A Day at the Ballpark

Flying over Oakland Airport with the Sports Complex at my 10 o'clock.

Ever since the summer of 2008, after I earned my pilot’s license, I’ve wanted to make the quick hop from Palo Alto to Oakland to enjoy a baseball game. Most games I’ve attended are nightgames and I’m not too keen on flying at night unless I have to – and in almost all cases, it’s not something that I have to do. However, a couple of weeks ago one of my baseball buddies (Mark) invited me to the A’s v. White Sox game on Sept 22nd – a daygame. I couldn’t resist and could only hope that the weather would cooperate. Generally, this time of year the marine layers around Oakland can play havoc on VFR flights and yet this past Wednesday, there must have been a high pressure system in the area because it was clear all day – from sunrise to sunset.  I could not have asked for better weather.

The game started at 12:30p, so I decided to work four hours in the AM and then head to the airport around 11am. Surprisingly, for as close as I work to the airport, I don’t often fly after work. Oftentimes , I’m so wound up from the day that I need time to simply decompress. As 11am neared, I forced myself to slow down my pace and allow myself to relax before heading to the airport. The last thing I ever want to do is get to the airport and rush. Haste is a key contributing factor to aviation accidents.

Upon arrival at the airport, I did my usual preflight briefings on both my iPhone and through a quick call to Flight Service for an abbreviataed briefing. The weather was so good and the flight was so short, that the briefing lasted less than 2 minutes. I simply needed to verify if there were any VFR NOTAMs or TFRs in the area.

Always Fill to Tabs

When I arrived at the aircraft (Archer III – N9294Q), I performed my usual inspection of the fuel tanks and oil tank. To my utter surprise, the left tank was completely dry and the right tank had barely any fuel in it. This was a bit disturbing, since it would indicate that the pilot that flew the plane before me (about two days earlier) had not practiced proper fuel management and was in danger of fuel starvation (i.e. a potentially fatal accident).

Once the fuel service rep filled the tanks to the tabs, he informed that he put 31.9 gals of fuel in the aircraft. Archers and Warriors take 17 gals in each side to fill to the tabs for a total of 34 gals. It is common practice to always fill these aircraft to at least tabs prior to every flight, especially with aircraft in the flying club because you aren’t paying any extra for gas – it’s included in the price of the rental.

So this means the pilot that flew before me only had about 2 gals of gas in the aircraft when he landed…about enough for 12 minutes of flight. Needless to say, I felt obligated to inform the flying club front office of my observation. I hope that their investigation and follow up conversation with the pilot will help to save not only his/her life but the lives of any of his/her future passengers.

Climbing to Cruise Altitude in One Minute

My departure out to Oakland was the standard right 45-degree departure with a quick 1-minute climb up to 1,200ft. I really enjoy flying the Archers – their performance is noticeably better than the Warriors. It’s amazing how much difference only 20 horsepower can make. My flight planning indicated that the total time enroute would be about 8 minutes. Well the flight took me 50% more time than that, about 12 minutes, but I’m not complaining. I’d much rather fly direct across the bay in 12 minutes than drive 45 minutes to 1 hr and 15 minutes in annoying traffic, before and after the game.

PAO Tower quickly transferred me to Oakland South Tower soon after crossing the Dumbarton Bridge. Given that it was such a short flight, I could basically be cleared for approach as soon as I leveled off for cruise flight at only 1,200 ft. So, I used my Com 2 radio to quickly pick up the ATIS at Oakland just as I was being transitioned over.

"Resume Own Navigation" – Lesson Learned

Initially, Oakland South Tower cleared me for approach with vectors over the San Leandro Marina and then a left base for runway 27R. However, less than 30 seconds after receiving that clearance it was rescinded and I was told to climb immediately to 2,000 ft and turn left 30 degrees. Apparently, the North and South towers were coordinating other VFR traffic in the area and there was a photo flight taking a bit longer than expected. After reaching 2,000 ft, the South Tower radioed back and said something to the effect of, "N9294Q, resume own navigation. Proceed midfield over 27R, for right downwind approach. After passing the numbers for runway 29, contact Oakland North Tower on 118.3."

I radioed back that clearance and began my approach into Oakland. I began descending down to pattern altitude of 1,000 ft and was heading direct towards the 29 numbers when the South Tower radioed back and requested my current altitude. I informed her that I was passing through 1,600 ft for the pattern altitude of 1,000ft. She immediately informed me to climb back up to 2,000ft and remain at that altitude until contacting Oakland North Tower.

I let her know that I thought that her clearance of "resume own navigation" and begin to setup for approach meant that I could start my descent down from 2,000 ft. She informed me that this was not the case since there was still VFR traffic in the area. Yet, she politely acknowledged that she understood my misunderstanding. So even on a quick 12min flight, I learned yet another valuable lesson. Altitudes clearances and navigational clearances are separate and distinct. This may seem simple in hindsight but in the moment with the combination of clearances I was given at the same time, it was easy to reach the conclusion that I did.

Sox Win!

Thankfully, the Chicago White Sox came away with a victory. It was only the second time I’ve seen them win in Oakland in about 12 tries. For whatever reason, they just have never played well on the West Coast. I’d parked the plane at Kaiser Jet Center in OAK and upon return to the aiport at around 3:45p, I promptly checked out. Lo and behold there was a $17 ramp fee for my short stay at their facility. I had called earlier in the morning to see if they provided transient parking but I failed to ask if there was a fee. I’ll be sure to ask that question next time I fly into a Class C airport. Most Class D and uncontrolled airports have overnight parking fees but rarely do they have landing fees or day parking ramp fees. I guess the more you fly the more you learn and such was the case on this quick trip across the bay. It was a fun and enlightening experience. I hope to do it again soon.