KSMO Santa Monica Muni — local VFR procedures
Not for navigation. These are locally published VFR routes, reproduced with sources; verify against the official documents linked from each procedure before flight.
Left traffic runway 21, right traffic runway 3. Pattern altitude 1,370' MSL single-engine, 1,870' MSL multi-engine. The runway 3/21 departure ends are approximately 1,000 ft from residential homes.
VFR arrivals
All arrivals — 3 / 21
- VFR Arrival Guidance — Maintain pattern altitude or above as long as practical; SFRA arrivals contact SMO Tower for a north midfield crossing to right traffic.
VFR departures
Westerly flow — 21
- Runway 21 Departure (Westerly Flow) — 10° left over the SMO VOR, slight right to overfly the length of Penmar Golf Course; no right turns before the shoreline, no left turns before Lincoln Blvd.
Easterly flow — 3
- Runway 3 Departure (Easterly Flow) — Right traffic; crosswind turn over the 405 Freeway — no turns before it.
Other local procedures
All operations — 3 / 21
- Aircraft Noise Ordinance — Mandatory Restrictions — City ordinance, enforced with fines: 95 dBA SENEL limit, night departure/engine-start curfew 2300-0700 (0800 weekends), intersection departures and formation operations prohibited, touch-and-go restrictions.
- Fly Neighborly Program (Voluntary) — Voluntary: night arrival curfew 2300-0700 (0800 weekends), 30-minute APU limit, minimum reverse thrust, run-ups away from exposed runway ends.
These routes are advisory as published — none of them is a regulation. Assigned by ATC in Class B, C or D airspace, a route becomes an ATC instruction under 14 CFR 91.123; “unable” remains available to the pilot in command. Each procedure page shows its own authority level and links its primary sources.