A Flight Simulator Odyssey

by Charles Gulick

Swingin' On the Gate

Chart: San Francisco
Title: SWINGIN ON GATE
En Route Coordinates:
   Aircraft: N17430, E5069
   Tower: N17434.694, E5055.4641
Altitude:
   Aircraft: 743
   Tower: 15
Heading: 254
Time: Daylight

That strip of grass beyond the bridge, between the water and the foot of the mountain, looks like an ideal landing strip. And it is. Judge your approach carefully, and you can pass over the end of the bridge at low, low altitude--maybe even startle a few motorists down there in the traffic.

Once you're on the ground, maybe you'll want to get into position for takeoff in the opposite direction, and save this as a special flying field in the Bay area. It's a neat place to fly from and to.

Elevation is 17 feet.

San Francisco was under the control of the Spanish, who called it Yerba Buena, until 1846, when it was taken by the United States. Two years later it was hustled into growth by the California Gold Rush, and later by the advent of the transcontinental railroad. The famous earthquake and fire occurred in April, 1906. During World War II the city was an embarkation point for campaigns in the Pacific, and was the scene of the drafting of the United Nations Charter and the signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty.

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