Why are jets flying over Encino and Sherman Oaks?

In the prevailing south flow, business jets depart Van Nuys' Runway 16R and climb straight ahead over the Sepulveda Basin open space before turning — the airport's 'No Early Turn' policy holds them straight out to 2.2 DME and at least 1,800 ft. The turn after the basin carries them across the Encino and Sherman Oaks hillsides, which for years generated the Valley's loudest airport-noise fight. A February 2025 FAA route revision moved the turn and cut hillside complaints by roughly two-thirds, though eastern Sherman Oaks still sits under turning departures. Drop a pin on the map above to see the corridor over your street.

What changed with Van Nuys flight paths in 2025?

On February 20, 2025 the FAA published revised RNAV departure procedures — HARYS, ROSCOE and WLKKR — for jets leaving Runway 16R. The revised routes shifted where departures turn after the Sepulveda Basin climb-out, and LAWA reported hillside complaints fell about 66% (from roughly 160 a day to about 50). The trade-off is contested locally: some residents say the noise moved east, toward eastern Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Toluca Lake.

Why is Van Nuys Airport so busy if it has no airline flights?

Van Nuys is one of the busiest general-aviation airports in the world — LAWA cites over 230,000 takeoffs and landings a year — with zero scheduled airline service. The traffic is business jets, charter operators, flight schools, and one of the region's largest helicopter bases (media, medical and LAFD air operations). That mix means lots of individual movements spread across the day rather than airline banks.

Is the plane over my house from Van Nuys or Burbank?

Often hard to tell — Hollywood Burbank (BUR) is only about 10 km east, and VNY traffic overlaps with Burbank arrivals plus high LAX overflights crossing the Valley. Complaints are frequently misattributed among the three. The map above shows only traffic tied to Van Nuys, so dropping a pin on your address is the quickest way to see whether VNY movements are actually the ones overhead.

Why do small planes keep circling over Reseda and Lake Balboa?

Flight-school pattern work. Training circuits concentrate on the short east-side runway 16L/34R (left traffic on 16L puts circuits over the east side of the field), while Runway 16R uses right traffic that loops west over Reseda and Lake Balboa. Repetitive touch-and-goes by propeller aircraft are banned overnight (from 9 PM most of the year, 10 PM in summer, until 7 AM), and jet touch-and-goes are prohibited at all times.

Do the Van Nuys noise rules apply to helicopters?

No. The city's curfew ordinance defines 'aircraft' as fixed-wing only, so helicopters fall outside the departure curfew entirely — and VNY hosts a major helicopter presence, including media, medical and LAFD air operations plus an LAPD maintenance base. Helicopter noise across the central Valley is a distinct issue from the business-jet corridor.

How do I report aircraft noise from Van Nuys Airport?

Los Angeles World Airports runs the VNY Noise Management Office — file a comment through the online form at lawa.org, use the WebTrak flight-tracking tool, or call (800) 560-0010. LAWA also monitors every jet departure against a noise criterion under its Quiet Departure Program and recognizes compliant operators with a Friendly Flyer Award.

Which San Fernando Valley neighborhoods are quietest for VNY noise?

Areas west of the final approach and departure corridors — Northridge, Winnetka, Tarzana and western Reseda — sit outside the core noise contour and mostly hear VNY traffic as background. The loudest band runs north–south through the airport itself: Lake Balboa and Encino under the climb-out, North Hills and Mission Hills under the final approach. Use the pin-drop tool above to check a specific address.

Van Nuys Flight Path Noise Map – Van Nuys Airport (VNY)

Name: Aircraft noise observations near Van Nuys Airport
Creator: Flight Path Noise
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Aircraft noise around Van Nuys in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Van Nuys: Lake Balboa, North Hills, Encino, Van Nuys. Quietest: Valley Glen, Northridge, Tarzana, Winnetka. Busiest around 9 AM local time averaging 507 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-19.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

507

flights / day · 15,197 total

Busiest hour

9 AM

peak 90 dB

Loudest hour

5 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

North Hills

61 dB avg · ~334 flights/day · Office noise

Directly under the straight-in final approach in the prevailing south flow, with arrivals at low altitude day and night (arrivals are exempt from the curfew)

Does Van Nuys Airport have a curfew?

