Runway Numbers

Originally posted by wysiwyg
Another interesting fact is that there is a difference between American terminology and European terminology. A runway with a magnetic track of, say, 040 would be called ‘Runway Four’ in the US but ‘Runway zero four’ in Europe.

In the US we don’t add the “zero” before single digit runway numbers because it’s not painted with one on the runway nor cataloged as such in the charts. I think Canada might paint on the Zero but still refer to it as a single digit runway. …or perhaps they do that out of courtesy for visitors from the south. 🙂

HMMM? What was that thing of movement of the magnetic poles? My heavy book says the magnetic north is in canada!

There is another twist to the the clock code:

“Ah-… that would be the other 2 o’clock!”

Hot shot fighterpilots use it another way:

“Bogey, LEFT two o’clock”

That should of course be “left ten o’clock”
but turned the head in the right direction.

Please keep that avatar!

Originally posted by Hand87_5
Tim , congratulations for your Logo.
The best one in aviation history 🙂

Thanks! My wife was with them from the early 70’s until 1986. A fine Company destroyed greedily by a corporate raider posing as a rescuer. He put scores of thousands of employees on the streets – jobless and with little or no pension and then personnally bought (not a house, not a hotel, but….) a whole island in the Caribbean!

Not that we are bitter-and-twisted or anything!!! Haaaaa!

Thank God for United!

Oldie But Goodie

Hi Whizz:

…. Kind of on the same vein from a friend in the right seat of a 747-400 overheard inbound to SFO.

An aircraft was advised to report visual with traffic in their “Two O’Clock” – positioning for the parallel runway. After a long silence Bay Approach asked if they had that traffic visual? The sardonic response was “Stand-By One, we are trying to find 2 o’Clock, we all have digital watches here.”

Tim , congratulations for your Logo.
The best one in aviation history 🙂

Tim, I remember watching a UK TV program that made exactly the same mistake as that about a year ago.

Steve, gawd knows what the terminology is in Australia…probably not ‘cleared to land runway zero four’ but ‘the pub’s that way cobbers’!

LHR

Just a few years ago the parallel runways were 28L & R and 10L & R. As Magnetic North moves very slowly over the years; the numbers of all runways will eventually change. I must assuime that LHR’s were changed as the heading changed from 275 Mag. to 274 Mag.

I think I have that right.

West Wing

A recent West Wing episode on NBC here featured Airforce One with a nose-gear problem which turned out to be a $1.00 bulb only. As the show concluded an announcement was made by the pilot that they had been cleared to land on Andrews AFB’s runway 39 – :rolleyes: .

Hmmmmm. Let me see, I must have a metric compass here…….???

I’ve been aircraft spotting for about 50 years, and i did’nt know that, just goes to show your never to old to learn something new

Another interesting fact is that there is a difference between American terminology and European terminology. A runway with a magnetic track of, say, 040 would be called ‘Runway Four’ in the US but ‘Runway zero four’ in Europe.

As Bhoy stated it’s based on compass or magnetic heading. That means that even though a runway might be facing West to East the number might be 25 (250 degrees) not 27 (270 degrees) due to the variation to the magnetic poles.

Sometimes runways numbers don’t match up with their magnetic heading but that is usually only found at airports with numerous runways. In some cases with 4 parallel runways they’ll name 1 pair 27 L/R and the other pair 26 L/R even though all 4 runways have the same magnetic heading. In other cases a runway will have been numbered decades ago but due to the shift in the magnetic poles the runway’s magnetic heading will no longer corrispond to the runway number.

I’m sure there are other examples but it’s a safe assumption that a runway’s magnetic heading will be directly related to it’s number but not always. Our airport had it’s runways renumbered 2 years ago which suprised everyone as they came in to land that morning? 🙂

cheers

Thank you

they then make the runway in the direction which is most favourable for the wind; airplanes always take off against the wind!

It’s the compass heading.

for example, if you were landed with a heading of 260 Degrees, you’d be landing on runway 26. the other end of the runway would be 08 (260-180 (from the other direction)= heading 80 degrees)

Interesting stuff then, not just a number that the runway designer gets to choose!

Thanks

And it causes havoc on Aircraft carriers cos they’ve got to to get some dude with a compass at the front telling them when they are pointing the right way for take off / landings !!!…Yup, they have numbers on the carriers as well

LOL (Toungue in cheek!)

True as said above. I think it works as if you were rounding to the nearest 10 degrees eg

265-274 would be runway 27 etc

Typical accountant!!! 😉 In aviation terms we refer to reciprocal as meaning ‘the other way’.

Just a few additions fo interest –
The number is actually the magnetic track of the runway to the nearest whole 10 degrees. The magnetic north pole slowly moves which changes the magnetic bearing of evrything on the planet so every few years you may find that a runway is redesignated as it’s magnetic track may have change from 325 (Runway 32) to 326 (Runway 33).
If there are three parallel runways the middle runway is referred to as Center (eg Runway 14C.
In most of the world runways are referred to using two numbers and maybe a letter if applicable (eg Runway 08R at LGW). However in America if the magnetic track of the runway is between 006 and 095 degrees they drop the 0, so Runway 08R would become Runway 8R.

Regards
wys

Originally posted by kev35
That’s right. The numbers are the abbreviated heading in degrees. For instance BHX has 15 and 33. If you approach to land from the north, the runway would be 15 as it lies on a heading of 150 degrees. Approach from the south and it becomes 33, heading 330 degrees, the reciprocal of 15.

Regards,

kev35

You mean, the compass opposite of 15, ie. 150+180=330.

The reciprocal of 15 is 0.067