Join me on this flight through the LA Special Flight Rules Area.  It's a really cool and unique area which allows transitioning over the top of LAX without talking to ATC at all!

If you pull up a LA sectional TAC chart you will find the various transitions including the SFRA - https://skyvector.com/ - center mouse over KLAX - press the  Los Angeles TAC button and scroll to the far left of the chart.

Requirements are to squawk 1201, and in my case be at 4500 ft, not exceeding 140 KIAS, and be established on the SMO132R inbound.  Pilots are highly recommended to use 128.55 to call positions to other aircraft (similar to CTAF)

I depart Long Beach, turn out to the south to clear the bravo shelf, then climb and align myself on the radial, enter 1201, turn on my lights and proceed NW towards the Santa Monica vor exit point.  There I turn north and transition the Van Nuys delta and Burbank class C.  Then I continue through the mountains (and below the clouds) towards Agua Dulce L70

Untitled-2 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Untitled-3 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Untitled-4 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Port of Long Beach

Untitled-5 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

LA just off the wing, but we first must clear the bravo shelf, and climb to join the radial at 4500

Untitled-6 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Established on the SMO132R 

Untitled-7 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Approaching Imperial Highway

Untitled-8 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

All of this without legally requiring communications with ATC - so cool

Untitled-9 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

A heavy landing 25L

Untitled-10 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

SoFi Stadium

Untitled-11 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

We've passed KSMO but must remain under 5000 to stay clear of the class B

Untitled-12 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Clouds are remnants of the tropical storm Hillary

Untitled-13 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Burbank's RY 8 to our east

Untitled-14 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Untitled-16 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Clouds gave us little room to manuever

Untitled-17 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Straight in for RY 04 at L70

Untitled-18 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

A beautiful rendition of this airport by @vbazillio

Untitled-20 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Untitled-21 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Untitled-22 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

I'd hang my head in shame too if I weren't able to fly a T-6!!

Untitled-23 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

 

 

Great narrative for an interesting flight. I always learn something while enjoying your excellent shots.

Great set Ryan, really shows off L.A. and the big T6.

Darryl

Always cool to have this type of post. Not only the pictures are from different angles and nice, but you take the time to add descriptions for pilots. Really appreciated. The T6 looks really a big at Agua Dulce 🙂

As a pilot who learned to fly in France, this Special Flight Rules was an awesome surprise the first time I flew it. I was so amazed, to fly over that so big airport inside a VFR corridor inside the Bravo. When you’re under flight following, ATC releases you few seconds before flying over « radar service terminated, so long » 🙂 In Europe, we don't have that kind of airspace where we can fly VFR "mixed" with liners airspace. The vast majority of the time, we are segregated.

Pure coïncidence but an automatic reminder pops up one of my picture taken the 21st august 2018. MSFS is really really really good

My second favorite is the Mini Route, talking to LA Tower in my little Cessna. Don’t know if there's still disruptions to get cleared for Mini Route as it was more or less closed some years before COVID, due to lack of ATC, as far as I remembered.

Finally, thank you for the Agua Dulce feedback and some iconic pic with holding short signs! If you found some stuff I need to fix or enhance let me know (in the limit of my amateur/passionate scenery editor player).

Edited August 22, 20232 yr by vbazillio

11 hours ago, John F said:

Great narrative for an interesting flight. I always learn something while enjoying your excellent shots.

Thanks I always try to add a little extra hehe

10 hours ago, SP2472 said:

Great set Ryan, really shows off L.A. and the big T6.

Darryl

Yeah the plane irl is quite large when standing next to it.  Thanks!

5 hours ago, vbazillio said:

Always cool to have this type of post. Not only the pictures are from different angles and nice, but you take the time to add descriptions for pilots. Really appreciated. The T6 looks really a big at Agua Dulce 🙂

As a pilot who learned to fly in France, this Special Flight Rules was an awesome surprise the first time I flew it. I was so amazed, to fly over that so big airport inside a VFR corridor inside the Bravo. When you’re under flight following, ATC releases you few seconds before flying over « radar service terminated, so long » 🙂 In Europe, we don't have that kind of airspace where we can fly VFR "mixed" with liners airspace. The vast majority of the time, we are segregated.

Pure coïncidence but an automatic reminder pops up one of my picture taken the 21st august 2018. MSFS is really really really good

My second favorite is the Mini Route, talking to LA Tower in my little Cessna. Don’t know if there's still disruptions to get cleared for Mini Route as it was more or less closed some years before COVID, due to lack of ATC, as far as I remembered.

Finally, thank you for the Agua Dulce feedback and some iconic pic with holding short signs! If you found some stuff I need to fix or enhance let me know (in the limit of my amateur/passionate scenery editor player).

And a continued thank you for these beautiful airports Vincent.  I hope someday to fly into socal and try these routes!  Yeah I think the T6 may have been a tight squeeze haha!

Awesome pictures as usual! And a cool airplane too 🙂