Partial — louder aircraft can't take off between 10 PM and 7 AM, but landings are never restricted.

Van Nuys has a mandatory night curfew, but it only covers departures. Under the LA City Noise Abatement and Curfew Ordinance (enacted 1981, amended December 1997), fixed-wing aircraft with a certificated takeoff noise level of 74 dBA or greater may not take off between 10 PM and 7 AM. Quieter Stage 3-certificated aircraft get an exemption for the 10–11 PM hour only; from 11 PM to 7 AM the 74 dBA departure ban applies regardless of stage. Arrivals are never restricted, so late-night landings remain legal — LAWA’s voluntary Quieter Nights Program asks jet operators to avoid all operations 11 PM – 7 AM, but it isn’t enforceable. Helicopters fall outside the ordinance entirely, and military, law-enforcement, fire and medical flights are exempt. A separate rule phases out the loudest older (Stage 2) jets — those rated 77 dBA or more can’t arrive or depart at any hour unless certificated Stage 3 or 4.

Van Nuys (VNY/KVNY) is one of the busiest general-aviation airports on Earth — LAWA cites over 230,000 takeoffs and landings a year with zero scheduled airline flights — so its noise story is business jets, flight-school circuits and helicopters rather than airliners. The field sits in the middle of the densely residential San Fernando Valley, and its signature complaint is the Gulfstream at night: a curfew ordinance dating to 1981 bans departures by aircraft rated 74 dBA or louder from 10 PM to 7 AM, but arrivals are never restricted, so late-night landings remain legal and audible. Southbound jets off Runway 16R funnel over the Sepulveda Basin flood-control open space before turning — a deliberate buffer — but the climb-out has long soured hillside neighborhoods like Encino and Sherman Oaks. In February 2025 the FAA redrew the jet departure routes, cutting hillside complaints by roughly two-thirds while pushing some noise east toward Studio City and Toluca Lake.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Van Nuys runs two parallel north–south runways: 16R/34L (8,001 ft, the main jet runway on the west side) and 16L/34R (4,013 ft, the east-side training runway used by light aircraft and flight schools, closed when the tower is closed). Prevailing sea-breeze winds keep the airport in south flow most of the time, so the noise map has a clear north–south spine: arrivals descend over the North Valley, departures climb out over the Sepulveda Basin and the hillsides beyond it.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Lake Balboa	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Beside the 16R takeoff roll and under the initial climb
North Hills	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Directly under the straight-in final approach, day and night
Encino	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Under the jet climb-out south of the Sepulveda Basin
Van Nuys	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Surrounds the field; run-ups, helicopters, 16L circuits
Sherman Oaks	✈︎✈︎	Turning departures cross its hillsides after the basin
Mission Hills	✈︎✈︎	Extended final approach at ~1,500–2,500 ft
Panorama City	✈︎✈︎	Eastern edge of arrival corridor plus 16L pattern
Granada Hills	✈︎✈︎	Arrivals overhead; 34L departures in Santa Ana winds
Studio City	✈︎✈︎	Higher-altitude departures; more since the 2025 route shift
Reseda	✈︎✈︎	West-side 16R traffic pattern and helicopter transitions
Valley Glen	✈︎	East of the climb-out; mostly light pattern traffic
Northridge	✈︎	West of the final approach; off-corridor
Tarzana	✈︎	West of the departure funnel, outside the core contour
Winnetka	✈︎	Well clear of both corridors; background-level

The practical pattern: the closer you are to the north–south line through the runways, the more you’ll hear. West of that line — Northridge, Winnetka, Tarzana, western Reseda — VNY fades to background. The hardest-hit spots are Lake Balboa (beside the takeoff roll), North Hills (under every south-flow arrival, which the curfew never restricts), and the Encino hillside under the jet climb-out. If you’re house-hunting anywhere in this band, drop a pin on the map above to see the flight count and noise level for the exact street.

