Runway numbers query.

[Jon Clarke]

Possibly a dumb question to all you experienced flyers, but when I make a request for a full stop landing, via ATC, I am given a runway number to land at. My problem is that I have no idea which runway is that number. Especially relevant when more than one runway is at the airport. Many times I have had to approach and then  swoop over the airport to try and see the runway number I am supposed to land at. I do not know which is 01 Left or 01 Right etc !! There has got to be an easy way to know, but to date I have no idea how to get this info or how to see the correct runway when making an approach. Please help.

[Gavin Stewart]

Hi

 

I'm not sure if you know why runways are assigned numbers as names, if not, hopefully this will help.

 

A runway which points to magnetic north will be named 36...this is because the heading that you will see in your aircraft when lined up with the runway is 360. The opposite end of the runway will be labelled as 18...meaning it's heading is 180. So if you are approaching the airport from the south and ATC clears you for a landing on runway 36, it means you will land on the runway directly ahead which points to the north (bearing  360 degrees)

 

Other examples of runways can be 17/35   or 14/32   or 03/21  or 07/25......all of them are 180 degrees apart obviously

 

If there are 3 runways that all run parallel to each other (all have the same bearings), then the one on the left will be named 01L (for example), the center will be named 01C and the one on the right, 01R.

 

 

Check the map under the World option when in flight using P3D. Zooming in to the airport will give you a good idea of the runway names.

 

 

I hope this helps

[Kev D]

The runway number is the magnetic heading of the runway. So, if you are given runway 23 to land on, your final heading is 230 deg. You can use your compass and eyes together to ascertain the runway direction on the ground, and place yourself accordingly. You mention 01 Left or 01 Right - this has 2 answers. It can mean the lest or right runway when parallel runways are in use, or, at smaller airfields, it means the circuit direction - so 01 Left means RW 01 with a left hand circuit for positioning. If in doubt, ask for radar vectors to a straight in approach!

Kev

[Jon Clarke]

Thanks Gavin, very helpful. I do stop and look at the Map in Options but I do not recall seeing runway numbers info being displayed, just the lines of the runway(s). Maybe i need to enlarge (+) the Map view more. If I did that would it show the runway number?

[Dadtom65]

Hi jjaycee1. Get your self Plan G which is simular to Flightsim Commander 8 or 9 which shows when its connected to your Fltsim where you are in relation to the airport. Derek.

[dominique]

What you could do do when flying VFR and not knowing the airport too well is fly over it at 1000 feet above the pattern altitude or just above the controlled airport airspace, have a good look below, then call the ATC (if any)  and enter the pattern according to what told or if there's no ATC according to your position relative to the most upwind runway.

[FalconAF]

A little clarification may be needed for the OP.  As you may note, the runway numbers only have TWO numbers in them, not 3 as in a real heading.  The runway number represents the first TWO numbers of the CLOSEST zero-ending 3-digit heading  Like the closest zero-ending heading for a direction of 357 degrees would be 360, then the zero is dropped and the runway would be Runway 36.  If the runway heading was 004, it would ALSO be Runway 36 (you round the 004 DOWN to 360).

 

Basically you round the runway's REAL heading (3-digits) up or down to the nearest 3-digit zero-ending heading, and the first two numbers of that heading are the runway number then.  As Gavin said, parallel runways will add the the letter "L", "C", or "R" when needed.

 

Someone said if the runway number is something like 26, your final heading to the runway will be 260 degrees.  That is usually NOT true (but could be if the runway heading really WAS something like 270 or 360).  You may need to fly a heading anywhere BETWEEN 255 and 265 for runway 26.  That may not seem like a "big deal", but if you are doing an Instrument Approach in IFR conditions you WILL need to fly the REAL 3 digit runway heading listed on the chart for the runway if you want to stay lined up with it.  Pointing your aircraft 4-degrees to the left or right of the real runway heading will mean you will miss the approach end of the runway by a significant margin. (Your "ground track" needs to stay lined up with the runway...you may actually "point the nose" of the aircraft to the left or the right of the real runway heading to compensate for crosswinds during the approach).

[lennie]

And it's a good idea to compare your "whiskey" compass, or HSI with the numbers on the runway, when you taxi into position for T/O; an airliner I think in Kentucky not too many years ago failed to check in early morning hours, lined up on a runway too short for the jet, not the runway the tower assigned; result everyone killed except the FO.

[petfy]

Cheat. Call up the airport layout on the GPS. You can also select an approach on the GPS and just follow the magenta line.

[Matt McGee]

jjaycee1,

Sounds like Gavin answered your OP.

Not all runways are numbered in FSX or in real life.  Small private strips may not have runway designation numbers painted on them, in which case general directions can be used, "landing southeast".  The FSX radio calls simulate this at some fields.

 

When you are cleared to land on a runway, your downwind heading (no wind) will be 180 degrees from the runway's magnetic heading.

Here is a trick to find the reciprocal number faster than adding or subtracting 180, IMHO.

Just remember "Subtract 2, Add 2" or "Add 2, Subtract 2."

 

If you want the reciprocal of a heading, subtract 2 from the first digit of the original heading and add 2 to the second digit.  The third digit will never change.

