Pilot Briefing
KRIR CTAF 122.8
KRAL TOWER 121.0
KRAL ATIS 128.8
KRAL WX ASOS 951-352-4392
SOCAL APP & DEP 135.4
RUNWAY 24 & 6 3190’ long, 50’ wide
ELEVATION 767’
TPA (day) 1467’
TPA (night) 1767’
FUEL 100LL
VFR ARRIVALS
Some pilots who fly into Flabob for the first time find it scary because of the mountain which is right in your face on downwind leg. Friend, this is because you are too high. Daytime pattern altitude at Flabob is 1,467 feet, which is 700 feet AGL, lower than most patterns. The reason for this is Mt. Rubidoux, which sits about where you would want to turn base. If you are at the proper, low, altitude, the “key spot” will be well inside the mountain and it will work out fine. If you are too high, the mountain is in your way. So fly the pattern altitude and it will work out well. Flavio (of the Flavio-Bob ownership era) used to advise flying right at the cross on top of Mt. Rubidoux until “you feel an irresistible urge to cross yourself, then turn base and there you are.”
At night, the pattern altitude is 1,767 feet, 1,000 feet agl, and you fly outside the mountain. This is for the obvious reason that it is harder to see at night. The lights are pilot-controlled on 122.8, which is our CTAF and not attended. Seven slow keys (one every second or so should do it) of your microphone will turn on the lights. One more thing about our runway lights, they are offset – in other words, stay closer to the lights on the right than on the left (or you’ll end up in the grass). You can get all this information and much more from the great web resource — Airnav.com.
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We are very close to our friendly instrument airport, Riverside Municipal (KRAL). So close, indeed, that we are in a cutout in their Class D. If you want to go south or west, or approach from those directions, give the cheerful folks at Riverside Tower (121.0) a call. The Riverside ATIS (128.8) is a good source of weather since we are only 2.8 nautical miles away, so our weather is pretty much the same.
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Our traffic pattern is left hand for both Runway 24 (in use 90% of the time) and Runway 06. If you are approaching from the east while 24 is active, we usually make a left upwind, x-wind, downwind and so on. From the north, we enter on a left x-wind.
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We are proud to boast that we are “tower free.”
Flabob has an instrument approach procedure (IAP). It is an RNAV (GPS)-A. And because it is a circling approach, it will work for either runway. However, 24 is the calm wind runway.
As you well know, make certain you have the most current Arrival and Departure Procedures with you before arriving or departing. The following is general information for trip planning.
Instrument Approach & Departures
ARRIVAL
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The approach starts at BAYJY intersection (where V186 intersects V363, south of Brackett), and proceeds by three GPS stepdown fixes westerly toward the airport. Minima for Category A airplanes (most of us) is 1860 – 1 1/4. This corresponds to a ceiling of 1,100 feet. The procedure is not available at night. The reason for the high ceiling and the unavailability at night is the hills in both directions.
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As an alternative, when the ceiling is 1,000 or higher and the visibility is 1 mile or better at Riverside Municipal, it has long been known that you can file for the ILS – 9 at Riverside, and when you break out at or above 1800 msl, cancel IFR and ask for a special VFR NW bound for Flabob, then fly up the middle of the river until you see Mt. Rubidoux and make a left base for 24. In practice, the new RNAV approach has about the same minima as this maneuver, but for the majority of us lacking an IFR-approved GPS, this should still work.
DEPARTURE
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TAKEOFF MINIMUMS: Rwy 6, std. w/min. climb of 670′ per NM to 4000 or 400-2 w/min. climb of 480′ per NM to 4000 or 2100-3 for climb in visual conditions. Rwy 24, std. w/min. climb of 630′ per NM to 3000 or 800-2¾ w/min. climb of 305′ per NM to 4600 or 2100-3 for climb in visual conditions.
DEPARTURE PROCEDURE: Rwy 6, climb via heading 064° to 4000 then right turn direct PDZ VORTAC, or for climb in visual conditions cross Flabob Airport.
Southwest bound at or above 2700 then via PDZ R-039 to PDZ VORTAC. Rwy 24, climb via heading 244° and PDZ R-031 to PDZ VORTAC, or for climb in visual conditions cross Flabob airport Southwest bound at or above 2700 then via PDZ R-039 to PDZ VORTAC.
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All aircraft climb in PDZ VORTAC holding pattern (hold East, right turns, 258° inbound) to cross PDZ VORTAC at or above MEA for direction of flight before proceeding on course.
NOTE: Rwy 6, trees beginning 3763′ from DER, 1152′ right of centerline, up to 40′ AGL/1119′ MSL. Rwy 24, antenna on tank 6193′ from DER, 2057′ right of centerline, 38′ AGL/1237′ MSL. Trees beginning 2494′ from DER, 434′ right of centerline, up to 40′ AGL/1519′ MSL. Pole 6261′ from DER, 1950′ right of centerline, 30′ AGL/1230′ MSL. Building 1.52 NM from DER, 1154′ right of centerline, up to 29′ AGL/1369′ MSL. Antenna on tank 1.26 NM from DER, 2047′ right of centerline, 54′ AGL/1254′ MSL. Tank 4043′ from DER, 794′ right of centerline, 66′ AGL/961′ MSL. Tree 1.79 NM from DER, 434′ right of centerline, 58′ AGL/1138′ MSL..
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