Page 15 - Volume 18 Number 8

Angelesdepart, with instructions to pick them up at Atlantic Aviation on LAX at 10 AM on day three. We had planned on staying two nights at the conveniently-located Santa Maria Airport Hotel, maybe trying out a famous local steakhouse. But, when checking the weather, we find that zero/zero conditions due to fog are predicted for the next several mornings at SMX. Rather than risk a late pick up, we decide to deadhead the Lear from SMX to LAX on day two and spend the night there at the airport Hilton.As soon as the fog lifts on SMX the next morning, we are out of the hotel and at the FBO. Santa Maria is only 95 nm from Los Angeles and, with the Lear capable of 400 knots, we figure it should be a very short trip, maybe 25 minutes. But, when operating in Southern California, such things are best not taken for granted. LAX, for example, tends to get very busy with airline traffic in the morning and mid-to-late afternoon, which can result in “gate holds” at the departure end and holding patterns en route, even when only minutes away. With the Lear’s fuel burn, any low altitudeholding is best avoided, and, for that matter, so is a lot of taxiing. With all this in mind, and maybe getting too smart for our own good, we call SOCAL (approach control) on the phone and ask the supervisor what would be the best time, from a traffic perspective, for us to depart SMX. He says between 1 PM and 3 PM should be just fine.At 1 PM, we get our IFR clearance to LAX and taxi out to runway 30. It’s looking good until, when switching to the SMX tower frequency, we are told there is a 45-minute departure delay, and we can either just shut down right there, or hold with engines running. It’s already hot in the cockpit of the Lear, even with the AC all the way up, and shutting down the engines will just turn the airplane into a sauna. But, on the other hand, running them for 45 minutes to keep the AC on will cost $600 in fuel. We elect to taxi back to the FBO and shut down. An hour later, we get the takeoff clearance without delay and are airborne.Again, thinking about fuel efficiency, we have filed for the BUELT TWO departure out of SMX,and the MOORPARK THREE arrival at LAX, with a request for runway 25L. Our plan is to transition from the departure directly to the arrival over the San Marcus VOR (a routing point on both charts), then land on the runway closest to the FBO, saving us a bundle of taxi time. SOCAL comes on the frequency and clears us direct to the Santa Monica VOR at 12,000 feet, which is just great, but then also tells us to expect Runway 24R (the most northern runway) – not good at all. We point out that we are going to Atlantic Aviation in the far SE corner of the airport and again request the nearby 25L. The controller says he will pass it on and assigns us a new frequency.AUGUST 2014TWIN & TURBINE • 13