Well, since you ask....
Denise Jennings is a friend and the Director of Marketing for
Air Combat USA. Her personal
Mooney is a very clean, attractive, well maintained plane. She has over 2,000 hours in it and it just had its annual a month ago. I hadn't been in a private plane since 1982 (an observation flight through
Grand Canyon in a
Cessna 172) but I didn't have a hint of anxiety. With a congenial, competent pilot it was nothing but cheerful anticipation. I hadn't been to
Catalina in quite a while, too. Fished all around it, but hadn't set foot on it in a long time.
We took off about half past noon last Friday. Very cool to see LA and Long Beach harbors from a new perspective. It was a hazy day, before the wildfires had started the next day, but above the haze it was a beautiful, clear, cloudless blue sky.
Catalina is 26 miles off shore and is usually visible from land on a clear day, but from 4500' it looks even more mountainous, exotic and adventurous. The airport is different from most you have seen. It sits on top of one of the mountains at 1600'. I've heard several pilots compare it to landing on a carrier. If you roll of the end you're gonna fall a long way down. They call it the
Airport In The Sky.
Most landings are on runway 22, from the NE. This day, though, there was a mild Santa Ana (which would build into the ferocious winds pushing fire all around the next day), so the tower had DJ circle to land from the opposite direction on runway 4. There was only one other plane visiting when we landed - a V-tailed Beechcraft. We chocked the wheels and ambled into the restaurant/gift shop after settling up on the landing fee.
There's a plaza out front with exhibits about prehistoric Indian life and some of the local wildlife. One of the attractions at
Catalina is the bison. Yep. In the early days of Hollywood a western movie was filmed on the island for which a herd of buffalo was shipped over. Rounding them all up at the end of filming was more than the producers could deal with, so the buffalo were left behind and have flourished ever since.
We took a table on the rear patio which overlooks a valley and neighboring peaks. The food was delivered (a couple of excellent sandwiches) and we enjoyed a cordial lunch on a beautiful afternoon with a mother buffalo and calf grazing on the opposite hillside. The restaurant, called the
DC3, holds barbecues in the summertime, when dozens of planes fly in for the get-togethers.
When we couldn't justify staying any longer, we bid goodbye to the staff (the Beech pilot had already taken off) and headed back to the Mooney. We noticed that the pristine DC3, which still shuttles cargo to the island, had landed while we were dining, and was unloading into trucks that would deliver all the vital supplies to the islanders. DJ did all the prep stuff that instills comfort in passengers who seldom fly in small planes, we climbed aboard again, and took off toward the NE. She executed a left turn on the climb out and headed toward the west end of the island, over the small town of Two Harbors, known colloquially as "The Isthmus". A look at the map and you'll see why.
We looked around a little while to see if we could spot the Air Combat combatants, but they were beyond our sight. The flight back gave me a better look at the coastline along Palos Verde and the harbors and then before I knew it we were on final approach to
Fullerton. I've driven past this municipal airport for about 40 years but landing at it sure gives one a fresh look at the old neighborhood. We parked back in front of Air Combat and sauntered into the office. Pretty sure I was grinning the entire time. Heck, I still am just remembering it. I reviewed
my digital photos of the Mooney flight with the guys in the office and then, eventually, had to admit to myself that I wasn't going up again that day. So I went on home - still smiling. Thanks, Denise!
Thanks for asking!
