Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Catalina Island - Santa Monica / Cessna 182RG II / VFR

Just a short flight to bring my Cessna back to the mainland, with just me aboard. The wind was from the east so I was able to take off in a straight line and head for Seal Beach. I planned to go through the SFRA but drifted a bit east because I forgot to switch the second VOR to Santa Monica. Once I did that I turned back west and flew north through the SFRA. No ATC online so I just descended into Santa Monica after the SFRA and landed without incident, although the landing was slightly bumpy. I had to descend from 4500 to the field level in the pattern so it was pretty steep (I actually did a slip part of the way to get down quickly enough to land).

Skies were clear except for some clouds and fog off the coast. In real life I would have needed a pop-up IFR clearance to get through that mist, but with no ATC online, I didn't see the point. Plus there was virtually no traffic in the air (verified via ServInfo) and the aircraft is equipped for instrument flight, so I just navigated through it. I stayed at 3500 until it was time to turn north then climbed to 4500; by the time I approached the shoreline, the skies were clear.

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