Private Jets Over Hope Ranch

By an edhat reader

Why are there so many private jets flying over hope ranch contrary to the FAA  flight paths? My neighbor is an ex-pilot for AA and he told me that they are supposed to fly in over the ocean, not over the city.

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Written by Anonymous

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  1. gasp! the horrors! airplanes flying in the air. yes even in your over priced affluent neighborhood, you too are subject to things flying over your property. i know this must be devastating and confusing for you, but in the real world, this is the norm.
    SB Airport flight path is very close to HR. There is nothing wrong or illegal with smaller or larger planes flying above your homes enroute to SBA.

  2. I would state otherwise, we are seeing more flights pushed “away” from Hope Ranch and closer to residential homes “outside” of hope ranch. Flights so close you can see them from your back yard at tree height….the toxic jet fuel and the dangers it poses flying so close to homes.

  3. Weather also pushes the flight plan to change from what I’ve read. Most flights come into Santa Barbara from the ocean, over More Mesa area and into the airport. When there is heavy fog or weather issues the flight path can push all the way into Modoc Road

  4. 6:09: Why should everyone else alter their practices (flight paths) to placate someone who didn’t do their homework when buying a multi million dollar home within a couple miles of an airport? And how bothersome is it really to see/hear an airplane fly over your house a couple times a day? Please.

  5. There has been a large increase in private jets in the past three years. Most are adhering to what we always thought was a flight path from the airport to the ocean going north (and vice versa) over the Costco area and skirting the boundaries of UCSB . While the majority of commercial flights seem to be following this flight path, and rising immediately upon takeoff to avoid low flights over neighborhoods, it has been surprising to see SkyWest and Alaskan airlines now flying over UCSB . SkyWest in particular flies lower than other planes. Most of these UCSB over flights are only 2 blocks or less from the two high rise towers (Santa Catalina dorms, formerly named Francisco Torres), and flying so slow that pilots can be observed from second story buildings. The flights going northwest veer extremely south of takeoff towards the ocean directly towards the towers.

  6. Most of us have lived in our homes from before the arrival of these many jets, and before the airport “upgrade” for jet trave. We have seen the commercial flight activity go from a few (mostly United) daily to dozens of flights . We shouldn’t have to move because the City of Santa airport or FAA or pilots or the whole lot of them don’t seem to care much about altering their behavior to mitigate obvious noise and pollution impacts to surrounding neighborhoods.

  7. Folks who purchased homes on the Mesa, Hope Ranch, and in Noleta have enjoyed a peaceful existence long before the current barrage of air traffic flying started flying over their roofs. We ain’t movin’, but pilots can approach SBA over the ocean and cross over vacant More Mesa property, if they know how to fly…..On a blue sky sunny day….no fog…no weather issues……no safety issues…..these pilots are flying a straight line over our neighborhoods just because they can and because the FAA and SBA Administration are doing nothing to educate them otherwise. …… If this noisy air traffic continues, residents are gonna make their voices heard with a “no” vote the next time the City asks them for support on some airport bond measure.

  8. You have no idea how much wealth was created and accumulated over the past two years. Trillions $$$ was printed out of thin air and injected our economy creating record asset valuations. The people that owned those assets in 2020 are now flying private.

  9. There are a plethora of private planes who seem to get joy from just cruising around the local skies. They are loud, slow and annoying. Maybe they are showing property to real estate clients which is also obnoxious. Still, it is better in winter than in better weather when people are outside more often trying to enjoy their yards.

  10. As a local instrument commercial multiengine pilot, i’ll go ahead and put this to bed. Th airport does have a “requested” flight path that should be used during visual operations. It brings planes in from the water over more mesa and direct to the runway. This is only requested, and is NOT required. During marginal conditions (having visual contact with runway at 920’ above the runway) the approach path does actually bring you in straight over hope ranch due to the lateral angle to the runway. Sadly for you, nothing will change here. Its just a lot more planes that you’re noticing, but no pilot “has” to avoid a hope ranch flyover

  11. There is an app called “Flight Aware”.
    Recently I downloaded it and was amazed to see how many commercial and private flights are directly overhead, 24/7. Reminds me of visiting relatives in Manhattan Beach, L.A. in the summer where you could not have a conversation with your neighbor or anyone more than 6 feet away for several hours a day due to the constant noise of planes pulling advertising banners and private planes joyriding below the FAA ceiling, (Not LAX traffic). It was like living below several leaf blowers blowing full time. With the increase of private and commercial planes over our area in the last few decades, we are getting closer to L.A.’s saturated skies.

