We took off around 4:35 pm on Saturday from Hawthorne airport. The sky was bright red with the sun setting behind the clouds. The dogs in the back seat were scared and nervous. It was only their second or third time up in the air.
As we circled the Long Beach practice area we saw a cruise ship about 8 miles south of Angel’s Gate. Neeta wanted to circle the ship, but was a little nervous about descending too low. Even at 3000 ft, it was gorgeous.
The trip back was easy – transition through the Torrance airspace and a left pattern from Alondra Park. The sky was still a little rid, and I was number 3 in the pattern. Once on a mile and half final, with a perfect picture of the lit runway, I decided to do a short field landing.
Everything went as planned – 64 knots, red/white on the VASI and aimed at the numbers for Runway 25. The tough down was perfect, within 20 ft of the numbers … wish this was my commerical pilot checkride.
The dogs jumped off the plane really excited to be back on the ground. I think they are about ready for a cross country flight to Solvang or some other place.
