San Francisco Bay Area Airport Recommendations

[schule]

As might be expected the winters in Alaska are cold, so my wife and I are considering a trip to Florida and are thinking of stopping through the SF Bay Area around the end of March on our way back to Alaska.  I have been looking at either Half Moon Bay or Napa.  Any PIREPs or other suggested aerodromes?

 

-Mark

 

 

 

[Joe Zuffoletto]

Hi Mark,

 

I was based in the Bay Area for 20 years (Napa) so I'm very familiar with the airports there, having flown into all of them several times apiece.

 

Half Moon Bay is good for a day trip but not a good base of operations, in my opinion. Too far from everything and I don't know if you can even get a rental car there. It's also subject to a lot of coastal fog.

 

Napa is an excellent airport but it's also remote, unless you plan on hanging out in the Napa Valley.

 

If you're planning on visiting San Francisco, I would recommend either San Carlos (KSQL), Concord (KCCR) or Oakland (KOAK). These are the closest GA airports to the city. Oakland is surprisingly GA-friendly; they actually have separate runways for GA vs. commercial traffic.

 

Having made these recommendations, understand that I've been away from the Bay Area for 6 years now, so I'm not up to speed on fees, fuel prices, etc. But you know how to find all that.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Joe

[N33GG]

I have had great experiences with Oakland KOAK for GA.  Easy access to San Francisco and great service for "smaller" aircraft.  Highly recommended.

[DaV8or]

If the purpose of coming to the Bay Area is to go to San Francisco, I'd recommend Oakland. (KOAK) It's closest, you can catch BART if you want to (The FBOs will give you a ride to the station), every brand of rental car is based there and it has the best variety of instrument approaches available if the marine layer moves in. However, fuel prices are crazy now and I suspect so is tie down prices. Also do yourself a favor and don't stay in Oakland, find a hotel somewhere else. The city really is dump. A cheaper and nearly as good option is Hayward (KHWD). Similar to Oakland, but smaller and a bit further from the City.

[N33GG]

Good point Dave.  No endorsement for spending any extra time in Oakland meant.  Strictly fly in to a great airport KOAK, and get over to San Francisco immediately.  I have used both rent cars and the rapid transit system there.  Both were good.

[kerry]

Last Thanksgiving weekend I went to S.F. I flew into Concord. KCCR worked out great. We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel which was right on the ramp. The Plaza has shuttles that take you to the bart station. We rented a car that was delivered right to the FBO. Fuel was very reasonable.

[jrwilson]

San Carlos is nice, GA friendly.  Close to SF, has rental cars, restaurants, pilot shop and is right on the 101.

[Bennett]

Oakland is a good choice, with good rental car facilities.  I'm biased because I hangar in San Carlos (KSQL) and have flown in and out of this airport for over 25 years. San Carlos Airport is a very GA friendly facility.  There are three restaurants on the field, reasonable gas (Rabbit aviation - truck delivery), and even a hotel at the airport. The Hiller aviation museum is on the field, and worth a visit - especially for kids, or adults who take childlike pleasure in aviation museums. The pilot supply store is quite well stocked, and friendly pilots abound (drop in at the "center table" at lunch time at Sky Kitchen for great hangar talk) .  Enterprise will pick you up at the airport, and complete the paperwork locally. San Francisco is about about 15 to 20 minutes driving to the North, with San Jose about 25 minutes to the south via decent freeways (Highway 101 is a major route, and there is a ramp virtually at the field). SFO is about 7 miles North, and Palo Alto about the same distance south.  The airspace is relatively complex with SFO's Class B, and Oakland's and San Jose's Class C, plus Hayward's, Palo Alto's, and San Carlo's Class D.  Not difficult, but study the San Francisco Terminal chart., as topography makes for non-standard sectors. By the way, the San Carlos tower folk (contract tower) are friendly and helpful. KSQL is just a good place for pilots, and close to most major attractions.

[OR75]

You are unlikely to find a snowed runway in the bay area so, you may want to leave those skis behing.

 

Most airports in the area are friendly and will have a rental car facility. 

 

The city is not very car friendly to say the least (you will spend most of your time trying to find an expensive parking space)

 

so ... if you want to visit the city, fly to SQL, CCR or OAK and call the FBO to make sure you get a lift to and from a Bart station

 

if you want to visit the area, just rent a car (no public transport)

 

Lots of small airports in the area from where you can walk to a worth seeing place

 

Columbia (O22)  .... gold rush town

Half Moon bay (HAF) ocean side

Mariposa Yosemite (MPI) Yosemite park - car rental available

South lake Tahoe (TVL) bicycle or short taxi ride to the lake

 

just to name a few, many more on your way from OR to SoCal along the coast or inland.

 

fly safe.

[N201MKTurbo]

I have always gone to Oakland, The FBO will drive you to BART and you are in the city in less then 30 min.

[schule]

Everyone,

 

Thank you for the inputs.  Our major points of interest are SF and Wine Country.  Napa and Concord look like the easiest to deal with to avoid SFO traffic, but San Carlos is closer.  Any issues getting into or out of San Carlos IFR?  VFR with flight following could be a back up if SFO approach tends to work well with light GA.

 

-Mark

[Joe Zuffoletto]

Norcal approach is very easy to work with, either VFR or IFR, as long as you're well briefed on the airspace.

 

Bennett is an excellent ambassador for San Carlos (KSQL) and I'm sure he knows much more than I do about IFR ops there. Haven't done that myself since I got my instrument ticket 20 years ago.

