Beach May 2018

18 — you pull back on the flight controls to go up, and push forward to go
down. The Revo works exactly the opposite. Which made my first attempts
to keep us flying straight and level an exercise in doing anything but. “Pilots
make some of the worst students,” said Henry, laughing. “New students
don’t have to break any old habits before they can start making new ones.”
Pacific Blue Air will take you anywhere in the Los Angeles area you want
to go. Many out-of-towners choose a tour of the Hollywood sign. But their
usual flight path — which I have observed many times from the comfort of
my backyard hot tub — takes them along the Valley/Ardmore green belt,
over Manhattan Beach to the pier, then follows the coast south to Palos
Verdes. Once over the ocean, Henry dived down to wave-to-the-surfers altitude
— FAA regulations allow this type of slow, lightweight craft to fly as
low as desired above water or deserted areas, so long as they are not over
people or structures. This is far safer than it looks, or feels. Because of our
slow speed and short landing distance, we could pop down onto the sand
and land in a few seconds if we had an engine problem, with little risk to
ourselves or anyone on the ground.
The low, slow hello
The experience was gorgeous. The entire Los Angeles basin was laid out
underneath us, as if we were flying in our own private beach chairs. We
were low enough to wave to people on the pier and people walking along
the beach, and see them happily wave back. It felt a bit like being the
mayor, waving to the crowd in a July 4th parade. Or like Charles Lindbergh,
waving to the crowd at Le Bourget airport outside Paris after his long, lonely
flight over the Atlantic.
We hummed along over the blue/green Pacific, keeping our eyes peeled
for dolphins and grey whales, swooped down to check in at the Hermosa
pier, and then approached King Harbor. The airspace south of the harbor
is managed by the Torrance Airport control tower, but it took just a quick
radio call to get clearance to fly through — we were so low, there was little
chance we would interfere with Torrance air traffic. Then it was on to Palos
Verdes, skimming along just a couple hundred feet above the cliffs. I pointed
out where my wife and I were married, on a cliff just west of Point Vicente.
“We sometimes go all the way out to Catalina,” Henry said. “But with the
sun going down in an hour or so, I think we’ll turn around and start heading
back.” I had cleverly failed to wear a jacket over my official Pacific Blue
Air jumpsuit, and my hands were starting to ice up in my thin gloves. Note
to self: Flying in February, at 80 mph, in a completely open airplane, suggests
dressing warmly. As a veteran pilot and motorcyclist, I blame myself.
Next time, it’s the full winter riding gear and big, fuzzy ski gloves.
Thar she blows
We did spot one whale blowing, just off the kelp line, as we circled over
the Catalina Channel, shadowing a whale-watching boat out of King Harbor.
But the whale sounded after that breath and disappeared from view. We
tracked back north up the coast, watching seagulls pirouette beneath us.
“I’ve never had a bird come too close to our planes,” Henry said. “My guess
is we are going so slowly, they have plenty of time to see us coming and get
out of the way.”
I had told my next-door neighbor, Kevin Barry, that I would circle over
our Manhattan Beach Tree-Section street during my flight. Sure enough, I
soon spotted our house, with its solar-panel array on the roof, and we took
the time to spiral overhead. I couldn’t see Kevin from our FAA-required altitude
of 1,000 feet above the city, but he told me later that he had, indeed,
spotted us and waved, this time from the comfort of his hot tub.
To the Batcave
After landing at Hawthorne, we quickly taxied back to Pacific Blue Air
headquarters. With the engine shut off, Henry used our momentum to coast
right back into the hangar. From the control tower, it looked like we had
simply disappeared from view. “The controllers like to call our hangar The
Batcave,” Henry said. “We pop in and out, right onto the taxiway, just like
the Batmobile”.
Your turn
Introductory LSA flight lessons, like the one I took, start at $175 for a 30-
minute flight. Bring a nice warm ski parka and big, toasty gloves. For more
information, visit pacificblueairla.com. B
28 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • May 10, 2018