Local very VFR Sightseeing Route Practice!

Yesterday I was scheduled to fly a friend's teenaged son around (he'd taxied with me last year with his younger sibs), but the teenager had a (typical, so I don't feel slighted!) last minute change of plans. 

But I went ahead and flew with my most regular CFI (and current flying club Prez) Rick on the route we'd planned on the ground (Rick was going with me with the kid, to make me feel safer - the dad is mellow).  Rick and I both knew this'd be good VFR/visual flight rules practice for me, as I remain such an IFR girl (after the blood, sweat and tears of getting that instrument rating back in 2005!)

Yesterday, though hot, was super-clear, so a great day to do this fun route, that was not as hard VFR as I feared!

We departed Hawthorne Airport/KHHR left downwind, flew to the 105/710 freeways interchange, then flew up the 710, but stayed with the LA River when the freeway branched off.  Started out at 1,500' , up near the Garvey Reservoir area we could climb to 2,000' MSL/mean sea level (these altitudes are all to stay clear of the "floors" of LAX's Class Bravo airspace). We were going to circle around El Monte Airport/KEMT, but ended up going a bit further north, pointed at downtown Pasadena, and then got on the north/mountain side of the 210 Foothills freeway, then turned east.  We were also, per our GPS, outside of KEMT's airspace, but we called their tower and got approval to transition anyway - always good to talk to a nearby tower!

It was kinda busy around KEMT, but we were just outside the area, and parallel to planes in the pattern.  Then we turned south down the 605, and flew over it directly to Long Beach Airport/KLGB.  We wanted to fly right over KLGB to get to the harbor, and that tower easily cleared us (I thought it might be more of a hassle).  So then we flew around the good ol' "Long Beach Practice Area" at 2,000', flying around the Palos Verde Peninsula.

Then when we turned around the north/west side of the PV, we called Torrance Airport/KTOA tower, and got cleared to fly over the edge of their airspace, direct to Alondra Park (classic KHHR inbound visual reporting point) and thence home to Hawthorne!

While the point to climb before KEMT and calling KEMT were in kind of quick succession (especially in the C182 we were flying; flying kind of low power though, 21 "squared," meaning 21" of manifold pressure and 2100 RPMs), and one dare not get too close to KLGB, really all the visual flying and peeking at Class C smaller airports airspaces on the GPS, but mostly looking out at landmarks and for planes, and the necessary altitude changes to not "bust Bravo" were surprisingly easy! 

One could easily fly this route without talking to KEMT or KTOA.  A bit more maneuvering to not talk to KLGB, but doable.  I am so used to talking to ATC on an IFR flight plan (which I do even on nice days) and being automatically cleared through various airports' airspaces, but with a bit of planning it ain't that hard VFR!

This "I Fly Roads" version of IFR IS fun in the lovely LA Basin area!  We got a good look at downtown LA, the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign, the Rosebowl where that other school's team plays (!), Pasadena, the San Gabriel mountains, the complicated water drainage areas, the awesome Queen Mary, the gorgeous channel islands (Catalina, of course, but we could see all the way up to Santa Barbara area yesterday!) and more.

Looking forward to taking the teen, and other friends and visiting family, on this route!