In less than an hour from Montgomery Field, you can travel 50 years back in time. Welcome to Catalina.
Flying in from the Oceanside VORTAC, here’s a view of Avalon and it’s harbor. ‘Tis a small town with a hair-raising 45 minute to one hour bus trip from the airport.
Generally speaking, you enter the pattern from the Catalina VORTAC on the crosswind leg for Runway 22.
On right downwind for KAVX at 2600 feet MSL.
Here’s the picture on short final, a tad high. As you can see, the southwesterly breeze comes all the way across the ocean to climb 1602′ and, usually, blows down the runway – then it tumbles down the hillside in front of you so that, on final, there’s usually some sink. You can also detect the slight crown on the runway which, in the flare, makes the last 900-1000′ seem to disappear. You’ll see lots of tire skid marks on 22.
Safely on the ground, here’s what greats you as you deplane. The 3rd story tower houses the gentle souls who remove $25 from your pocket for the privilege of landing at the “Airport in the Sky”. The buffalo burgers at the DC-3 restaurant are worth the landing fee and the trip over. The quiet beauty of the place is priceless.