Flight patterns and runway use

Prevailing winds from the south-southwest keep VNY in south flow (Runways 16R/16L) the large majority of the time. Jets depart 16R and climb straight ahead over the Sepulveda Basin flood-control open space under the airport’s “No Early Turn” policy — straight out to 2.2 DME and at least 1,800 ft before any turn — a deliberate routing over parkland instead of the homes immediately southwest and southeast of the field.

What happens after the basin is the contested part. On February 20, 2025 the FAA published revised RNAV departures (HARYS, ROSCOE, WLKKR) for 16R jet traffic, shifting the subsequent turn to reduce noise over the Encino–Sherman Oaks–Studio City hillsides. LAWA reported hillside complaints fell about 66%, from roughly 160 a day to about 50 — but some residents say the noise simply moved east, toward eastern Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Toluca Lake.

Arrivals in south flow fly a straight-in final from the north, descending over Granada Hills, Mission Hills and North Hills. At night the ordinance sets a preferential runway pattern: between 11 PM and 7 AM aircraft should depart on 16R and arrive on 34L, bringing night arrivals in from the south over the Sepulveda Basin rather than over the North Valley — a modest overnight break for North Hills, though compliance depends on wind and traffic.

North flow (34L/34R) shows up mainly during winter Santa Ana wind events, when departures climb north toward Granada Hills instead. Flight-school pattern work concentrates on the short 16L (east-side circuits) with west-side right traffic on 16R over Reseda and Lake Balboa. Helicopters — media, medical, LAFD air operations and an LAPD maintenance base — are a major traffic segment and sit outside the curfew ordinance entirely.

Two enforcement layers apply on top of the routes. LAWA’s Quiet Departure Program monitors every jet departure against a noise criterion, with a Friendly Flyer Award for compliant operators. And a phase-out rule bars the loudest older jets — aircraft rated 77 dBA or more on takeoff can’t arrive or depart at any hour unless they’re certificated Stage 3 or 4, which in practice ended Stage 2 jet operations at the field.

One caveat for residents: VNY traffic overlaps with Burbank (BUR) arrivals and high LAX overflights, and complaints are often misattributed among the three airports. The map above isolates Van Nuys traffic specifically.

When is it quietest?

Van Nuys doesn’t have airline banks, so its daily rhythm is flatter than a commercial hub — but it still has a clear shape:

Overnight (11 PM – 7 AM): the quietest window, but not silent. Departures by anything rated 74 dBA+ are banned, and the voluntary Quieter Nights Program asks jet operators to avoid all operations — yet arrivals remain legal all night, so the occasional late-night business-jet landing still happens, mostly from the south under the night preferential-runway pattern.
10 PM – 11 PM: transition hour. Quieter Stage 3 jets can still depart; louder ones can’t.
7 AM – 10 AM: the morning wave — business jets launching for East Coast and regional trips, plus flight schools starting up.
Midday – afternoon: steady general-aviation and training traffic; pattern work peaks on clear days and weekends.
Late afternoon – evening: business-jet arrivals return, and departures push to get out before the 10 PM cutoff — the characteristic evening rush of jets clearing the curfew.

Touch-and-go training has its own limits: propeller circuits are banned overnight (from 9 PM most of the year, 10 PM in summer, until 7 AM), and jet touch-and-goes are prohibited at all times.

For the hour-by-hour picture at your address, drop a pin on the map above and read the hourly breakdown.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above is the answer to “is this spot loud?” Three steps:

Search your address or postcode in the bar at the bottom of the map.
Drop a pin — click the location marker that appears.
Read the noise report that opens in the sidebar: average daily noise (Leq), peak observed dB, flights per day passing within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and the Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make the north–south spine obvious — the bright band through Lake Balboa, the airport and North Hills, with the departure fan spreading south-east over the hillsides. Most addresses west of that spine land in the green zone. In Encino, Sherman Oaks and Studio City, the 2025 route change makes block-by-block differences real — check the exact address rather than the neighborhood.

