On departure, flight following can be requested from Henderson Ground. And Las Vegas departure cleared me to transition to Class B.
Another great trip.
Unless one flies a high performance airplane, most general aviation
flyers don't fly direct from Northern California to Las Vegas.
Between Northern California and Las Vegas is the Sierra Mountain range that can go
as high as 14,000 feet. In addition, there are also restricted and military operations areas along the way.
Pilots who flew there often have several route options depending on their risk tolerance and weather.
And they share these routes at internet pilot forums.
For this trip, I planned for fuel stop at Porterville; then proceed to overfly to Kern Valley, then to Trona,
and finally to Henderson.
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| Fuel stop at Porterville; it had the cheapest avgas half-way to Las Vegas. Someone responded at the Unicom for airport advisory; entered the pattern at left 45 for Rwy 30. |
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| During this flight, most of Central Valley was very hazy; some airports were even in IFR. Porterville, however, had 5+ miles visibility; another reason I picked this airport for fuel stop. |
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| Porterville proudly declares "An American City". |
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| Inside the terminal building is the airport office, clean restrooms, pilot lounge and the Airway Cafe restaurant. |
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| Had a quick breakfast at Airway Cafe before proceeding to the next leg of the trip. |
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| Various model airplanes hanging from the ceiling at Airway Cafe. |
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| The Archer fueled up and ready to go; runways and ramp were in good condition. Airport also has several transient parking spaces with chain tie-downs. |
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| Fire fighting airplanes in Porterville. |
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| Flying over Inyokern airport; Joshua Approach cleared me to transition to R-2505 at 10,500 ft. |
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| Flying over the southern part of Death Valley. |
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| Finally Henderson airport; arrived by following I-15 under the Las Vegas Class B airspace. Henderson is only 20 miles south of the Las Vegas strip and preferred for general aviation airplanes instead of the very busy and expensive McCarran airport. |
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| Ok; this might give a clue why I flew to Las Vegas. |
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Henderson is great for general aviation. Rental cars can be picked up and dropped off from the airport
parking lot; Enterprise and Hertz have kiosks inside the terminal building. Avgas is also way cheaper than
in McCarran. The airport also has several vans transporting pilots and their passengers from the terminal building to
the transient parking.
On departure, flight following can be requested from Henderson Ground. And Las Vegas departure cleared me to transition to Class B. |
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| On my return flight over Tracy, encountered some few rain clouds. |
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Another great trip. | |