| Landing at Catalina Island Airport, off the coast of Los Angeles, California, USA presents some unique challenges. They created the airport by literally slicing off the top of the mountain, making a runway with 1600 foot cliffs on three sides, and a substantial hump half way down the length of the runway. Many an aircraft has smacked into the cliff below the approach end of the runway when the strong winds off the Pacific roll over the mountain top, creating strong downdrafts on the approach end. Or, if you carry too much speed on landing, you might run out of runway and sail off the far end with insufficient flying speed. Additionally, when you are in the pattern, you are far higher above the ocean and terrain than you are used to seeing at a typical airport, so it is easy to misjudge the descent and arrive at short-final too low. Though it is a private airport, no prior permission is necessary to land. There is a US$25 landing fee per aircraft landing. The right quartering headwind pushed me left of the center line, but I decided to leave well enough alone, and not fight that aspect. You can see that the runway is patched and rather rough in places. There is a restaurant in the terminal where you can have lunch, or take a 45 minute tram ride for a fee down into Avalon, where there are many restaurants, hotels, etc. It is highly recommended that you take a pilot with prior landing experience at this airport along with you when you make your first landing at this airport ... |
