Lake Forest, California, United States · live ADS-B

Planes over Lake Forest right now

Updated Fri, 06 Nov 2026 01:52:00 GMT

13 aircraft over Lake Forest right now; military H60 17 km SW at 750 ft Within 25 km of the city centre, ADS-B at 17:52 local (01:52 UTC).

Planes over Lake Forest right now

At 17:52 local (01:52 UTC), 76 aircraft were airborne within 60 km of Lake Forest, California, United States, 13 of them within 25 km of the city centre. The closest is N5269E (C180), 4 km SSW at 3,750 ft.

By height: 7 cruising at 20,000 ft or more (mostly passing over on the way somewhere else), 38 between 3,000 and 20,000 ft (typically climbing out or descending into a nearby airport) and 31 below 3,000 ft. Most of the traffic is arriving at or departing from airports around Lake Forest.

Flight	Airline	Type	Altitude	Where	Heading
N5269E	—	C180	3,750 ft	3.9 km SSW	295° WNW
N7972C	—	P28A	4,500 ft	13.4 km SSE	29° NNE
N5352D	—	P28R	5,100 ft	15.3 km SSW	135° SE
ASA639	Alaska Airlines	B738	650 ft	16.2 km WNW	208° SSW
N57BM	—	C172	100 ft	16.3 km WNW	223° SW
KNIFE44	Military	H60	750 ft	16.5 km SW	128° SE
N5322J	—	P28A	225 ft	17 km W	207° SSW
N723ML	—	R22	300 ft	17.5 km WNW	70° ENE
N2117D	—	BE35	5,400 ft	18.5 km WSW	127° SE
N91551	—	SLG4	6,000 ft	20.4 km WSW	307° NW
N5323U	—	T210	8,550 ft	20.9 km S	316° NW
SKW3249	—	E75L	24,425 ft	21.3 km SW	150° SSE
N739AT	—	C172	3,500 ft	24.9 km NE	47° NE

Every aircraft broadcasting its position over Lake Forest: airliners, helicopters, military and private planes, with how high and which way they are flying.

Aircraft within 25 km: 13 airborne, ADS-B
Aircraft within 60 km: 76
Helicopters: 7 within 60 km
Military: 4 flagged military airframes
Low (< 3,000 ft) away from airports: 9
Circling or loitering: 4 last 20 min
Nearest major airport: LAX · 74 km Los Angeles International
Next visible CSS pass: 17:54 local time

Open on the live map

Helicopters, military and low planes over Lake Forest

7 helicopters are flying within 60 km. The nearest, KNIFE44 (H60), is 17 km SW at 750 ft. Police, air-ambulance, news and tour helicopters often fly low and slow over cities; ADS-B does not say which role a helicopter has, but the registration on the flight page usually tells you the operator.

4 military aircraft are visible nearby: KNIFE44 (H60) 17 km SW at 750 ft; KNIFE00 (H60) 38 km WNW at under 100 ft; RS42 (H60) 41 km SSE at 175 ft; BT11 (H60) 43 km W at 950 ft. Many military flights switch their transponders off or hide their identity, so this is a minimum.

9 aircraft are below 3,000 ft and not next to an airport: KNIFE44 17 km SW at 750 ft; N994SD 26 km NNE at 1,525 ft; N1967S 35 km NW at 950 ft; ~298E81 38 km SE at 800 ft; N80238 39 km W at 1,900 ft. Low flying away from runways is usually helicopters, survey or banner flights, or traffic approaching a smaller airfield.

3 aircraft nearby use a privacy programme (PIA or LADD), so the owner asked for the identity to be hidden; the position is still shown.

KNIFE44 · H60 helicopter, 17 km SW, 750 ft
N723ML · R22 helicopter, 18 km WNW, 300 ft
N994SD · AS50 helicopter, 26 km NNE, 1,525 ft
KNIFE00 · H60 helicopter, 38 km WNW, under 100 ft, circling
RS42 · H60 helicopter, 41 km SSE, 175 ft
BT11 · H60 helicopter, 43 km W, 950 ft
REH16 · EC35 helicopter, 57 km SSE, under 100 ft

Is a plane circling over Lake Forest?

N62740 (C172, aircraft) is 28 km NNE at 1,500 ft. Over the last 16 minutes it has stayed within about 2.3 km of one spot.

KNIFE00 (H60, helicopter) is 38 km WNW at under 100 ft. Over the last 16 minutes it has stayed within about 1.8 km of one spot.

N259CB (P28A, aircraft) is 40 km NE at 1,775 ft. Over the last 16 minutes it has stayed within about 2.6 km of one spot.

N24CV (C172, aircraft) is 45 km WNW at 700 ft. Over the last 12 minutes it has stayed within about 1.6 km of one spot.

Aircraft circle for many ordinary reasons: police or news helicopters watching an incident, holding patterns while waiting to land, aerial survey, flight training or photography.

How busy is the sky over Lake Forest?

With 13 aircraft within 25 km, Lake Forest is quieter than every nearby large cities right now. The busiest nearby sky is over Santa Ana with 18 aircraft within 25 km.

Most low traffic around here is linked to Los Angeles International (LAX), 74 km from the city centre; its live arrivals and departures are on the airport page.

Planes over Mission Viejo 14 aircraft now
Planes over Irvine 16 aircraft now
Planes over Santa Ana 18 aircraft now
Planes over Orange 18 aircraft now

ISS and bright satellites over Lake Forest tonight

4 visible passes of the ISS, Tiangong or Hubble in the next 24 hours. The next starts at 17:54 local time in the WNW, peaks 56° above the SSW horizon and lasts about 6 minutes. A fast, steady, non-blinking light is a satellite, not a plane.

CSS (TIANHE) · 17:54 local visible, peak 56° SSW, 6 min
HST · 18:15 local visible, peak 15° SSW, 4 min
ISS (ZARYA) · 04:31 local visible, peak 23° SW, 5 min
HST · 17:41 local visible, peak 15° SSW, 4 min
ISS (ZARYA) · 18:48 local not visible, peak 11° ESE, 2 min
ISS (ZARYA) · 20:22 local not visible, peak 51° NW, 6 min

What plane is flying over me?

This page uses the centre of Lake Forest. For the exact aircraft above your street, open "What's overhead" and share your location: it lists every aircraft near you with the direction and angle to look.

Aircraft broadcast their position by ADS-B and volunteer receivers relay it. Small drones, most military aircraft on missions and some police aircraft do not broadcast, so they never appear on any public tracker. Drone sightings cannot be checked here.

What's flying over me (use my location)

Coverage: ADS-B from volunteer receivers. Within 60 km of a big city coverage is usually good above a few thousand feet; low helicopters can drop out between receivers. Circling detection uses positions sampled once a minute over the last 20 minutes.

Planes over nearby cities

More live data for Lake Forest

Aviation

Guides

Data: ADS-B Exchange community feeders via adsb.lol (ODbL), OurAirports, CelesTrak (satellite orbits).