Spring flying in Southern California

OK, OK - two posts in one day. Why? Because your webmaster has been a bit busy, and the weather hasn't always cooperated in the last few weekends. But it brings up a topic that is perfect for today's blog about aviation.

Southern California has been emerging from an El Nino winter. While we haven't gotten the rain we were expecting, we did get rain... and usually during the weekend, which are two of our busier days for flying and flight training. As we enter Spring, and transition into Summer, the rains are winding down, but other weather considerations arise: Fog, Winds and Convective Turbulence.

Fog occurs due to heating of the earth's surface from the sun, and colder, humid air that comes in during the evening or overnight hours. We're fortunate in Southern California as the fog usually isn't too dense, and during the summer, the Santa Ana winds blow warm, dry air in. But this also means that there's plenty of clear days where the sun warms the earth's surface, and in the afternoon, the heat from the earth's surface rises, resulting in winds and convective turbulence. That's why a lot of aviators like to fly early in the morning: smooth, calm air without the radiant heat from the earth's surface causing any turbulence or winds.

That's where, or more appropriately... when, your humble webmaster and aviator found himself up in the air. At 8:00 AM this morning, I was wheels-up and flying around the pattern a couple of times. The picture to the right is the cockpit of the Remos on climb-out from Runway 6. The skies were clear, the weather calm and flight conditions were perfect.

After two flights around the pattern at KFUL, with such perfect flying conditions, I took the Remos out to the La Habra practice area. The gap in the hills directly in front is where I would fly over to arrive at the La Habra practice area where I practiced clearing turns, turns around a point, steep turns and stalls. And the photo below is a view as I passed over those hills with a view of La Habra Heights and the San Gabriel Valley.

If you're ready to take flight and capture your own images (and even share on our blog), just give us a call! We'd be happy to discuss how we can make your aviation dreams a reality.