What to Expect on a San Francisco Bay Scenic Flight from Napa
This is a 90-minute scenic flight in a Cessna 172 departing from small aircraft tour operations at Napa County Airport, taking passengers on a comprehensive aerial tour of the San Francisco Bay Area. The route covers landmarks including Angel Island, Alcatraz, the San Francisco skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, Point Reyes National Seashore, Drake's Bay, and the Sonoma and Petaluma valleys before returning to Napa. The experience is piloted by experienced instructors from Mike Smith Aviation, with a focus on stable, smooth conditions—the video highlights calm winds, clear skies, and minimal turbulence that made for an ideal flight day.
This tour suits adventurous travelers, pilot enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a unique perspective on Northern California's most iconic scenery. Whether you're a nervous first-time flyer or someone accustomed to helicopters, a Cessna 172 offers a well-maintained, nimble platform for sightseeing. The intimate cabin size (typically 3–4 passengers plus pilot) and open-window capability create an immersive experience that commercial airline flights cannot match, especially at the low altitudes and close proximity to landmarks that make out-the-window photography compelling.
Key Moments
Route Highlights and Key Landmarks
- Angel Island and Alcatraz viewed from 2,000–3,000 feet altitude, with air traffic control guidance keeping the flight safe and coordinated
- San Francisco Downtown skyline and the Bay Bridge, approached west of restricted airspace per tour protocols
- The Golden Gate Bridge (partly obscured by fog on this flight, though visible enough to identify) and Marin Headlands
- Point Reyes National Seashore and Drake's Bay, featuring dramatic coastal cliffs, elephant seals on beaches, sea otters, and great white shark habitat
- Sonoma Valley and Petaluma Valley practice areas, where instructors regularly conduct flight maneuvers in the low-altitude zones
- San Pablo Bay, connecting the bay system back toward Napa Valley on the return leg
Before You Book: Practical Details About This Flight
- Duration: 90 minutes total flight time; the video condensed this into a 30-minute edited experience, so plan your day accordingly
- Aircraft condition: The Cessna 172 is privately maintained by Mike Smith Aviation and noted in the video as well-cared-for and smooth-flying; inquire about aircraft specifics when booking
- Weather and seasonal factors: The video was shot on a morning with calm winds and clear visibility, though fog near the Golden Gate Bridge is common; coastal fog can obscure landmarks, so early morning flights often offer better visibility
- Turbulence expectations: Morning flights tend to be smoother than afternoon flights; the pilot notes that Cessna 172s can experience turbulence but this particular flight had none
- Flexible routing: The pilot adapted the tour route mid-flight based on conditions and fuel, suggesting tours can be customized; discuss preferred landmarks and flexibility when booking
- Camera readiness: Bring a camera or phone with good battery—the video creator notes the challenge of editing because "everything was beautiful"; window seats are ideal for photography
- Air traffic coordination: The flight operates under visual flight rules (VFR) with radio contact to Oakland Center and NorCal Approach; expect radio chatter but no flight delays due to this coordination
Frequently Asked Questions About Bay Area Scenic Flights
How much flying experience do you need for this tour?
None. The pilot and CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) handle all flying. In the video, a passenger named Jordan mentions being nervous but notes prior helicopter experience, and the CFI assures him this will be fine. Passengers of any experience level can enjoy the flight.
Is the aircraft safe for sightseeing?
Yes. The Cessna 172 is one of the most widely flown and proven aircraft in the world. The video highlights that Mike Smith Aviation maintains their aircraft meticulously, and the pilot notes you can feel the quality in how smoothly the engines run. The flight operates under full air traffic control coordination with radio communication to Oakland Center.
Will I be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge clearly?
Most days, yes—but fog is common, especially in morning hours. The video shows the Golden Gate Bridge "fogged up" on the day of this flight, visible but partially obscured. Book an early morning or afternoon flight and ask the operator about recent visibility before committing if the bridge is your top priority.
Can I open the windows for photography?
