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robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com
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 Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:07 am Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
[quote][b]
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partner14
Joined: 12 Jan 2008
Posts: 540
Location: Granbury Texas
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:47 am Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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Robin, all that being said.... and said very well... thanks..... but isn't the savior talking to SoCal approach. Seems like when I fly into Fullerton, SoCal is providing the best info. But I guess with everything going on at WHP, it probably should be one of the last to be considered for closure. I try not to be in the air in the L.A. area on the weekends... you almost always have 2-5 bogeys on the screen! Last trip down there I landed at Aqua Dulce, but my cousin says WHP is closer... so next time it'll be WHP... thanks for the heads up for what's going on there.
In the Sacramento are, I sure could see the savings of closing the towers at Chico, Mather and Sac Exec.... and here in Texas there are at least 5 towered airports in the DFW area that certainly could be closed. It seems the municipalities are convinced that if they have a tower it'll bring in business and jets, so they can sell more fuel... but jets fly in and out of Lincoln Ca. with no tower. We flew into Janesville WI and were the only plane talking to the tower, and also the only plane we saw for an hour either taking off or landing.
--- On Sat, 3/23/13, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
From: Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com>
Subject: Airport Tower Closures
To: "rv-list(at)matronics.com" <rv-list(at)matronics.com>, "rv10-list(at)matronics.com" <rv10-list(at)matronics.com>
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013, 12:06 PM
I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
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[quote][b]
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Don A. McDonald
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rv10flyer(at)live.com
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:29 am Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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Robin
Fullerton, that has EMS, LA fire helos, flight schools and , a couple of city police helos is also on the list. It is a busy airport under the B airspace as well.
Always busy and knowing its going to be a Corona on a larger scale is quite concerning.
Airports under busy airspace like LA are going to suffer. Hopefully scal approach will be able to handle flight following because it is going to be needed.
On Mar 23, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)> wrote:
[quote] <![endif]--> <![endif]-->
I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
[b]
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robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:45 am Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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I recall the first time I flew into Fullerton. I was a sub-200 hour pilot on one of those hazy LA days with a Garmin 396 and I needed tower assistance locating the airport directly in front of me. In the sea of asphalt that is the LA basin it was near impossible to pick out the airport from the dozens Target & Costco parking lots. Oh, and that tall antenna near Fullerton may get some action too. Unlike some rural areas, a mid-air in LA will likely involve people on the ground.
I don’t want to seem overly dramatic but plagiarizing the movie title… "There will be blood".
Robin
From: owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Pascal
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 12:29 PM
To: rv10-list(at)matronics.com; SoCAL-RVlist(at)yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: RV10-List: Airport Tower Closures
Robin
Fullerton, that has EMS, LA fire helos, flight schools and , a couple of city police helos is also on the list. It is a busy airport under the B airspace as well.
Always busy and knowing its going to be a Corona on a larger scale is quite concerning.
Airports under busy airspace like LA are going to suffer. Hopefully scal approach will be able to handle flight following because it is going to be needed.
On Mar 23, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)> wrote:
| Quote: |
I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
_-=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D_-=3D - The RV10-List Email Forum -_-=3D Use the Matronics List Features Navigator to browse_-=3D the many List utilities such as List Un/Subscription,_-=3D Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, |
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robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:57 am Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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Yes SoCal ATC is helpful for sure I usually have 4 hand off' s within 20 miles of WHP between Magoo, LA Center & SoCal but 8 miles out as one approaches WHP, VNY and BUR we are handed off to the tower freq. Anything under 3000 MSL goes to the tower as SoCal either can't see you or does not have the time to help or both. I use Flight Following basically 100% of the time in and out of LA and sometimes SoCal can’t take the handoff due to workload. Add trying to get Flight Following with SoCal on climb out (vs. on the ground with WHP Ground Control) will bogies everywhere further taxes the pilot and an already thin system.
Robin
From: owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Don McDonald
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 10:47 AM
To: rv10-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Airport Tower Closures
Robin, all that being said.... and said very well... thanks..... but isn't the savior talking to SoCal approach. Seems like when I fly into Fullerton, SoCal is providing the best info. But I guess with everything going on at WHP, it probably should be one of the last to be considered for closure. I try not to be in the air in the L.A. area on the weekends... you almost always have 2-5 bogeys on the screen! Last trip down there I landed at Aqua Dulce, but my cousin says WHP is closer... so next time it'll be WHP... thanks for the heads up for what's going on there.
In the Sacramento are, I sure could see the savings of closing the towers at Chico, Mather and Sac Exec.... and here in Texas there are at least 5 towered airports in the DFW area that certainly could be closed. It seems the municipalities are convinced that if they have a tower it'll bring in business and jets, so they can sell more fuel.... but jets fly in and out of Lincoln Ca. with no tower. We flew into Janesville WI and were the only plane talking to the tower, and also the only plane we saw for an hour either taking off or landing.