 

If you want to do SF and the Wine Country, I'd opt for Napa. You can fly in VFR with no airspace hassles. They also have a lot of IFR options, in terms of approaches. You can rent a car there. Just do the Wine Country first (Napa and Sonoma Valleys), then head down through Marin County and across the Golden Gate Bridge into SF. Concord is also very easy from an airspace perspective, but it's not that close to either Napa or SF once you get in the car.

[Bennett]

There are two (very similar - a climb gradient difference for a missed approach) approaches to San Carlos, but you seldom need them. Mostly, KSQL is VFR, with the exception of early mornings during the summer. Any Bay Area airport will work. Napa will keep you out of SFO airspace, and Bravo airspace is not a problem at Concord. Another place to consider relative to wine country is Santa Rosa airport. Good IFR. Approaches, multiple car rental facilities at the airport terminal, and fun drives to Napa, Sonoma, and north county wineries. Not so good for visiting San Francisco. You might consider taking a week wandering from GA airport to GA airport There are many good airports in the Bay Area, and much to see and do.

[N201MKTurbo]

I'd go to Napa get a car and see the wine country, then fly to Oakland to see the city. Driving in SF is a pain, walking is a joy.

[DaV8or]

There are two (very similar - a climb gradient difference for a missed approach) approaches to San Carlos, but you seldom need them. Mostly, KSQL is VFR, with the exception of early mornings during the summer. Any Bay Area airport will work. Napa will keep you out of SFO airspace, and Bravo airspace is not a problem at Concord. Another place to consider relative to wine country is Santa Rosa airport. Good IFR. Approaches, multiple car rental facilities at the airport terminal, and fun drives to Napa, Sonoma, and north county wineries. Not so good for visiting San Francisco. You might consider taking a week wandering from GA airport to GA airport There are many good airports in the Bay Area, and much to see and do.

 

I have been told that delays getting into and out of San Carlos IFR when there was real IMC was pretty bad. Is this true?

[Seanhoya]

Mark,

KSTS - Charles M Schultz (aka Santa Rosa) is a great option for the wine country. They have a great approach, and a couple of great FBOs to choose from.

Flying into San Fran is a bit of a conundrum - I have shot a GPS approach into Santa Carlos (KSQL), and was not impressed with what I was looking at when I landed (tiny strip at the edge of a swamp that I had to really look to find). Also, VFR departure procedures from KSQL rival a SID because of its proximity to KFSO. I have flown a number of times into Half-Moon Bay, which is really lovely (the restaurant is worth the trip), but the winds can be wicked, it is prone to fog, and it is really removed from the city. Oh, and if you shoot an approach into there, you likely will be descending in the goo over mountains - not my #1 choice.

Look - I have never flown Gen Av into Oakland or Hayward. I have been to Livermore. What I can say is that Reid Hillview is Gen-Av friendly, and is less than an hour drive from the city. Any way you look at it, you are going to be at least a half-hour, if not a full hour outside the city. I recommend Reid Hillview, then rent a car.

V/R,

Sean

[Seanhoya]

Mark,

A comment on an earlier recommendation:

Mariposa Yosemite (MPI) Yosemite park - car rental available - I did this with my wife, and had a great time. Recognize that you are in a little bit of a valley, so departure to the West is a little-bit of a white-knuckler as you are watching the hills get closer and closer to you. But it is totally doable. Yosemite is a full hour drive, so recommend renting a car and staying in the park.

South lake Tahoe (TVL) bicycle or short taxi ride to the lake - Being from Alaska, I am sure that you are experienced with high-altitude ops. This field is nestled in a high valley (bowl), and on the edge of the lake. Plan on using the lake to circle to get enough elevation to get over the pass. Consider calling a local FBO to get recommendations for pattern-entry and landing. Me - I will chose to land to the South, and depart to the North over the water, almost independent of winds. Departing into rising terrain ahead of me always makes me uncomfortable.

San Luis Obispo is actually a lovely little town, close to wine country, and has a great airport (KSBP). I am based out of Monterey. Let me know if you need any info about KMRY.

V/R,

Sean

[Bennett]

Duplicate

[Bennett]

To answer a few questions. It is true that in IMC conditions it is sometimes lengthy in time to get an approach to San Carlos. But as stated, KSQL is generally VFR. Hardly recognized the description posted about the runway being hard to find. There is a horseshoe shapped slough ( not a swamp) that has the runway at the apex. I suggest Flight Following, and the good folks at NorCal approach will get you there with little trouble. Just tell them ( and KSQL tower) you are unfamiliar with the area, and they will take an extra degree of care to get you where you want to be. KSQL's runway is about 2700' with paved overruns. There are at least 10 Mooneys based here, and most of us use less than half the runway landing.

[carusoam]

Lunch at half moon bay is worth the drive, if you aren't flying in. It is a good memory for me from a few years ago... Best regards, -a-

[DaV8or]

If you're flying up to wine country, I would also recommend Healdsburg (KHES). It's a wonderful little town with a fun downtown for an afternoon trip. Great food, wine, art galleries, antique shops, etc. Fun day trip.

[Sven]

If you're looking for wine, Sonoma County is the place. Napa is overrated. I echo Dave's suggestion of going to Healdsburg. It's a fantastic little wine town. As the saying goes around here, "Sonoma makes wine, Napa makes auto parts."

 

The owner of Sonoma Jet Center at KSTS owns a Mooney. There's a few of here on the field. Rent a car and drive into the city. Stop at the Golden Gate Bridge on the way into SF and enjoy the sights.