The video does not explicitly state whether windows open, but the pilot and CFI discuss views at very low altitudes (2,000 feet over landmarks like Alcatraz), which suggests excellent visibility. Confirm window options or open-window flight availability when you book if photography is important to you.
How long is the flight, and how much does it typically cost?
The video shows a 90-minute flight. Pricing is not mentioned in the video; contact Mike Smith Aviation at Napa County Airport directly for current rates. Spot availability can fill quickly, especially for morning flights with good weather forecasts, so book in advance.
- Cessna
More on san francisco →Key Terms
- CFI (Certified Flight Instructor)
- A pilot licensed to teach others to fly and provide instruction in aircraft operations and safety.
- VFR (Visual Flight Rules)
- Flight rules that allow a pilot to navigate by looking out the window at landmarks and weather conditions, rather than relying solely on instruments.
- Air Traffic Control clearance
- Permission from ATC (via radio) to fly in certain airspace or along a specific route to maintain safety and separation from other aircraft.
- Cessna 172
- A single-engine, high-wing aircraft widely used for flight training and sightseeing tours due to its reliability and stability.
- TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction)
- A designated airspace where flying is prohibited or restricted, often around major cities or airports, which pilots must avoid.
Sources: CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) · VFR (Visual Flight Rules) · Air Traffic Control clearance · Cessna 172 · TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) — definitions cross-referenced with Wikipedia
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Description
Last week was pure fun. Our company, PMG, took us to Napa Valley for a four day extravaganza. The pilot in me looked for some open window in the company's agenda and managed to squeeze a bay tour flight from Napa. I also took a colleague with me and a CFI from Mike Smith Aviation at Napa County Airport. The flight is one of the best I've done so far. Being a pilot from Texas who flies over ranches, lakes, and farms, flying above mountains and oceans was an experience of a lifetime. The CFI from Mike Smith, Lisa, was very sweet to fly with. Calm winds, no turbulence, and clear skies made the experience great! The golden gate bridge was fogged up though. We went to San Pablo Bay, Sonoma Valley, Petaluma, Angel Island, Alcatraz, San Francisco Downtown, Golden Gate bridge, Coastline, Point Reyes National seashore, Drakes Bay, and back to Napa Valley. This was one of the hardest videos to edit as everything was beautiful and there was nothing I could cut out - from amazing views to amazing conversations. Did my best to bring a 90 minute flight down to a 30 minute video. Enjoy the views!
#Aviation #Pilot #Cessna172 #NapaValley #California #GoldenGateBridge #Coastline #BayArea #BayTour #PilotLife #AviationForever #AviationWorld #AviationVideoVideo transcript for “San Francisco Bay Tour Flight in a Cessna 172 | Napa County Airport” Accessibility
A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.
[Applause] now good morning cessna nine five six zero victor holding shot of one niner left at foxtrot ready to take off scrag nine five six zero victor never tower are only one that are left declared for takeoff one hundred left clear take off uh 9560 victor okay you excited jordan
yeah um this will this will be good are you nervous a little bit but i've gone up in helicopters and stuff before so this seems like a pretty similar size and i've gone on helicopters with the doors off so okay yeah you should be fine this shouldn't be as bad as that oh it's a short runway 1 500 feet
yeah rodeo 733 turn the left hand side [Applause] left on hotel ground point 733 airspeed's alive okay rotate look at that this is beautiful i mean this plane definitely feels nice well maintained mike takes really good
care of his plane like you can feel that on the engines i mean it's it's so nice to fly all right everybody this is gautam sharma from flights riot and i'm doing something really exciting today uh and uh we're flying out of san francisco bay area i'm at napa valley right now uh big shout out
to my company pmg for getting us all here on a five day trip to napa valley and a huge shout out to mike smith aviation from who i'm renting this airplane we have lisa here with us this is cfi from mike smith and also i have jordan here with me we work on the same team at pmg so we're
just flying out you know doing a bay tour going to the gold gate bridge and uh so sit back relax and enjoy the slide i'm i'm sure it's going to be an awesome set of views for you guys to watch my six year victor contact oakland center have a good flight connect senator uh 600 victor thank you
