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Flight Patterns
Scottsdale Airport has one runway (3/21), oriented in a northeast/southwest direction and the runway is usually operated with traffic in one direction at a time. Runway 3 is in use when aircraft depart to the northeast and arrive from the southwest. Runway 21 is in use when aircraft depart to the southwest and arrive from the north/northeast. See the consolidated flight track map below.
The runway is named "03/21" as this indicates the magnetic headings when lined up with the runway: "03" for 030 degrees, and "21" for 210 degrees from magnetic north. [Subtracting 30 from 210, leaves 180, indicating the runway headings are 180 degrees opposite in magnetic heading.]
The direction of the prevailing wind at the airport determines which direction or "flow" the runway is operated at any given time. During the late evening and morning hours the winds are calm or coming from the east, causing Runway 03 to be in use (departures to the north, arrivals from the south). In the late morning the prevailing winds usually shift and arrive from a westerly direction, resulting in most of the daytime operations being on Runway 21 (departures initially to the southwest and west, arrivals from the north). Wind conditions will vary with the weather and the season.
Most small aircraft are operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which means the pilot in command determines the flight path of the aircraft, not the air traffic controllers. Air Traffic controllers provide traffic advisories and direct arriving aircraft to visual reporting points to assist in safely separating and sequencing aircraft into and out of the airport traffic area.
Scottsdale Airport historically is one of the busiest single-runway airports in the country and is available for use 24 hours a day. The airport has a wide mix of traffic encompassing small general aviation propeller aircraft, jet aircraft and helicopters. There are several kinds of routine traffic at Scottsdale Airport: General Aviation - touch-and-go; General Aviation - arrivals/departures; transition traffic; jet arrivals/departures; and helicopters.
General Aviation (GA) - Touch-and-Go:
One common flight path for propeller aircraft is called a "touch-and-go" and is classified as "local" traffic. Student pilots and experienced licensed pilots alike practice landings and takeoffs by conducting repeated "touch-and-go's", without leaving the immediate vicinity of the airport.
See Exhibit 3G - Existing & Future Consolidated F16 Arrival, Touch & Go and Helicopter Tracks , 2004 Noise Compatibility Study Update. (pdf/1.3mb/1p)
General Aviation (GA) - Arrivals:
Because of regional airspace constraints, the airport location and surrounding terrain, most small GA aircraft traffic arriving to the Scottsdale Airport come from similar directions, which results in several traffic corridors. Arriving GA aircraft generally enter the controlled Scottsdale Airport Class D airspace (4.4-mile radius around the airport) from the north/northwest, east/southeast and south/southwest. Arriving GA aircraft mostly gain permission to enter the controlled airspace 5 miles north or south of SDL, or in the vicinity of landmarks such as Paradise Valley Mall, Pavilions shopping center, or pinnacle peak. Rawhide was used as a VFR reporting points prior to the land development occurring in 2005. Otherwise, the reporting points have generally remained unchanged for many years, and the areas between these VFR reporting points and the airport traffic pattern experience frequent aircraft overflights.
See Exhibit 3F - Existing & Future Consolidated Arrival Tracks, 2004 Noise Compatibility Study Update. (pdf/1.5mb/1p)
General Aviation (GA) - Departures:
Local conditions and the pilot's destination typically determine a departing aircraft's initial direction of flight after departing the runway. Small GA aircraft departing Scottsdale Airport generally head north, northwest, southeast and southwest.
See Exhibit 3E - Existing & Future Consolidated Departure Tracks, 2004 Noise Compatibility Study Update. (pdf/1.5mb/1p)
Transition traffic:
The valley airspace is dominated by the Sky Harbor "Class B" Airspace in the center of the valley, and is ringed by general aviation reliever airports.
See Exhibit 1F - Area Airspace (pdf/101kb/1p).
When flying from one General Aviation airport to another, aircraft have limited options going through Sky Harbor airspace and instead fly underneath the Sky Harbor airspace by transitioning through reliever airports' airspace without landing at the airport. Or, transition traffic may also fly around the valley avoiding the controlled airspace of the reliever airports altogether.
See Exhibit 1E - Airspace Classification (pdf/128kb/1p).
As long as the reliever airports have existed, aircraft have flown between the north central valley (Deer Valley Airport) to other airports in the east/southeast valley (Mesa Falcon Field, Chandler Municipal and Williams Gateway Airport).
The McDowell Mountains constrain the airspace immediately north and east of the Scottsdale Airport; therefore, transition traffic typically flys over the top of Scottsdale Airport, or within a few miles of the Airport, typically at 3000 ft Mean Sea Level (MSL). With an airport elevation of approximately 1500 feet MSL, transition traffic is typically 1500 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) in the area around Scottsdale Airport, and typically is heading northwest/southeast. Other GA transition traffic may choose to remain outside the Scottsdale Airport Traffic Area (a 4.4- mile radius from the airport) and may fly in uncontrolled airspace under pilot guidance in compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations.
Often times transition traffic in uncontrolled airspace over Scottsdale is caused by aircraft overflights that are not related to Scottsdale Airport.
Jet Arrivals and Departures:
Jet aircraft arrive and depart the Scottsdale Airport 24 hours a day, however, night time operations average less than five per night. The typical arrival corridor for jets is primarily north and south of the airport. When aircraft are within approximately five miles of the airport, the FAA Air Traffic Controllers provide vectors to guide aircraft safely to and from the runway. Because of airspace constraints due to the Sky Harbor traffic routes, most jet departures from Runway 21 initially turn west and then are vectored to their departure route: north, northwest, southwest or south.
See Exhibit 3F - Existing & Future Consolidated Arrival Tracks, 2004 Noise Compatibility Study Update. (pdf/1.5mb/1p)
and
See Exhibit 3E - Existing & Future Consolidated Departure Tracks, 2004 Noise Compatibility Study Update. (pdf/1.5mb/1p)
The Scottsdale FAA Air Traffic Control Tower developed a voluntary Helicopter Letter of Agreement (LOA) (pdf/108kb/6pp) that defines approach and departure procedures for safety and noise abatement. This LOA was updated and instituted on June 1, 2004, and replaces the previous 1999 PECOS LOA.
Helicopters operating at Scottsdale Airport (SDL) and airpark locations are part of a thriving business and recreation aviation community; including several private companies, news media, public safety agencies, flight schools, utilities, corporations, air ambulances, helicopter manufacturers and repair stations, military, and privately-owned helicopters. All this helicopter activity has prompted Scottsdale Airport to develop a Helicopter Pilot Guide(pdf/1.2mb/2pp).
The guide results from collaboration between Scottsdale Airport staff, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers, and helicopter pilots. It is derived from the June 2004 FAA Helicopter Letter of Agreement between based helicopter operators and the Scottsdale FAA Tower. Since the Letter of Agreement (LOA) applies only to based operators, there was no information for visiting helicopter operators to refer to when planning their flights into and out of SDL. The helicopter pilot guide is designed to fill that void. The guide explains safety and noise abatement procedures, and shows recommended reporting points, routes and geographic references. Pilots can use the guide for flight orientation if they are unfamiliar with the Scottsdale and Northeast Phoenix areas.
15000 N. Airport Drive, 2nd Floor, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
(480) 312-2321 (480) 312-8480 Fax
(Located at Butherus Drive and North Airport Drive) see map 
