for hang gliders and parasails) then to Torrey PInes golf course. 
• Be sure to stay under Miramar's Class Bravo (below 1,800') as you go up the shoreline.
• Be sure and use the "San Diego Coastal" frequency of 122.75 and make announcements.  You'll hear training aircraft and helos on this frequency. 

When flying down to San Diego, I like to fly above the the Santa Ana Class C at 5,500' Southeast bound.  And going home, I like to take a low level shoreline tour up the coast and below the Santa Ana Class C going home, makes for a wonderful view out the right window for passengers going northwestbound.   I can use flight following with Socal TRACON pretty much the whole way in both directions. 

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KSEE, Gillespie Field

The San Diego Air and Space Museum  and the Warbirds West Air Museum are both at Gillespie.  We didn't get to see either, as it turns out they were both closed the day we were there.   We ended up having a nice day of just sightseeing along the coast, and having lunch at the Gillespie Field Cafe.   My wife saw a whale near the Palomar area.   You'll transition from Montgomery (KMYF) Class D to and from Gillespie, and skirting the Miramar Class B,  so be sure to study on the comms and airspace in the area. 

Lunch at the Gillespie Field Cafe

Dana Point

Newport Beach

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Flying to San Diego

San Onofre Power Plant

La Jolla

 

Qualcomm Stadium

 

Mark, Tony, and Wolf

 

Casa Machado restaurant on top of the terminal building

 

LCAC Landing craft at Camp Pendleton

 

Queen Mary, Long Beach

We flew down to San Diego, and saw Tony while we were down there.  We flew down the shoreline, then over the Miramar Class B to Mt. Soledad, before descending for a left downwind entry to runway 28 Left. 
There is a nice shot of Qualcomm Stadium just as we turned left base.  There is a Mexican restaurant on the field that has a nice 2nd story view of the airport.  We departed straight out, and stayed under the Miramar Class B to follow the shoreline back up north. We stayed on the shoreline back home, went through the Santa Ana Class C, over Long Beach harbor, then through the LAX "mini route" before returning to KWHP.  MORE PICS HERE...