[Applause] it's at 4 36 a minute announced it maintained 6 000. oakland center good morning cessna 9560 victor is 1300 climbing thirty 2500. five six zero victor open center radar content just off of uh napa one thousand two hundred understand the vfr for uh circle back five nine five six here
victor that's all correct tour via far to half loop day hotel also foxtrot 6-0 victor roger the san francisco altimeter 2 9 9 or 8. i don't know what happened to 5 hotel lima climbing maintain flight level 2 3 0 level 2 3 0 2 5 0
[Applause] [Music] we're almost out of the delta oh yeah airspace so let's just head now we can head direct it so it'll be a heading of about two zero zero okay we'll take us direct to the golden gate bridge perfect oh i missed this since 299 or eight right [Music] i was heading again 200 yep okay
[Applause] actually this is crying victor contact norcal approach on one two zero point niner one two zero point nine or six zero vector north california good morning cessna nine five six zero victor two thousand one hundred climbing two thousand five hundred [Music]
we'll cross over the golden gate bridge 956 zero victor at 1579 all right uh proceed direct to syrah and uh up to flight level one nine zero four nine sixteen seventy nine
[Applause] he knows that'll put us on the coastline [Music] [Applause] foreign gold destination is a north bay medical center
six miles uh west of travis maintaining three thousand [Applause] so off to the left that's the kinase bridge okay beyond that the benicio bridge and then this uh waterway goes all the way up to sacramento good morning okay [Music]
directly ahead it's called mountain okay and off to the left this mountain is mount diablo good morning [Applause] [Music]
[Music] then you can see the san francisco skyline all right oh yeah 300 climbing 2500 6500 how are you feeling jordan outside the broadway sky 500 commercial airlines have been a little bit worse than that well you haven't seen how much turbulent this one can get
the nice thing is it today it's very smooth yeah it's very smooth it's calm winds and you don't have anything much the nice the mornings are nice and smooth yeah i love this plane never feels like an old one at all so directly ahead of us is sausalito okay and then the there's angel island that there's that
little gap so angel islands that's by itself and then just south of angel island is alcatraz okay i've heard the prison right from alcatraz transition so most of the time when we do these bait tours they just say stay north and west of the bay bridge so the bay bridge is the one coming off
of the downtown skyline right so right now if you wanted to fly directly towards the skyline you could head that direction and i would even flying flying directly to the skyline uh
that's exciting [Applause] we'll just keep it west of the bay bridge and then right i'm probably going to descend down to how far do you want me to go [Applause] oh yeah okay let me probably just get down to 2000 maybe sounds good and then you can see off to the left there that's okay wow okay
which is a big charlie i've also flown in honolulu i did a lot of my flight training on honolulu and then colorado you've done some of the most beautiful flights ever five zero four you're exiting classical airspace and two miles context how about
the post 19.99 119.99 bravo five zero four have a great day left turn heading three four zero alaska ten twenty two i would probably charge the g765 contact departure one two four point three two let's just make it like a right 360 here oh yeah that would be perfect
all right perfect keep heading towards the downtown area and i'll tell you when we need to make a right turn okay uh just keep us out of that tfr yeah perfect 700. i one nine thousand you're the trunkin departure that's in the a3300 contact want to do something further down well that's good contact departure one two
four yeah yeah bring it down uh that's crazy yeah that was like the bridges over there where you can see it kind of poking out of like the fog yeah
november six zero victory traffic 12 o'clock three miles over alcatraz maneuvering one thousand pointer indicated looking for traffic six year victor i think i see him is that the red helicopter red yeah it's right there oh yeah okay so let's go [Applause]
this is about as close as we want to go so let's say you go right here okay 90 degrees northbound yeah sure that's a chopper so oh no it's not a chopper it's like a small that's gonna take you like a copy
six year victory we have the traffic [Applause] inside and then we'll just cancel our flight following and head north yeah sure
29.99 southwest 29.90 exactly 696 do not exceed three zero knots per sequence probably did one thousand percent six months uh not going really low 2167 contact open center one two five point eight five twenty five eighty five eight twenty one fifty seven yeah so once we're past downtown i'll probably make a lap and
