San Diego Bay Tour - Know your stuff!
This aerial flight route over downtown San Diego and the Bay could be called the Taxiway Delta Transition but do not use phrase San Diego Bay Tour to the controllers. The flight could be the finest scenic flight route in the world. I write this article to help you do a good job flying it and not messing it up for the rest of us. Lindbergh Tower is very supportive to the pilots that sound and act professional.
At Montgomery Field, I suggest letting Ground Control know you are planning on the Taxiway Delta Transition when you call for taxi. They will confirm if some traffic restrictions or TFRs are in effect. At times, there may be military activities at North Island Naval Air Station that prevent these flights. MYF Ground may give you a discreet Transponder code during your taxi, and will help coordinate with Lindbergh Tower. Lindbergh gives a 02xx transponder code. When you call up Lindbergh Tower, use the specific ‘Taxi Way Delta’ transition, there is no such procedure as the Bay Tour. This Bay Tour just adds more time for the controller to verify what the pilot truly requests.
You can do the ‘Taxi Way Delta’ two different ways from MYF, but for simplicity, we will discuss the most straightforward path. On checkin with MYF Tower at the runway, remind them that you are doing the ‘Taxiway Delta Transition’ on departure. This ‘heads up’ lets the MYF Twr Controller look for anyone coming east that may be a traffic concern. After takeoff, MYF Twr will clear you towards Mission Bay VOR when all the traffic conflicts have been clarified. Climb to 1500 feet and call up Lindbergh Tower after Montgomery Tower hands you off.
Example Communications for the Taxiway Delta Transition
Pilot:
Lindbergh Tower, Great Lakes 3617L, 1,500ft, 2 miles NE of the Mission Bay VOR for the Taxiway Delta transition.
Tower: Great Lakes 3617L, sqwk 02xx and Ident.
Pilot: Copy, 17L, Sqwk 02xx and ident.
Tower: Great Lakes 3617L, Ident observed 2 miles NE of Mission Bay VOR, cleared through the Bravo at or above 1,500ft, overfly Taxiway Delta.
Pilot: Roger, 17L, Cleared through the Delta at 1,500ft.
Tower may clear you at 1,000ft depending on the ceiling or air traffic. If Tower isn’t able to answer you right away, plan to circle north of Mission Bay VOR, 5-10 minutes should clear things up. At all times, be careful of traffic coming eastbound at 1,400 from Crystal Pier, inbound traffic returns back to MYF from that direction.
When cleared in for Taxiway Delta, fly directly over MZB VOR and fly a heading at 1500 that takes you directly over the Lindbergh cross runway towards the Coronado Bay Bridge and over downtown. If you can’t see it for some reason, it is just left of the tower and it points towards downtown. The Taxi Way DELTA has some DHL or Cargo Aircraft parked nearby.
At some point, Tower may ask your intentions south of the field. Be prepared to say something like this: “A 180 at the Bridge, through the channel and northbound shoreline around PT Loma.” This consideration just gives them situational awareness for when they hand you over to North Island TWR. Sometimes a Police Helicopter may be orbiting over downtown, a Navy Helo maybe in the channel 600ft and below or a banner tow maybe flying an orbit.
During the trek across Lindbergh Tower’s airspace, the controllers like you to report seeing the arriving traffic or final or departure. They want you to get eyes on and report : (Saying IMMEDIATELY that you will ‘maintain visual separation’ drastically reduces two way comm’s and Tower’s workload)
Tower: 17L, Boeing 737 on a 7 mile final for RWY 27, please advise in sight.
Pilot: 17L, has the traffic in sight and will maintain visual separation.
Tower: Approved.
When over downtown, heading towards the Coronado Bay Bridge, Lindbergh tower will hand you over to North ‘Island tower’. (135.1)
Tower: 17L, in 1 mile, you will leave class Bravo airspace, squawk 1200, and contact ‘Island Tower’, 135.1.
Pilot: 17L, Wilco, thank you.