  12. STRAY – “Folks who purchased homes on the Mesa, Hope Ranch, and in Noleta have enjoyed a peaceful existence long before the current barrage of air traffic flying started flying over their roofs.” Yeah, if you purchased them back in the 1950s.
    This is absurd folks. I live right near the flight path at SBA and can see the planes taking off and landing from my window as I type this. It’s far from a “constant barrage.” It’s a few private prop planes mixed with a jet or 2 every hour. The sound is fleeting. Whooooooooshhhhh or brrrrpppprpprprprpr (prop plane?) for a few seconds. Unless you are directly under the landing path as I was, it’s hard for anyone to be sympathetic.

  13. @SACJON, I’m not in Hope Ranch but nearby and when planes fly low over our home (windows closed) we need to pause our conversation because we can’t hear one another. And getting startled awake in the middle of the night or early in the morning by the roar is not fun. If the commercial jets would follow the suggested flight path, I wouldn’t be experiencing this. Prior to 2018, planes were mostly sticking to that flight path. Then things changed. At an airport meeting in 2018, someone mentioned that Alaska set up some flight path technology and other airlines were using it as well. That might explain what’s happening with commercial flights.

  14. SBLINDA – yes, those big jets will make a lot of noise, especially if you live near Goleta Cottage or over by Girsh park. I grew up near there and remember how loud they were. But, it was really only a couple times a day. I guess I just don’t understand why people would move under the landing/take off path and complain about the noise.

  15. Stray, ok so you’re going to man up and “force” pilots to fly their planes elsewhere? LOL ok dude…look i grew up in goleta as well. 1982 and on. So I counter your statement. it’s no different now vs then. Also saying “if they know how to fly”. Do you have a pilots license? or are you just a wicked arm chair pilot….lol. funny. let me tell you something. your complaint will fall on deaf ears. FAA and the city and county will simultaneously laugh at you. The revenue and need for the airport far outweigh your “quiet” time.

  16. Sac, you’re talking to a bunch of 3rd grade whiners. don’t bother buddy. i know what you are saying is true. shoot…my dog and i like to go park near the airport and watch planes land from the bed of our truck….something my dad and i used to do in the 80s when i was a kid. even at that point, i can hear the radio in my truck and it is NOT even that loud parked there. So these people are just seriously complaining about nothing.

  17. As Johnny Cash once sang, “Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry, cry, cry,
    And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky,
    And the tears that I cried for that air plane noise are gonna flood you Big River,
    And I’m gonna sit right here until I die.”
    if i could put an emoticon of a bunch of crying babies on here, i would 🙂

  18. Hope Ranch is about 3 miles off the end of the runway. Turbine aircraft (jets / turboprops) have approach airspeeds that are pretty quick, many around 150mph. This means that this distance between Hope Ranch and touchdown is covered in a little over a minute.
    Pilot workload with these complex aircraft (often with many souls aboard) is demanding even in ideal conditions. Anything that can be done to increase margin for error should be done. A nice stable approach in to land is a great way to eliminate many tasks and allow pilots to be as safe as possible, which, should be the #1 factor in decision making. Anything a pilot can do to stay ahead of the aircraft (in workload) should be done. Not adding an unnecessary maneuver into the flight that is < 1 min before landing is an easy decision for any pilot. Any of these pilots possess the skill to approach over the ocean and turn onto final closer in, but absent of traffic, ground obstructions, or legal requirements that force a short final approach, it's just safer to not do it.

  19. WISHIWASHER – thank you for these facts. It would seem the fussy folks in Hope Ranch would rather sacrifice the safety of pilots and passengers so they aren’t bothered with the occasional noise. It must be just awful having to raise your voice once in a while when ordering another mai tai from your cabana boy. Just tragic. 😉

  20. Well said Sac! I would add, the airport has been there since the war. I doubt anyone has been living in hope ranch since before the airport was established. For all intents and purposes, I te as already there and everyone in hope ranch knew that when they moved there. Same goes for the train, that whistle was blowing before anyone alive moved close enough to be disturbed by the noise.

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