Frequently asked questions

Why are jets flying over Encino and Sherman Oaks?: In the prevailing south flow, business jets depart Van Nuys' Runway 16R and climb straight ahead over the Sepulveda Basin open space before turning — the airport's 'No Early Turn' policy holds them straight out to 2.2 DME and at least 1,800 ft. The turn after the basin carries them across the Encino and Sherman Oaks hillsides, which for years generated the Valley's loudest airport-noise fight. A February 2025 FAA route revision moved the turn and cut hillside complaints by roughly two-thirds, though eastern Sherman Oaks still sits under turning departures. Drop a pin on the map above to see the corridor over your street.
What changed with Van Nuys flight paths in 2025?: On February 20, 2025 the FAA published revised RNAV departure procedures — HARYS, ROSCOE and WLKKR — for jets leaving Runway 16R. The revised routes shifted where departures turn after the Sepulveda Basin climb-out, and LAWA reported hillside complaints fell about 66% (from roughly 160 a day to about 50). The trade-off is contested locally: some residents say the noise moved east, toward eastern Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Toluca Lake.
Why is Van Nuys Airport so busy if it has no airline flights?: Van Nuys is one of the busiest general-aviation airports in the world — LAWA cites over 230,000 takeoffs and landings a year — with zero scheduled airline service. The traffic is business jets, charter operators, flight schools, and one of the region's largest helicopter bases (media, medical and LAFD air operations). That mix means lots of individual movements spread across the day rather than airline banks.
Is the plane over my house from Van Nuys or Burbank?: Often hard to tell — Hollywood Burbank (BUR) is only about 10 km east, and VNY traffic overlaps with Burbank arrivals plus high LAX overflights crossing the Valley. Complaints are frequently misattributed among the three. The map above shows only traffic tied to Van Nuys, so dropping a pin on your address is the quickest way to see whether VNY movements are actually the ones overhead.
Why do small planes keep circling over Reseda and Lake Balboa?: Flight-school pattern work. Training circuits concentrate on the short east-side runway 16L/34R (left traffic on 16L puts circuits over the east side of the field), while Runway 16R uses right traffic that loops west over Reseda and Lake Balboa. Repetitive touch-and-goes by propeller aircraft are banned overnight (from 9 PM most of the year, 10 PM in summer, until 7 AM), and jet touch-and-goes are prohibited at all times.
Do the Van Nuys noise rules apply to helicopters?: No. The city's curfew ordinance defines 'aircraft' as fixed-wing only, so helicopters fall outside the departure curfew entirely — and VNY hosts a major helicopter presence, including media, medical and LAFD air operations plus an LAPD maintenance base. Helicopter noise across the central Valley is a distinct issue from the business-jet corridor.
How do I report aircraft noise from Van Nuys Airport?: Los Angeles World Airports runs the VNY Noise Management Office — file a comment through the online form at lawa.org, use the WebTrak flight-tracking tool, or call (800) 560-0010. LAWA also monitors every jet departure against a noise criterion under its Quiet Departure Program and recognizes compliant operators with a Friendly Flyer Award.
Which San Fernando Valley neighborhoods are quietest for VNY noise?: Areas west of the final approach and departure corridors — Northridge, Winnetka, Tarzana and western Reseda — sit outside the core noise contour and mostly hear VNY traffic as background. The loudest band runs north–south through the airport itself: Lake Balboa and Encino under the climb-out, North Hills and Mission Hills under the final approach. Use the pin-drop tool above to check a specific address.

Sources and further reading

Noise Restrictions — Van Nuys Airport (official) — Los Angeles World Airports
Van Nuys Noise Management — Los Angeles World Airports
Van Nuys Airport — Wikipedia
KVNY — Van Nuys Airport (FAA chart-supplement data incl. 74/77 dBA remarks) — AirNav (FAA data)
Van Nuys Airport — Airport Noise Regulation Information — Boeing
Councilmember Raman and LAWA announce revised departure procedures at Van Nuys Airport — LA City Council District 4

Data updated 2026-10-19 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-07-17.

30 dB	Whisper
45 dB	Quiet residential
55 dB	Normal conversation
65 dB	Busy road
75 dB	Vacuum cleaner
85 dB	Heavy traffic
95 dB	Motorcycle nearby

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Van Nuys Flight Path Noise Map – Van Nuys Airport (VNY)

Aircraft noise around Van Nuys in October 2026

Does Van Nuys Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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