then we can have a pretty clear direct work the golden gate bridge is right here right here zero three six zero on a right turn southwest 29.90
this is so good like flying clouds are crazy i'll approach helicopter 644 victor bravo 2000 climbing our cal 956 hero victor we're going to change our plan we're not going to go to
happily bay we'll just take another lap around here in the bay area and then we'll be heading back to napa united 1824 heavy one thousand for one i know at eighteen twenty four heavy north aperture made out of contact southwest 29.90 clear direct mogi
contact departure one two four point three two two four three two direct mogee southwest 29.90 good day you can stay here as long as you like and then when we're ready i vote we just kind of follow this coastline up to the north
okay yeah let's do that jordan you want to take another lap are you good i'm i'm going with the flow okay happy guys feels better okay so where do you guys normally practice your maneuvers like this is like a busy airspace yeah i'll show you on our way back in um kind of where i pointed out oh this is
sonoma valley petaluma valley we do that kind of right in the low areas there okay and how high are these 520 heavy fly heading at three six zero that's it for traffic two thousand six hundred oh wow yeah speed squad take three thousand heading united
you must be having a great time each lesson is like a sightseeing tour sometimes we'll just go to the practice area and maneuver and go back to the airport so these are these are a treat yeah these are definitely oh look at that the coast is cool yeah coastline through the clouds there yeah
all right so if we can follow the coastline up as far as you'd like and then napa is going to be um directly off to our right so we could also head back to the right and then follow that san pablo bay back to napa okay well it's up to you if you're having fun we've got plenty of fuel okay uh so the coastline is that
way right correct okay so i'll probably probably follow the coastline for some time sounds great okay [Applause] our cal 9560 victor will go [Applause] thanks now we're out of the busy airspace we are on the ocean damage
at 865 and then you have to maintain one 1000. right now that we're not bfr on top anymore if you want i feel comfortable if you wanted to descend yeah to get a little closer for the view yep 100 this big bay is called drake's bay after
sir francis drake parker [Applause] point reyes was the site of a lot of uh nine or seven when they were coming down it sticks out so far
after the california gold rush when san francisco became a big you know a more major city that's when they added the lighthouse and a coast guard station out at point reyes this is incredibly beautiful [Applause] stand on one [Applause] the point correct yeah it'll automatically do the job
just just fly ahead she has 839 and then the altitude maintained at six thousand for traffic out of six thousand eight thirty nine we'll level that guy's 839 traffic clock four [Applause] [Music]
[Applause] right heading three four zero have uh great white sharks sometimes you can see if you look down they look very small because we're up so high a great rate sharks and manta rays i don't think this is whale season anymore but we do get the uh sperm whales i think it is okay um also lots of
elephant seals you can see um they'll pull up on these beaches right we saw someone tier 39 yesterday oh really yeah they're they're cute elephant seals and then very hard to see from this high up we have lots of otters oh yeah zero seven zero four nine one four cabin we are two highest pot otters yeah
[Applause] [Applause] eight thirty nine we have the traffic here guys eight three nine five maintain niner thousand nine thousand jazz eight three nine zero i've never flown above an ocean oh
really yeah this is and we're like flying right across the coastline i'm sure my camera is having a good time picking up land on one side and water on the other team flight number one this is these are the kind of things that just nor other people don't get to see if you fly a commercial airline you just take
off and hear it yeah and by the time you're here after like 30 000 feet yeah and those things climb real fast five or ten minutes here already at 10 000 where you can't see anything so you can barely see that's the end of the point okay under that cloud layer oh yeah perfect so we're flying straight
in correct so now you can see it where it goes from here oh yes okay 3361 is they work towards your atp or what like what's what's your plan oh i don't know when i started flying i was living in honolulu and i wanted to fly inter island cargo okay but with coved plants change and
here i am now so okay i'm teaching here and just building hours mike and kimberly smith are the best mentors i think in the industry okay and um i'm getting married in november to a marine he's stationed in yuma so i'm going to move to yuma and we'll see what kind of flying opportunity is there congratulations in