Keep the current flight path towards the bay bridge, try not to deviate in any way towards Lindbergh’s final. Aim for the middle of the bay. Switch up Island Tower and check in. Remember it is a military Delta airspace so the controllers are working both UHF frequencies for the military aircraft, there may be a delay in comm’s. Island Tower transmits on both UHF/VHF but you may only hear the transit on UHF, so try not to step on them when you can’t hear the response.
If there is a holiday, Island Tower may be closed. In this case, proceed and just stay with Lindbergh, call them up again around PT Loma for the northbound turn.
Pilot: Island Tower, Great Lakes 3617L, 1,500 feet south of the Delta, VFR Request.
Island Tower: 17L, Radar Contact, go ahead request.
Pilot: Request to fly south in the bay, 1-3 miles, do a 180, transition south west in the channel, around Point Loma then North bound along the shoreline.
Island Tower: 17L, report your 180, cleared through the Bravo, make your transition at 800 ft, report Point Loma. (they need to clear you through the Bravo again, just west of the Coronado Bay Bridge. Pilot: Read back clearance.
There may be helicopters in the channel that Island Tower points out to you. Call them in sight when you see them, and tell Island Tower you will maintain ‘visual separation’. Someone may be coming in for the channel transition ( in the opposite direction), Island Tower will put you on separate altitudes. Just help Twr out by calling traffic in sight when able, and maintaining visual separation.
Try to fly in the middle of the channel and avoid overflying naval ships.
When you are approaching the turn around the tip of PT Loma, call Island Tower. Pilot: Island Tower, 17L, approaching the tip of PT Loma, request to descend (500ft) and contact Lindbergh Tower.
Island Tower: 17L, cleared to switch to Lindbergh, altitude your discretion.
As you are rounding the tip of Point Loma, heading Northbound along the shoreline, switch up Lindbergh and listen for a good time to check in without interruption airline ops. Make sure you don’t go much further north than Fort Rosecrans cemetery without a clearance.
Pilot: Lindbergh Tower, Great Lakes 17L, south of Fort Rosecrans at 500ft, request northbound shoreline transition.
Lindbergh Tower: 17L, cleared the Bravo at or below 500ft, report Crystal Pier.
Pilot: repeat back clearance. Crystal Pier is the second pier you will come across northbound, the first one is Ocean Beach or OB Pier.
Sometimes an aircraft maybe coming through for a bay tour from Crystal Pier, Lindbergh Tower will not clear 2 aircraft in that area unless they have each other in sight and are maintaining visual separation.
Once cleared through the bravo, fly northbound along the shoreline, maintain a minimum of 500ft lateral distance from any person, pier, or ship. The FAA also talks about flying high enough to make a safe landing.
If you lose your engine suddenly, turn towards the shore and try to land near a boat or surfers. When the fixed gear Great Lakes flips over they may be able to pull you out quickly if you are stunned or unconscious.
Don’t flat hat, there is no reason to fly less than 300 ft, birds hang out more frequently at the low altitudes and the seagulls can do great harm to your prop blades.
If ever you have any inclination that the engine isn’t running normally, do your procedures and head home in the most direct route. Both North Island and Lindbergh Field are great emergency diverts and are helpful to assist if you need to go direct back to MYF. They can clear you through their airspace immediately. Don’t be scared to fess up your fears, we are all a team out there. In the past, a Stearman had to land on a road on the cliff of Point Loma, and a Travel Air landed reverse direction at Lindbergh Field when his engine was running rough. Be smart.
When you reach Crystal Pier, report the pier to Lindbergh Tower when you find a break in their radio comms. You can report it a little early if you hear a break. Try not to interrupt them. Good manners and professionalism keep this tour route open to the professional aviators.
When you check out with Lindbergh Tower, thank them, they may give you traffic calls as a courtesy. Radar and ADS-B targets may be flying low around La Jolla. These may be aerial tour operators such as low flying helo’s or another aircraft entering that shoreline transition from the North.
Be on your game during this tour route, we want continued permission for years to come. Thank you for reading. Feel free to email me with Questions.
