KSNA John Wayne/Orange County — 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.
Traffic pattern altitudes differ by runway: 2L/20R is 1,056 (1,000 AGL) for small aircraft and 1,556 (1,500) for turbines over 12,500 lbs; 2R/20L is 856 (800) for small singles and 1,056 (1,000) for twins. Departure routes are named by direction: El Toro (080°), Newport (150°), Mesa (220°) and Orange (340°).
VFR arrivals
South flow — 20L
- Normal VFR Arrival & Departure Routes — Expected clearances by direction of arrival — Signal Peak, UCI, Mile Square Park, Huntington Pier — and four named departure headings.
VFR departures
South flow — 20L
- 15° Offset Procedure — Avoid Overflight of the Parallel Runway — VFR aircraft on the small runway offset 15° to stay clear of the air-carrier runway: 20L arrivals fly a 15° final, 20L departures turn left 15°, 2R departures turn right 15°.
- Runway 20L Voluntary Traffic Pattern — Turn left crosswind at or before Highway 73 to keep off the residential area south of the highway and away from the Newport Back Bay communities.
North flow — 2R
- 15° Offset Procedure — Avoid Overflight of the Parallel Runway — VFR aircraft on the small runway offset 15° to stay clear of the air-carrier runway: 20L arrivals fly a 15° final, 20L departures turn left 15°, 2R departures turn right 15°.
Other local procedures
Runway 20R / 2L
- General Aviation Noise Abatement Guidance — Preferred runways 20R/2L for departures, minimum certificated landing flap, and the NBAA departure profile.
All operations — 2L / 2R / 20L / 20R
- General Aviation Noise Ordinance (GANO) — Mandatory SENEL limits by noise monitoring station, far stricter at night; a misdemeanor, and three violations in three years denies you the airport for three years.
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.