Training Failures

PushingUSNTin Rookie El Centro, CA

Yeah it's a Navy base. El Centro is one of the Department of the Navy's aviation training facilities. We get more training squadrons than anything. The Navy and Marines send baby pilots here to learn how to drop bombs on targets and get a feel for a desert enviroment. We get some fleet squadrons that are getting ready to deploy so they can start acclimating to the heat and what-not. We also get experimental stuff through here, like the Osprey came through when they were still a VMX and the Super Cobra before they had approved the upgrade.

Roddy is correct about Independence Day, part of Top Gun was also filmed here and Star Wars as well. It's not a great place to be but the traffic is outstanding January-March and October-November

Charliefoxtrot Junior Member San Diego

Are you over there near kane moa aka the corridor of death? I talked to a journeyman outta ZLA who was telling me about that area. He said that when the MOA is hot, the usable airspace shrinks to under the necessary minimums for lateral separation....so any a/c flying through that airspace is completely screwed if the receiving center doesn't accept the handoff right away. Sound anything like the case?

Roddy that would be ZLA's Area E sector 31 in the high key right?

PushingUSNTin Rookie El Centro, CA

I don't know much about the moa's other than they are in our local flying area and a lot of our planes go there to play. We fall under ZLA's Area E sector 9. I don't know about the high altitude sector. One of my friends and prior controller here is a controller at ZLA in area E.

Charliefoxtrot Junior Member San Diego

Well, I guess if your all VFR than you're probably more familiar with sector 9 than the high key area. All good though. How long you been there?