report from Scott Thompson

On Saturday, July 8, chapter member Bruce Estes presented a program on how to fly a Bay Tour. First off, for those unfamiliar, a Bay Tour is a journey
over the hills to the west into that admittedly complicated airspace surrounding San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose airports, and such a journey might involve flying through Class B, Class C, and Class D airspace. This can be pretty intimidating to the uninitiated, but Bruce explained what is involved in a clear and straight-forward presentation. With the assistance of his tablet and our projector, Bruce was able to use Foreflight to illustrate charts and routes on the big screen for all to see.

Bruce has done a lot of flying in the Bay Area, learning to fly at San Carlos, which lies right in the shadow of San Francisco Intl, and makes regular trips back to San Carlos on a monthly basis. Besides flying into airports in the Bay Area, Bruce also discussed doing an actual ‘tour,’ that is, flying to see the sights which might include the Golden Gate Bridge, Half Moon Bay, or flying along the shoreline offshore of The City itself. The main take-away is that such a flight is not that difficult and with the help of air traffic controllers, it can actually be a fun experience for passengers and pilots alike.

The Saturday program started with a pancake breakfast assembled and directed by Dug Smith with some able assistance. The Saturday programs are an effort to present information on a variety of topics. Stay tuned for more to follow.