4 ms·

I can’t believe this flight school does training out over open water like that. As a pilot from the Midwest I actively fly around the Great Lakes in light pisto

I can’t believe this flight school does training out over open water like that. As a pilot from the Midwest I actively fly around the Great Lakes in light piston engine aircraft, even in the summer.

gamblor956 6y ago
The ground in the LA basin around LAX is very crowded. It's safer for the people on the ground that new pilots not be flying overhead.
StavrosK 6y ago
Why? So you don't crash in water if something happens?
- akiselev 6y ago
  Planes are really easy to land in an open field in the event of emergency - simulated forced landings are required training for pilots. Landing on water without a sea plane is much harder.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    Hm yeah, I can relate. As an RC plane pilot, water is my bane.
  - yencabulator 6y ago
    There are very few "open fields" near LAX. Feel free to look at a satellite view on google maps, and compare to Great Lakes area. One of the denser urban areas vs a lot of agricultural use.
- bronco21016 6y ago
  Crashing in the water, particularly the water temperature of the Great Lakes, is nearly a death sentence. You can definitely survive impact and get out but you’re not likely to survive the water unless rescue is minutes away. The exception is the end of a particularly warm summer in maybe Lake Erie or southern Lake Michigan. Now compared to over land, you can easily land a small piston engine plane just about anywhere. Highways, large parking lots, open fields, all become acceptable landing spots. In a Cessna 172 which is commonly used for flight training, impact speed can be as slow as 45 knots. Even a crash into a dense forest is survivable with some luck. I guess I’m just not familiar enough with LA airspace to fully appreciate the lack of space for training flights. I’ve been in and out of LAX and it is busy no doubt. I just haven’t done GA operations in that area so I wasn’t all that familiar with all of the additional airports and traffic. Personally, my pucker factor would be exceptionally high practicing stalls, or multi-engine training with engine shutdowns and Vmc demos over open water. Regardless of the temperature.
Eugr 6y ago
You can't really compare Midwest and LA. Despite lack of good engine out options over the ground, LA Basin has several very busy airports, complex airspace and crazy traffic.

gamblor956 6y ago

The ground in the LA basin around LAX is very crowded. It's safer for the people on the ground that new pilots not be flying overhead.

StavrosK 6y ago

Why? So you don't crash in water if something happens?

akiselev 6y ago
Planes are really easy to land in an open field in the event of emergency - simulated forced landings are required training for pilots. Landing on water without a sea plane is much harder.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  Hm yeah, I can relate. As an RC plane pilot, water is my bane.
- yencabulator 6y ago
  There are very few "open fields" near LAX. Feel free to look at a satellite view on google maps, and compare to Great Lakes area. One of the denser urban areas vs a lot of agricultural use.
bronco21016 6y ago
Crashing in the water, particularly the water temperature of the Great Lakes, is nearly a death sentence. You can definitely survive impact and get out but you’re not likely to survive the water unless rescue is minutes away. The exception is the end of a particularly warm summer in maybe Lake Erie or southern Lake Michigan. Now compared to over land, you can easily land a small piston engine plane just about anywhere. Highways, large parking lots, open fields, all become acceptable landing spots. In a Cessna 172 which is commonly used for flight training, impact speed can be as slow as 45 knots. Even a crash into a dense forest is survivable with some luck. I guess I’m just not familiar enough with LA airspace to fully appreciate the lack of space for training flights. I’ve been in and out of LAX and it is busy no doubt. I just haven’t done GA operations in that area so I wasn’t all that familiar with all of the additional airports and traffic. Personally, my pucker factor would be exceptionally high practicing stalls, or multi-engine training with engine shutdowns and Vmc demos over open water. Regardless of the temperature.

Eugr 6y ago

You can't really compare Midwest and LA. Despite lack of good engine out options over the ground, LA Basin has several very busy airports, complex airspace and crazy traffic.