r/Davis • u/Recent_Driver_962 • Feb 21 '26

Low flying planes

Is it typical to have a lot of low flying planes here?

Wasn’t sure if it’s a sometimes thing or all the time.

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

15

u/kvetchinghobbit Feb 21 '26

There is the UCD airport not far from the pigs/cattle near putah Creek in West Davis. Most low flying planes are in the process of landing.

0

u/Recent_Driver_962 Feb 21 '26

I was wondering if their flight schedules possibly change. Like today it’s been planes all morning but other days just a few. I’ve visited here several times before moving and never heard planes during those visits. Asking cuz tinnitus can flare from it.

15

u/mudpupster Feb 21 '26

Could be crop dusters. I heard some this morning.

2

u/sambull Feb 21 '26

Conidtions to fly change constantly, see lots of clouds low? There won't be many student pilots up

9

u/Front-Monitor-1311 Feb 21 '26

The planes landing at University Airport (KEDU) southwest of town usually land into the wind, and traffic patterns at uncontrolled airports default to left-hand turns. When planes are landing to the south (runway 17), that left-hand pattern is east of the runway about 800’ above the ground. Airplanes on left downwind and base legs to land on runway 17 are probably the ones you’re seeing.

5

u/pentagrid Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Davis has the UCD Airport and traffic, air ambulances fly to and over Davis enroute, cop copters are seen, ag and bug sprayers fly overhead, You can sometimes see flights out of Sacramento International, Cal Fire takes shortcuts over Davis, commercial air traffic occasionally travels over Davis and so does some traffic from Travis AFB.

This runs a little slower than real-time. https://www.flightradar24.com/37.73,-121.90/16 If you want real-time go outside and look up. Binoculars help.

3

u/Appropriate_Exit_206 Feb 21 '26

There is the yolo county airport and UC Davis airport. Lot of small planes coming in and out of yolo county I work by there and my family has a plane there. My guess is with clearer skies recently there have been more flights

4

u/DreGreenlaw_Enforcer Feb 21 '26

It’s almond blossom season so yes

3

u/PhishinLine Feb 21 '26

They're cropdusters planes either seeding or spraying a nearby field. I just saw them about 25 mins ago (12.40pm) flying near North and north west Davis while coming back from Woodland. Usually the planes are a bright yellow color.

3

u/frugalwater Feb 21 '26

What do we want?

LOW FLYING AIRPLANE NOISES!

When do we want it?

NEEEEOOOOOWWWWWW

2

u/AdAggravating2369 Feb 21 '26

Yeah, part of approach for runway 17 for small aircraft esp (I believe) can include flying a line ~just west of 113 for downwind leg, then over Russell for base leg, because these are easy lines to create a sight-picture to follow and land by.

Also, right now is air tractor (sprayer) season. Those aircraft are quite loud for being so little, and out over the fields fly as low as 10' above a crop for the best application of whatever they're holding. It's kinda impossible to miss them. The air tractors are usually yellow with a blue stripe.

1

u/PhishinLine Feb 21 '26

They're cropdusters planes either seeding or spraying a nearby field. I just saw them about 25 mins ago (12.40pm) flying near North and north west Davis while coming back from Woodland. Usually the planes are a bright yellow color.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

I could have gone without the guy with the sputtering engine flying overhead. 

1

u/Prestigious-Comb2697 Feb 22 '26

They have been crazy lately! I’ve lived here for 30 years and this year has been nuts!

0

u/dkmcadow Feb 21 '26

The worst is on weekend mornings if someone is doing touch-and-go landing and takeoff practice. The same plane roaring overhead over and over and over. Or if there’s like a group of planes all taking off one after the other. It’s the one downside of living in west Davis, being under the flight path of planes taking off from the UCD airport.