Van Nuys Operations

Van Nuys is one of the busiest general aviation fields in the country. Business jets, air taxis, military traffic and several fixed- and rotor-wing flight schools share two closely spaced parallel runways. The field sits about 6.5 NM west of Burbank (KBUR) and 15 miles north of LAX.

Field elevation

802 ft

Tower hours

0600–2245 L

Airspace

Class D

Runway heading

164° / 344°

Pilots at Van Nuys sometimes confuse 16L with 16R, and 34L with 34R. The runways are close together, unequal in length, and their thresholds are staggered, so the picture through the windshield can mislead you. The FAA publishes an Arrival Alert Notice for KVNY because of it.

• Back up every visual approach with an instrument approach or GPS waypoint when you have one, so you can confirm the runway you are lined up on.
• Runway markings are white. Taxiway markings, chevrons, shoulders and runway turn-on markings are yellow. If you see yellow ahead, you are not lined up on a landing surface.
• If you are unsure of your position or your clearance, ask the controller.

Intersection departures are common at Van Nuys. Listen for both the intersection and the runway assigned in your departure clearance. Accepting one adds a turn onto the runway, and turning the wrong way is how pilots end up departing toward oncoming traffic.

RWY 16R at TWY D

7,350 ft left

RWY 34L at TWY Q

6,500 ft left

Pilots told to hold short at Van Nuys sometimes cross the hold line anyway, even after reading back the instruction. It can happen anywhere, but the RWY 16R hold line at TWY C is crossed most often. That line also runs across the whole run-up area, so a pilot doing a run-up there needs to know exactly where it is.

• Scan actively for runway signs, markings and lights. Save heads-down work (checklists, frequencies, tablets) until you are stopped at the hold line.
• Read back every hold-short instruction with your call sign in the same transmission.

While you are holding between the runways, stay on tower frequency unless you are told to contact Ground, and be careful not to roll across the parallel runway.

• RWY 16L/34R is closed and unlighted when the tower is closed.
• Bird abatement may happen between the runways while the tower is open.
• Helicopters contact tower for approach and departure routes.

• Aircraft on KBUR RWY 8 final have received TCAS Resolution Advisories, so hold your pattern altitude and climb gradients exactly.
• Watch for wake turbulence.

Van Nuys is an extremely busy VFR training airport, so expect student pilots in the pattern. When possible, tower runs pattern work on 16L/34R. Ask for any early turn or non-standard pattern; don't assume it.

• Stay over your departure runway. Drifting sideways puts you in the departure path of the parallel.
• Fly base-to-final so you don't cross the extended centerline of your runway. Overshooting puts you in front of traffic landing on the parallel.
• Remain alert to traffic on the parallel runway and never overfly its final.
• Jets assigned 16R via TWY A: pull up to the hold bars so others can get into the run-up area. Fix crossing restrictions will not be waived.
• South departures stay low: on 16R or 16L, do not climb above 1,750 MSL until crossing 1.5 DME south of the VNY VOR/DME, or south of the departure end of 16R. It keeps you under Burbank traffic.
• Noise rules (City of Los Angeles ordinance): propeller aircraft may not make repetitive operations (touch-and-goes, stop-and-goes, or a takeoff within 5 minutes of landing) from 2200 to 0700 between June 21 and September 15, and from 2100 to 0700 the rest of the year. Plan night pattern work around it. Jets are asked to avoid operating from 2300 to 0700.
• These remarks come from the current Chart Supplement; verify them every 56-day cycle, since airport rules change.