As of March 28th, 2021 the Tecnam P2002 Sierra is no longer available after an emergency off-field landing due to pilot error on crosswind departure from runway 20.
Neither the pilot nor passenger were injured, however the plane hit a power line and was totaled.
For more information please contact SCFC at 831-722-4580.
The Santa Cruz Flying Club and Ocean Air Flight Services have joined forces to celebrate the fall season by hosting a post-Halloween dropping of pumpkins from aircraft on Saturday, November 9 from 9 a.m. to 1:00 PM.
Young and old alike are invited to bring their (uncarved) left-over Halloween pumpkins and test their accuracy hitting a ground target for fun and prizes. The ‘Pumpkin Drop’ has been a popular annual post-Halloween event at the airport. Pilots volunteer their time and aircraft to take ‘pumpkin droppers’ twice around the pattern and over a 5’ x 5’ target located beside the runway. Prizes are awarded for pumpkins, or fragments thereof, that land closest to the target.
For community members interested in learning about aviation, or considering beginning flying lessons themselves, this is an excellent opportunity for an introduction to flight. Certified flight instructors will be available to demonstrate basic pilot skills and answer questions.
Donations are encouraged to offset fuel costs. You are invited to bring your own small pumpkin, or the Flying Club will supply one for a $10.00 per pumpkin suggested donation.
A Call for Pilots & Aircraft Owners
Fly-in events like the pumpkin drop are a great excuse to get out and fly. If you're based at any of the Bay Area airports it's just a short flight to Watsonville to join the fun, and even check out the "Second Saturday" airport event with discounted fuel prices and eat at Props Restaurant and Lounge at the airport terminal.
So if you're a pilot/owner, a renter, or a CFI in the area, we would absolutely love to have you stop by and introduce yourself and join in the fun.
If you have any extra small uncarved pumpkins, be sure to bring them along so you can either drop them yourself or donate them to the event so we can connect your pumpkins with visitors who would like to attempt to hit the target as well.
If you're planning on coming out of even considering it, please click the "Register Now" button above and let us know! We would love to have an idea of how many aircraft, pilots and participants will be there.
Santa Cruz Flying Club offers it's members a $5/hr discount on the following aircraft:
How does it work?
With increasing fuel costs and already low aircraft rental rates this discount won't last forever, so fly today! 🙂
This month's gathering is Monday, March 11th at 6:30 p.m. at the Props Restaurant and Lounge at the Watsonville Airport. The general topic will be questions and answers for those thinking about getting started with flying lessons, and for those who are coming back to flying after some time away.
If you're not able to make it to this gathering but have questions about flight training, go ahead and email them to admin@scfc.org and we'd be glad to get answers to you or assist you in getting the information you need!
Someone from Specialized Aviation will be introducing us to their 2007 Diamond DA-40 XL aircraft which is equipped with a Garmin G1000 full glass cockpit.
They will also be introducing us to their G1000 simulator. So bring a snack to share and come on out to learn about these new resources at the airport!
This month's potluck is on Monday, November 12th at 6:30pm and will be located at the offices of Specialized Aviation, 150 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA.
The Santa Cruz Flying Club and Ocean Air Flight Services have joined forces to celebrate the fall season by hosting a post-Halloween dropping of pumpkins from aircraft on Sunday, November 4 from noon to 2:00 PM. Young and old alike are invited to bring their (uncarved) left-over Halloween pumpkins and test their accuracy hitting a ground target for fun and prizes.
The ‘Pumpkin Drop’ has been a popular annual post-Halloween event at the airport. Pilots volunteer their time and aircraft to take ‘pumpkin droppers’ twice around the pattern and over a 5’ x 5’ target located beside the runway. Prizes are awarded for pumpkins, or fragments thereof, that land closest to the target. Certified pilots can also participate in a “Spot Landing Contest” where they attempt to guide their airplane to a perfect touchdown on a line drawn across the runway.
For community members interested in learning about aviation, or considering beginning flying lessons themselves, this is an excellent opportunity for an introduction to flight. Certified flight instructors will be available to demonstrate basic pilot skills and answer questions.
A raffle will take place during the event and the winners of the Pumpkin Drop and Spot Landing Contests will receive special prizes. There is no charge for the flight if you bring your own small pumpkin, or we’ll supply them for a $10.00 per pumpkin suggested donation.
The Santa Cruz Flying Club is a non-profit social club focused on aviation and pilot training based at the Watsonville airport. The club atmosphere aids in learning to fly by sharing experiences with others, going on group flights to interesting destinations, and sharing flight expenses with other pilots. They have monthly potlucks and training opportunities throughout the year. For more information about this or other events visit the club online at http://scfc.org or call 831-722-4580.
Ocean Air Flight Services is a flight school and aircraft maintenance facility featuring new light sport aircraft (LSA) and offering training toward both the “traditional” FAA Private Pilot certificate and the newer and more affordable Sport Pilot certification. For more information about Ocean Air visit them online at http://oceanairflightservices.com or call 831-763-0290.
The ‘Pumpkin Drop’ will be held from noon to 2:00 PM at the Ocean Air hangar located at 170 Aviation Way, just off of Airport Blvd in Watsonville.
Santa Cruz Flying Club is actively looking for CFI's at this time. We're looking for instructors interested in teaching in our single engine aircraft and our students are typically training for Private, Instrument and Commercial certificates, as well as existing pilots needing Biennial Flight Reviews (BFR) and Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPC).
You would be working as an independent contractor at the Santa Cruz Flying Club, typical instructor rates are $60 to $85/hour (instructors determine their hourly rate on a lesson-by-lesson basis). As prospective students call the club office they are passed along to the various flight instructors based on their schedule and availability.
If you would like to inquire for more information or if you have any questions please contact the Santa Cruz Flying Club at 831-722-4580 or via email at info@scfc.org. Additional information about the club can be found at http://scfc.org.
Following is a note from Dean McCully about the Watsonville Airport "Day in the Sky" event. Santa Cruz Flying Club will be there, so tell your friends and be sure to stop by!
Greetings Aviators
Heads up, the SEVENTH annual Day in the Sky Watsonville is heading our way like a freight train... only 2.5 weeks away!
Who: Thousands of Central Coast families, especially families with kids with disabilities + low income families.
What: Biggest springtime Watsonville Airport festival ever. Plus about 100 exhibitors of Science/Technology/EngineeringMath/Aviation. Hot air balloons. Static aircraft displays + tours. Tons of hands-on fun for kids of all ages!
When: Saturday April 30, 9am-4pm
Where: Watsonville Municipal Airport, Watsonville. Easy access...
Take Hwy 1 to the "Airport Blvd" exit. Turn east, drive about 2 miles, you're there. Or if you're flying in, follow the coast until your GPS starts flashing WVI. (If it's flashing LAX, you've gone too far 😉
Why: We're continuing the 7 year long tradition of getting hoards of kids interested in general aviation and science, in an incredibly fun hands-on way.
How can you help? Many ways:
We hope you can join us Saturday April 30...
See the website for more info:
http://www.dayinthesky.com/pilot.htm (for pilot registration -- go to the homepage for lots more info...)
Blue Skies!
Dean McCully
Shared Adventures Day in the Sky
A very minor update to the SCFC website this evening. In the past on our weather page we had a textual listing of local area METAR weather reports. When the site was upgraded to our new content management system I turned off the feature until I could develop a better way to do it.
This evening I found a solution and added some additional area airports to the list. I have kept them as plain coded METARs to keep the display compact and allow you to quickly at a glance get the information you need from it. If you have any comments, suggestions, or difficulty viewing it, leave a comment and let us know.
Link to the SCFC Weather page.