Volunteer at San Carlos Flight Center

Looking for ways to get involved with the aviation community? San Carlos Flight Center is looking for volunteers to help out with special projects and general aviation through the Special Ops program.

Our Special Ops team comes up with great new ideas, and together we make them a reality. Every event that happens at the Flight Center is successful because of an enthusiastic group of Special Ops volunteers behind it, making it work.

We will have an information session for everyone interested in joining the Special Ops program on Saturday, June 6th at 10:00am at the Flight Center. Email us here to get started and let us know your coming.

Biggest “Little” Air Show

In a few weeks, the Hiller Aviation Museum is putting on an airshow at the San Carlos Airport.

The airshow will occur on Saturday, June 13th. It will feature realistic jet and propeller-powered model aircraft to roll down the runway and into the sky to take their part in a unique aerial extravaganza including aerobatic helicopters, drones, quadrotors, and more. More information can be found online here.

How does this impact pilots at San Carlos? San Carlos Airport will be closed to regular traffic from 10:30 am to noon. If you are flying that Saturday, plan to depart well before 10:30 in the morning. Plan a cross country trip and plan to return well after noon to avoid the usual backlog of planes all attempting to arrive shortly after noon. Be aware that there will be increased vehicle traffic ahead and just after the show. Parking may be more difficult, so plan accordingly.

Dealing with Limited Parking

When the airport decided to build us a new building, it was a good/bad news situation. The building was badly in need of renewal, but it meant we’d be stuck in portable buildings for a couple of years. Fortunately, the new portables are fantastic. Unfortunately, the parking is not.

The choices aren’t great, but we can all learn to live with it. There are a small handful of parking spaces near and around the portable buildings - first come, first served. They’ve also added some new parallel parking spots along the fence. 

There’s almost unlimited parking BEFORE you get to the old building, it just means a bit of healthy walking exercise on your way to the portable. Combined with the healthy walk to airplanes, we’ll all be in top shape by August!

Warning: Do not park in the three spots reserved for Hangar Tenants, who pay monthly for a hangar to store their airplane. If you see this sign, despite the wording, move to another spot, it’s not for SCFC.

Safety

At or Above 2,000ft for Sightseeing

SCFC pilots get amazing views of the ocean, the bay, the bridges and islands, and all the landmarks of San Francisco and the East Bay. With summer skies, it’s easier to invite family and friends along for sightseeing flights of all kinds, including the vague sightseeing circle through Oakland Class C and San Francisco Class B that involves talking to air traffic control.

Most people on the ground have no idea that we get to enjoy these sensational views any time we want, and that’s the way we like it. Please do everything you can to enjoy the sights safely, without calling attention to yourself and your plane. 

The best was to do this it to fly at least 2,000’ over the bay, and higher over urban areas. Airplane noise can irritate residents, scare sea birds and wild animals, and signal low flying threats to nervous people on the ground. Regulations say to stay 500’ away from any obstruction, vehicle, or person, and to stay at least 1000’ above any obstacle in a 2000’ radios. The 760’ towers of the Golden Gate Bridge count as obstructions, so stay well clear of the unfortunately automobile traffic stuck in traffic missing out on our views.

Flying with our Bay Flight call sign comes with the responsibility to respect our community. Keep yourself safe, and also protect the people and animals on the ground from our noise and our distraction.

KSQL Tower Phraseology

In recent months, you may have heard a new phrase from some of the San Carlos tower controllers. The phrase is “… your clearance remains the same …”. You might hear this while in the traffic pattern at San Carlos. An example is this instruction:

“Bay Flight 21 your clearance remains the same, turn base at Kaiser”

What does this mean and when might you hear this?

The situation where the controller might say this is when you have already been given a landing clearance, e.g., Bay Flight 21, runway 30, cleared for the option. After this landing clearance, the controller may want to make room for a departure. To make room, the controller will give you instructions to turn base after a certain point, e.g., at Kaiser. Since you have already been given a landing clearance, the only thing being changed is where to turn base. Thus, the instruction, “Bay Flight 21 your clearance remains the same, turn base at Kaiser”.

This means you still have a landing clearance, but your base turn is no longer at your discretion, you have been told to make the base turn at Kaiser. It is more common for the controller just to instruct you to extend downwind, but you should be familiar with this instruction. In any case, if you are unsure what they want you to do, ask for clarification.

SCFC Member Profile: Ahmad Baitalmal

SCFC: What inspired you to start flight training at San Carlos Flight Center?

AB: I came to SCFC seeking to experience the DA40-NG and it was the only one I could find in the Bay Area. I was told I could go up to fly it with Assistant Chief Pilot Herb Patten and we did. I enjoyed the experience and was pleasantly surprised by SCFC’s structured and clear instructional material. I also really appreciated Herb’s ability to teach me complex concepts with an abundance of patience. I also felt that the airplanes were very well maintained, they ran on 94UL (I care about that), and I felt safe. I watched some of the recorded seminars and I was blown away with the wealth of information in that library. I’m very happy with my choice of choosing SCFC.