advance thank you that's amazing i posted so i'm part of a student pilot community on facebook and a private pilot community so i just posted there saying hey guys you know what i'm going to napa next week next month uh you know would you recommend any flight schools unanimously everybody
said mike throughout covet i would train other places and then mike and kimberly were the ones who were like you can do this we're going to help you finish right we'll get you the training you need we have they have the airplanes it's just they make it's such a good experience and they really care about people
jordan dump stuck this is crazy i didn't even realize san francisco had like this many like inlets and like uh level 2000. [Applause] so the that's drake's bay and then all of these little waterways are called drake's estero okay and then on this side there's kind of that cloud layer but you
see there's a big long skinny bay that's tamales bay okay i love your hands okay jordan is getting a little bumpy
but nothing to worry across oakland coliseum i wasn't wearing it okay yeah no turbulence is like the last thing you ever want to worry about [Applause] so we're heading to the practice area now so if we want to go to the practice area we would turn basically right inside you east okay
uh shall we do that okay uh you want me to climb or yeah let's climb also to maybe three thousand [Applause] [Music] how about we go to four okay let's do it
yeah you got some mountains there i'll probably do one thing let me oh yeah please go above the uh waters and then turn right sure if you wanted to fly it down to malice bay just for the pictures absolutely this is your flight enjoy i can tell you the most direct way home but we have plenty of fuel if you want
to keep flying so jordan how do you rate my flying honestly like very good like i feel safe in here yeah i gotta be nice she's one of my managers you should have extended this invite to
george you're like i'll take you up at a private plane gp yeah well i haven't had to do a single thing just fly me around all right so now you can see san pablo
bay again oh yes and napa is going to be at the just the edge of san pablo bay over by that um where the ridgeline meets the bay [Applause] all right 500 to go rodeo 733 nap tower stand by waiting ifr release actually let's level off i have traffic shows nine o'clock plus 500. okay oh yeah it's the same guy
again yeah they're same day tour friend yeah he's following us all along probably call him and say this time you do a 360 i'm not doing it again i've done it twice for you man this is a good heading yeah once we get out over um petaluma you
could even do your steep turns if you wanted to okay we'll get out away from [Applause] a little harder to see off to our left but this is a great altitude
and we're in a great spot for maneuvering now okay you can pick you know there's about six fields that would be good too if we couldn't make it to nasa oh my god so knock yourself out okay i'm probably gonna set it up do my clearing turns [Applause] all right so let me go left first
nice turn [Applause] okay we are back on east uh going right [Music] ah not too bad back it up too very good
okay how it feels yeah okay let's uh back to napa yep good morning uh cessna nine five six zero victor ten miles west with uniform in bound for full stop this is the 9560 victor nap tower might be right traffic from only one on our right before midfield one and a right downward for one and a
right and reports midfield cessna 956 perfect okay i mean i'm glad glad i flew with you today i mean you were amazing to fly with thank you well you did all the flying yeah i mean but you always need an expert from the area to really even as as you advance your piloting skills having that local knowledge of the the
weather and the terrain is so helpful resisting 9560 victorious midfield runway one-niner left niner right correction one i know right here okay okay you're doing great thank you
[Applause] oh let's have a look one notch flaps okay they are clear to land one nine right yep okay uh second notch flaps okay i see the wrong way now we're back to a normal pattern yeah hotel gotham
oh yeah yeah yeah take a picture oh my god it's literally a resort yeah that's the resort so cool i sit on the feed i'll be like look up yeah oh i didn't realize that that's cool i was like that looks familiar okay so uh nice job on the airspeed
[Music] make great traffic report uh midfield downwind runway one night or right right traffic report midfield dallas for one on our right for uh
we're going back to the transient ramp this is a 90560 victor an upper ground taxi to the ramp via echo [Music] wrapped via echo 9560 victor great bike awesome thank you thank you so much i mean thanks for playing with us today i mean it's my pleasure yeah
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