--- On Sat, 3/23/13, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)> wrote:
From: Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)>
Subject: Airport Tower Closures
To: "rv-list(at)matronics.com (rv-list(at)matronics.com)" <rv-list(at)matronics.com (rv-list(at)matronics.com)>, "rv10-list(at)matronics.com (rv10-list(at)matronics.com)" <rv10-list(at)matronics.com (rv10-list(at)matronics.com)>
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013, 12:06 PM
I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
| Quote: | http://www.matrolow" target="_blank" href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.m= --> [/url][url=http://www.matro========%3c/font%3e%3c/b%3e%3c/pre%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/blockquote%3e%3c/td%3e%3c/tr%3e%3c/table%3e%3cpre%3e%3cb%3e%3cfont%20size=2%20color=000000][url=http://www.matro========%3c/font%3e%3c/b%3e%3c/pre%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/blockquote%3e%3c/td%3e%3c/tr%3e%3c/table%3e%3cpre%3e%3cb%3e%3cfont%20size=2%20co======================[/url][/b][url=http://www.matro========%3c/font%3e%3c/b%3e%3c/pre%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/blockquote%3e%3c/td%3e%3c/tr%3e%3c/table%3e%3cpre%3e%3cb%3e%3cfont%20size=2%20coator to browse[/url][/b][url=http://www.matro========%3c/font%3e%3c/b%3e%3c/pre%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/blockquote%3e%3c/td%3e%3c/tr%3e%3c/table%3e%3cpre%3e%3cb%3e%3cfont%20size=2%20coBrowse, Chat, FAQ,[/url][/b][url=http://www.matro========%3c/font%3e%3c/b%3e%3c/pre%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/div%3e%3c/blockquote%3e%3c/td%3e%3c/tr%3e%3c/table%3e%3cpre%3e%3cb%3e%3cfont%20size=2%20co | Quote: | | http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV10-List[/url] |
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rv10flyer(at)live.com
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:44 pm Post subject: Airport Tower Closures |
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Right on!
On Mar 23, 2013, at 12:45 PM, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)> wrote:
[quote] <![endif]--> <![endif]-->
I recall the first time I flew into Fullerton. I was a sub-200 hour pilot on one of those hazy LA days with a Garmin 396 and I needed tower assistance locating the airport directly in front of me. In the sea of asphalt that is the LA basin it was near impossible to pick out the airport from the dozens Target & Costco parking lots. Oh, and that tall antenna near Fullerton may get some action too. Unlike some rural areas, a mid-air in LA will likely involve people on the ground.
I don’t want to seem overly dramatic but plagiarizing the movie title… "There will be blood".
Robin
From: owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com (owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com) [mailto:owner-rv10-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Pascal
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 12:29 PM
To: rv10-list(at)matronics.com (rv10-list(at)matronics.com); SoCAL-RVlist(at)yahoogroups.com (SoCAL-RVlist(at)yahoogroups.com)
Subject: Re: Airport Tower Closures
Robin
Fullerton, that has EMS, LA fire helos, flight schools and , a couple of city police helos is also on the list. It is a busy airport under the B airspace as well.
Always busy and knowing its going to be a Corona on a larger scale is quite concerning.
Airports under busy airspace like LA are going to suffer. Hopefully scal approach will be able to handle flight following because it is going to be needed.
On Mar 23, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Robin Marks <robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com (robin(at)PaintTheWeb.com)> wrote:
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I was reviewing the published list of 149 airport tower closures and was really surprised that I have landed 26 of the 149 on the list. I was further surprised that one of my home airports Whiteman (WHP) is slated for tower closure. Now I totally understand that if some towers MUST be closed than choices need to be made and I further understand the NIMBY attitude of sure close some towers but not MY towers. That being said let me describe WHP to you and you can decide if this tower closure is a good idea.
WHP is a one runway airport that sits under the Los Angeles Class B veil for LAX. WHP is 4 miles from Burbank commercial airport and 4 miles from Van Nuys airport both very busy hubs if aviation. Furthermore WHP sits near the Newhall pass which is a bit of a funnel for aircraft feeding into and out the San Fernando Valley. Additionally WHP hosts 5 of LA's news helicopters which park and hover taxi maybe 90 feet from the runway centerline adjacent to the 30 run up area. Whitman is also home for the CDF (California Fire Department) heavy lift fire helicopters. Wikipedia says that Cal Fire is "one of the largest non-military air programs in the country that includes 11 UH01H Super Huey helicopters flying out of WHP. I know because they park and take off right behind my WHP hangar. The launch/landing area for CDF is "not visible" from the tower and requires extra tower control care for transitioning in and out of this area. WHP also hosts a modest amount of student training. Not a great deal of student training because costs have driven away many who may be interested in learning to fly. Additionally there is a fair amount of police helicopter activity in the area because WHP is near some major highways 5, 118, 405, 101, 134, 210. Police tent to hover right at TPA for WHP.
So the typical WHP weekend scenario is the student pilot doing T & G's while 3 737's are queued up to land Burbank as Golf streams are rocketing out of VNY with police helicopters hovering over the nearby freeways while the news choppers hover taxi back to their landing pad after their mornings work and small aircraft transition into and out of BUR or VNY. All while CDF heavy lift choppers fly in and out of their compound directly under the Left Downwind but blind to what is happening on and around the active runway. This is all occurring under LAX's Class B vial, under the VNY airspace and in a little carve out of the Burbank airspace (SFC/4800'). All this with mountain peaks covering 180 degrees and within 5 miles of WHP. I have heard the tower chew out oblivious pilots dozens and dozens of times for clueless & illegal transitioning of the airspace. I literally fear what it will be like w/o any control. It is not unusual for me to see 15+ traffic targets on my display.
Last week I flew into WHP VFR but reporting 3 miles and haze. Not that uncommon. I have flown into WHP well over 500 times and it was very difficult for me to pick up the runway 3 miles out even though I am quite familiar with the topography. I am fortunate to have beautiful large PFD/MFD with traffic but I am painfully aware that most aircraft in the area do not have nearly my experience and knowledge of the area or my selection of equipment.
This is just one story of 149. I hope it does not end up a horror story.
Robin
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