flying into SFO at night?

"bm" == buttman writes:

bm Yeah, I'm thinking it'd be better to go to Oakland
bm instead. Can I expect to get cleared into the bravo, or will
bm they make me maneuver around it? I don't think it'd be very
bm fun to have to duck around all that complicated airspace,
bm especially at night.

Simply contact NorCal approach with your destination and follow their
instructions. They will clear you for whatever airspace you need to
enter. Be prepared with the SF-TAC so you can double-check
frequencies on handoffs and have some idea of the airspace involved.
--
No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.
Groucho Marx

On Jun 7, 9:18 am, Ross wrote:
Sylvain wrote:
Dave J wrote:

Among the rest, your stuck with the highly limited choices of HWD,
SQL, PAO, APC, DVO, RHV. Most of their towers will be closed at
midnight, but I'm not aware of any curfews that will affect a 152.

SJC closes at night as well (can't remember the time and I don't have
my AF/D with me);

I'd like to land in KSFO too eventually, the only Bay Area airport
missing in my list :-) (did land in KNUQ a few times doing Young
Eagles flights). My plan was to call the tower on the phone and
ask them what time would be the least inconvenient. :-)

--Sylvain

I kown a pilot here in the Dallas Fort Worth area that flew his C-152
into DFW airport and pick up his girl friend. He wrote a report on it
and it was great. He did call ahead to find the best time. Also during
the great Y2K, there was a girl flying at midnight and did a touch and
go at DFW. No one was around.

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

DFW is very GA friendly, lots of runways etc. SFO is about as friendly
as LAX. They only have two landing runways at a time. We did go into
SFO 135 in the Debonair once though. It was pretty cool. Landing fee
was reduced to $180 with fuel purchase.

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in
ups.com:

DFW is very GA friendly, lots of runways etc. SFO is about as
friendly as LAX. They only have two landing runways at a time. We
did go into SFO 135 in the Debonair once though. It was pretty
cool. Landing fee was reduced to $180 with fuel purchase.

I've been into SFO several times. Once they gave me runway 1R with a
land and hold short chearance.

--

On Jun 7, 7:08 pm, Bob Fry wrote:
"bm" == buttman writes:

bm Yeah, I'm thinking it'd be better to go to Oakland
bm instead. Can I expect to get cleared into the bravo, or will
bm they make me maneuver around it? I don't think it'd be very
bm fun to have to duck around all that complicated airspace,
bm especially at night.

Simply contact NorCal approach with your destination and follow their
instructions. They will clear you for whatever airspace you need to
enter. Be prepared with the SF-TAC so you can double-check
frequencies on handoffs and have some idea of the airspace involved.
--
No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.
Groucho Marx

The reason I ask, is because a few years ago I went to Burke Lakeside,
and on the way there they cleared me through the Cleveland Bravo, but
on the way back they told me to "remain clear of the class bravo", and
it didn't even seem busy. To avoid the airspace, it was trivial since
the Cleveland area class B is pretty straight forward, but the San
Francisco class bravo is anything but straight forward (especially in
a /U possibly without a working nav radio)

That was my one and only brush with class B. I don't know if something
like that is standard practice or not. I just want to know what I'm
getting into before I make the decision to go there.

On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:27:26 -0000, buttman wrote:

On Jun 7, 7:08 pm, Bob Fry wrote:
"bm" == buttman writes:

bm Yeah, I'm thinking it'd be better to go to Oakland
bm instead. Can I expect to get cleared into the bravo, or will
bm they make me maneuver around it? I don't think it'd be very
bm fun to have to duck around all that complicated airspace,
bm especially at night.

Simply contact NorCal approach with your destination and follow their
instructions. They will clear you for whatever airspace you need to
enter. Be prepared with the SF-TAC so you can double-check
frequencies on handoffs and have some idea of the airspace involved.
--
No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.
Groucho Marx

The reason I ask, is because a few years ago I went to Burke Lakeside,
and on the way there they cleared me through the Cleveland Bravo, but
on the way back they told me to "remain clear of the class bravo", and
it didn't even seem busy. To avoid the airspace, it was trivial since
the Cleveland area class B is pretty straight forward, but the San
Francisco class bravo is anything but straight forward (especially in
a /U possibly without a working nav radio)

That was my one and only brush with class B. I don't know if something
like that is standard practice or not. I just want to know what I'm
getting into before I make the decision to go there.

If ATC won't clear you through the Bravo, it is not trivial. Coming
from the south and up the peninsula, you have to transit SJC's
Charlie, staying west of the landing airliners and not flying into
that 4000' AGL tower and navigating with respect to the Pruneyard
shopping center, then transit the contiguous Deltas of NUQ, PAO, and
SQL, after which you'll run into the Bravo, where you can probably get
a Bayshore Transition, requiring you to identify and remain west of
101, or, if you report over the OSI vortac, you might get a transition
up the backbone of the peninsula and past Montara mountain. You can go
up the coastline, but this time of year you'll be over solid undercast
and by Devil's Slide, you need to be either a ways offshore in order
to maintain 2500' or lower, or you'' encounter the little segment
where the floor of the Bravo goes down to 1300'.

You can avoid the Bravo on the east side by staying east, first of 101
and then east of 580, passing through or above the RHV delta, with
4000' Mt Hamilton and some tall towers on lesser mountains on your
right. Past Sunol Pass you've got the HWD Delta and the OAK Charlie,
with heavies landing on the long runway there.

Coming from the North is simpler. Until you get to all that mess. Or
unless it's winter and there's tule fog. in the valley.

What I'm suggesting with that trivia recitation is that you shouldn't
try to run that gantlet VFR at night, the very first time you come
here. IFR is duck soup. VFR is better after you've acquired some
local knowledge with an instructor.

If needs must, go to Oakland. Or Hayward. With Livermore as your
alternate if OAK is socked in.

Don

On Jun 8, 12:52 pm, Don Tuite
wrote:


If ATC won't clear you through the Bravo, it is not trivial.

Don

I could have told you that.

What I want to know is if I can expect "cleared into the class bravo",
or "remain clear of the class bravo". If I get the latter, I should be
OK, the former would be a show stopper.

Weather won't be an issue; if its not severe VFR, I won't be going.

In article .com,
buttman wrote:

I could have told you that.

What I want to know is if I can expect "cleared into the class bravo",
or "remain clear of the class bravo". If I get the latter, I should be
OK, the former would be a show stopper.

I'm not sure if you have those reversed.

Depending on where you are going, getting a Class Bravo clearance
is no problem at all. I've never landed at SFO, but have flown by
(south and west of highway 101, aka 'Bayshore Transition') and over
(cross midfield) SFO at 1500ft many times with no problems getting
a Bravo clearance. I've only had a Class Bravo transition denied
a few times, usually when the fog is rolling in and messing things
up for SFO. Even with the fog rolling in, I've flown by/over SFO
at 3500ft numerous times.

Others in this thread have described getting into OAK and other area
airports without entering the Bravo. Depending where you need to be
once you land, there are easier airports to land at then SFO.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/

buttman wrote in news:1181351805.157569.237280
@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

On Jun 8, 12:52 pm, Don Tuite
wrote:


If ATC won't clear you through the Bravo, it is not trivial.

Don

I could have told you that.

What I want to know is if I can expect "cleared into the class bravo",
or "remain clear of the class bravo". If I get the latter, I should be
OK, the former would be a show stopper.

Weather won't be an issue; if its not severe VFR, I won't be going.


Snort!

Bertie