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