Our house is about ten miles out in a straight line from Burbank Airport’s Runway 08, which is usually the primary runway being used for landings. That means that we get these coming overhead pretty much all day:
Your all-purpose Southwest Airlines 737 – we see dozens and dozens a day. Some of the airlines also use Airbus 320s and you’ll still see a few MD80s. But a LOT of 737s.
Also smaller regional jets, such as the CRJ7.
We tend not to really be bothered by noise from these guys, since they’re still up at 5,000 to 6,000 feet as they come over. (When I’m practicing maneuvers at 3,500 to 5,000 feet over Simi Valley, THEN I get to keep my eyes peeled for them, just in case. ATC is supposed to keep them above and away, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.)
When I hear these guys coming, I’ll grab the camera and head for the yard. The “Condor Squadron” flys a group of WWII-era “Texan” trainers out of Van Nuys, usually in formation. They’ll do flyovers of ball games, parades, and other events, and sometimes they’re just up to practice. With a group of those big radial engines growling, they’re easy to hear from a ways away.
About once a year Aluminum Overcast comes into Van Nuys for a couple of days. She’s a gorgeous B-17 owned by the EAA. Someday it would be great to get a ride in her when she’s here.
The Liberty Foundation also has a fantastic B-17 that shows up about once a year, Memphis Belle. She’s not the original, legendary aircraft with that name, the one that the 1990 movie was about. That original aircraft is being restored at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. This however is the aircraft that was used in the filming of the movie, and she continues to carry the name.
With the B-17’s, the noise also can be heard coming for miles and miles. With those four big radials they’re just like a flight of Texans all on their own. When they make their flights out of Van Nuys or Burbank they generally fly about a half-hour loop out over the Malibu coast and back. The leg back to either airport almost always takes them directly over our house and they’ll do flights all day long, so about every forty to forty-five minutes they’ll be back. It gives me lots of opportunities to watch, dream, and get pictures.
You’ve got to love “the sound of round”!
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 