SCFC: Congratulations on passing your Instrument Checkride. How did it compare to your Private Pilot Checkride?

AB: Thank you. It was a much less stressful experience. For the PPL, I didn’t know what to expect. With the IR I was already a regular flyer and was I was able to prepare and practice on my own regularly. Familiarity with the FAR/AIM and the FAA material reduced the ambiguity and I had a better sense for what’s critical to focus on. I also enjoyed my PPL check ride with the DPE, Eric Cook, so I was looking forward to going through the IR check ride with him as well.

SCFC: What was the most challenging but rewarding part of your Instrument training?

AB: Nailing a DME ARC with VOR down to Circling landing with step-downs to a missed approach to a hold with no AP and absolutely staying within ACS especially at the MDA. I can’t remember how many times I practiced that in the sim and in real-life but I wanted to prove to myself that I’m a proficient enough airman to trust with my family’s safety. I’d also say the PTAC comms. Those always threw me off but with practice I started getting it right and it’s very satisfying now to be able to keep up.

SCFC: What advice would you give to a Private Pilot working towards their Instrument Rating? 

AB: I would say regular practice in a simulator or if possible actual flying. IR is very process-driven. There are well defined steps and limits to everything from the aircraft’s power settings in each phase of flight to the exact altitude at AGL feet at every phase of an approach. While it may seem complex and overwhelming at first, it is a finite set of tasks that can be mastered independently. The gist of my advise would be to take one thread at a time and practice the heck out of it until it’s muscle memory and can be performed with background mental effort. This is where SCFC’s well-organized structured instructional approach is perfect and indispensable. 

SCFC: What great flight adventures are you planning to take in the coming years?

AB: I’ve done a couple of trips to Sedona and the Grand Canyon with my family. Those were amazing experiences in clear VFR days. We wanted to go further east and northwest but I felt I should get my IR and be proficient at it before we embarked on those trips. That’s why I’m looking forward to flying with SCFC to Canada in July. The plan after that is to go on a 2-week adventure and retrace a cross-country land trip we’ve done a couple of times by car. From Vancouver, to Seattle, to the Bay Area, to Chicago, to New Jersey, to Ottawa and all the way back.

Help Upwind – Donate Used iPad

The summer season is kicking off and there are seven students that are participating in this year’s nine-week training program. These high school students will go through an intense training program to prepare them for their private pilot practical test. Many of the supplies, books and tools have been provided but we are looking for a few iPads that the students can use to load ForeFlight.

If you have recently upgraded your iPad to the latest version and are looking for a new home for your previous one, please consider donating it to the Upwind Foundation. An older version of an iPad may be a perfect option for these new students. If you have one to donate, please contact the Upwind Foundation at upwindscholarship@gmail.com or contact Herb Patten.

4-Day Pacific Northwest & Canada 2026

Join FlyOutGroup on an incredible cross-border adventure to the Pacific Northwest. This is your chance to experience mountain flying, island-hopping, and international operations all in one trip.

On Thursday, July 16, you will set off from San Carlos en route to Seattle’s downtown Boeing Field (BFI) airport and experience mountain flying along the way. On arrival, you'll navigate Seattle's complex airspace and later enjoy the summer weather in downtown. The following morning, you will depart for the San Juan Islands, landing at beautiful airports like Friday Harbor (FHR), Orcas Island (ORS), and Lopez Island (S31). Pilots will gain experience flying over water and learning to mitigate the risks of a water landing. After lunch, grab your passport for a quick flight across the United States/Canada border, where we’ll land at one of the busiest airports in Canada, Vancouver International Airport (CYVR). Clear customs, and the evening is yours.

Saturday brings experience flying around British Columbia, where you have the chance to fly through the stunning Coast Mountains north of Vancouver, or venture up the fjords surrounding Victoria Island. In the afternoon, we’ll return to the US, where you’ll clear customs before setting off to Portland for the night (PDX).

The final day of the trip allows you to depart at your leisure. You can visit the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinnville (MMV) or spend time flying over Crater Lake. We’ll return to San Carlos by early evening, capping off an incredible four days of flying.

Click here to learn more and register

Bring Me Planes to Match My Members

San Carlos Flight Center has been successful in delivering on our mission - safety, community, adventure, resulting in more members joining the club, a performance increase in our maintenance team, and more flight instructors. What SCFC needs to keep all these pilots and members happy is a more airplanes.

As a flying club, SCFC members own and leaseback most of the fleet aircraft. More flight hours mean it’s easier for airplane owners to cover the high annual costs of owning the airplanes. If you are an airplane owner, or have ever considered investigating ownership, now is a great time. Flight hours are up, and we have very competent pilots to rent the planes, and dedicated mechanics to ensure the planes are maintained in top shape.

SCFC’s current membership and summer growth plans mean we could accommodate three more C172 S models, another 1 or 2 C172 G1000s, another Archer, and more C152s. If your plane isn’t getting the hours or the service quality you’d like to have, please talk to Dan or Alessandro at San Carlos Flight Center about bringing your plane to us.