KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Kilstorm
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:38 am

KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Kilstorm »

Looking to fly from Van Nuys KVNY to Van Nuys Heliport 59L which is on a building top in downtown LA. I will leave KVNY Class D airspace and go into KBUR Class C inner airspace then fly below LAX Class B outer shelf airspace with its floor of 2500. This is a very short hop and I plan to do it in VFR. Theres a TFR tonight so I dont plan on doing the flight tonight but just looking for any advice for this flight. I've attached a jpeg of the route.
Attachments
KVNY 59L.jpg
KVNY 59L.jpg (449.42 KiB) Viewed 6520 times
Nathan Palmer
Nantucket, MA
Image
Keith Smith
Posts: 9939
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
Contact:

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Keith Smith »

The helicopter routes around socal are a blast. There is fun to be had flying from SMO along the Marina, Shoreline, then Imperial routes. Never a dull moment there :)
Kilstorm
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:38 am

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Kilstorm »

That just looks like a controllers nightmare. When you look at the helo routes, then the flyways and then all the SIDs and STARs...just seems like waaay too much going on there. How does one even go about doing that route? I get the SMO along the Marina but Shoreline then Imperial...thats all with LAX TWR and not APP as I read it. So what would that radio call sound like to request it correctly?

Keith would their be any desire to add an advance CAT Rating for Helos focusing on Helo routes, landing and departing at heli pads inside Tower airspaces but not on field and even simple ones like departing from present location on field and landing at the ramp. Things like that.
Nathan Palmer
Nantucket, MA
Image
Kilstorm
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:38 am

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Kilstorm »

Question: The chart indicates to contact BUR TWR when I am transitioning through their airspace but the CATs Ratings teaches us to use SoCal Approach when crossing through Class C airspace...whats the correct thing to do and what makes the difference?
Nathan Palmer
Nantucket, MA
Image
Kilstorm
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:38 am

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Kilstorm »

Another Question: Both VNY and BUR have both TWR freqs and HELO TWR freq. Are those HELO TWR freqs used in PE? VNY freq (119.0) stays the same for field and transitioning but BUR seems to have a different freq for field (132.325) and transitioning (118.7).
Nathan Palmer
Nantucket, MA
Image
Keith Smith
Posts: 9939
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
Contact:

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Keith Smith »

Kilstorm wrote:That just looks like a controllers nightmare. When you look at the helo routes, then the flyways and then all the SIDs and STARs...just seems like waaay too much going on there. How does one even go about doing that route? I get the SMO along the Marina but Shoreline then Imperial...thats all with LAX TWR and not APP as I read it. So what would that radio call sound like to request it correctly?
Just inform the controller of the relevant part of your intentions. By that, I mean advise them of the route which will be in or near their airspace. If you're going to string together 4-5 routes, they don't need to know them all at once, since the later part of the route will likely be with a different position. So, I would tell SMO tower that you want to transition/depart the Delta to join the Marina and Shoreline route. The latter part informs them that you'll need a handoff to LAX helicopters (119.80). Then, tell LA helicopters what route you're planning next (since it'll likely require a handoff to HHR, etc).

As for Tower vs Tracon calls, if you're below 2500ft and close to the field, you'll likely talk directly to the tower for a transition as they tend to own that airspace.
Keith would their be any desire to add an advance CAT Rating for Helos focusing on Helo routes, landing and departing at heli pads inside Tower airspaces but not on field and even simple ones like departing from present location on field and landing at the ramp. Things like that.
As you've pointed out, they are fairly workload intensive for ATC. The existing CAT ratings already push us pretty hard when it's busy, but I'll keep it in mind for the future.
Kilstorm
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:38 am

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Kilstorm »

Thanks Keith that helps out a great amount. One thing in the helos favor is that they can hoover in place so one can get the hand offs without having to change course to avoid airspace they are not cleared into yet if the radio is busy. I'm just trying to get the right mindset of who/when to call and what to say to lessen the workload for the controller and you taking the time to reply has given me some good direction to follow.
Nathan Palmer
Nantucket, MA
Image
Ryan B
Posts: 856
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:37 pm

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Ryan B »

I would love to do that sort of thing. But I'm curious... how in the heck do you work all the comms/radios for the quick frequency changes etc? When I'm in XP I use Track IR, and even with it paused, I find it extremely difficult to manipulate the radios (most addons have tiny clickspots for the frequencies). Do you have a physical radio stack you use? I always thought that would be super helpful.

Lately I've been flying the amazing Bell 429 freeware.... the author is apparently working on RXP GTN750/650 integration... which would be awesome!
PE ID: 29
FAA ATCS
FAA PPL ASEL
Keith Smith
Posts: 9939
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
Contact:

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Keith Smith »

Ryan, I recently picked up the Desktop Aviator Garmin head unit, but prior to that, I just mapped CTRL up/down/left/right to manipulate the com1 stdby freq, and I have a button mapped on the joystick to flip the active/stdby freq.
Ryan B
Posts: 856
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:37 pm

Re: KVNY to 59L (helo pad downtown LA)

Post by Ryan B »

Keith Smith wrote:Ryan, I recently picked up the Desktop Aviator Garmin head unit, but prior to that, I just mapped CTRL up/down/left/right to manipulate the com1 stdby freq, and I have a button mapped on the joystick to flip the active/stdby freq.
That desktop aviator would be cool! I know Saitek makes some hokey looking unit but the one you got looks better.
PE ID: 29
FAA ATCS
FAA PPL ASEL
Post Reply