Heading 270

Subtract 2 from the first digit (2).  2-2 = 0

Add 2 to the second digit (7).  2+7 = 9

090 is the reciprocal of 270.

 

Heading 315

Subtract 2 from the first digit (3).  3-2 = 1

Add 2 to the second digit (1).  1+2 = 3

135 is the reciprocal of 315

 

If you can't subtract 2 from the first digit (0 or 1), then add 2, subtract 2.

 

Heading 090

Can't subtract 2 from 0, so switch to add.

Add 2 to the first digit.  0+2 = 2

Subtract 2 from the second digit, 9.  9-2 = 7

270 is the reciprocal of 090.

 

Heading 145

Add 2 to the first digit.  1+2 = 3

Subtract 2 form the second digit.  4-2 = 2

325 is the reciprocal of 145

 

This trick fails for headings 001-019, so you have to add 180.

 

Happy flying!

Matt

[GordonGekko]

A simple way, download a chart of the airport before flying to it, or if its a payware airport it may have come with charts in the PDF.

In real life, especially if it's an airport I've never flown to, I take an airport chart/diagram with me so that I know the layout prior to arrival.

[jsapair]

My suggestion mirrors Gordon's. I get an AP chart from Skyvector and keep it minimized for reference. Real handy if it's a major AP.

[Gavin Stewart]

Thanks Gavin, very helpful. I do stop and look at the Map in Options but I do not recall seeing runway numbers info being displayed, just the lines of the runway(s). Maybe i need to enlarge (+) the Map view more. If I did that would it show the runway number?

Yes, that is correct. You have to zoom in a lot to see the numbers. The suggestion about using the GPS to check the airport in-game is quite a good idea as well, possibly easier than zooming in to the map

[FalconAF]

jjaycee1,

 

Here's a Wiki article explaining it:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway  The first part of the article titled "Naming" is the info you want, but the entire article is a good read.

 

Of note in the article, it talks about the different ways the U.S. and the rest of the world may "designate" the runway numbers, and why.  "Designate" in this case means whether or not a Runway 4 would be called "Runway 4" (four) vs "Runway 04" (zero-four) for instance, and how Air Traffic Controllers would say it.  Another difference is whether the runway uses a Magnetic North vs a True North designation.  It also explains why runway numbers may change over time.  Or why if there are more than 3 parallel runways all at the same airport, some of them may actually be named "wrong" on purpose to avoid confusion (see the example in the article about the FIVE parallel runways at KDFW in Dallas, Texas).  That is one BIG reason you don't want to just assume that because a runway is called "26" the final heading to it is 260 degrees.  It might be CALLED Runway 26, but it might actually have a heading of 270 degrees.  For Precision Approaches to that runway, you have to know the REAL heading to fly to stay lined up with it (you get that from looking at the charts for that runway).

 

The article even mentions that in U.S. flight simulators (like most of us use) the U.S. way of doing it may carry over to ALL airports and runways in the simulator.  Which could be confusing for someone in Europe listening to the "U.S. based" terminology for foreign airports in the simulator.  Some ATC addons for our flight simulators will correct for that when they are used in our simulators.

 

Just some more info for you.

[FalconAF]

As an add to my above post (it was too late to edit it), don't get into the habit of thinking you can always depend on your GPS to fly an approach to a runway (in the sense that you don't need to know the real heading to the runway).  Even GPS approach charts shows the required heading of that "red line" on your GPS map display, and you should know it too.  Plus, not all runways have GPS approaches for you to use.  An ILS approach requires that you know the real 3-digit heading to fly to execute the approach properly.  For instance, at KLAS in Las Vegas, Nevada, runways 1L, 19L, and 19R all have GPS approaches, but no ILS approaches.  Runways 25L and 25R have ILS approaches, but no GPS approaches.  If ATC clears you for an ILS approach to 25L or 25R, your GPS can take you to the "Final Approach Fix" shown on the chart, but from there you will have to have the appropriate heading dialed into your navigation equipment to fly the ILS portion down to the runway.  And in some cases, the heading you will fly is NOT exactly the same as the runway heading.  Some approaches use "offset" headings for terrain clearance, etc, and you will be MOSTLY lined up with the runway when you eventually see it, but not EXACTLY lined up, and you will have to make some small corrections to land once you see it.

 

Of course, if you are flying VFR, all you need to do is be able to identify the correct runway visually from the air.  So general statements like "Runway 26 points west and means you will be flying westerly" is close enough then.

 

In as much as your first post indicated sometimes you "have to fly over the airport to see the runway numbers", there's a better way to get "lined up" with whatever runway ATC gives you to land on.  You need to be able to visualize in your mind your direction from the airport, the direction of the runway ATC told you to use, then enter the airport traffic pattern accordingly.  Here's another Wiki article that shows how to do that.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfield_traffic_pattern

 

This is not only useful at uncontrolled airports with no ATC services, but also for when ATC tells you something like "Enter left downwind for runway 26" or similar.  You are expected to be able to visualize how to do that correctly from your current location, and will really piss off the ATC controller if you do something different.  

 

Especially the FAA guy in the Radar Contact v4 addon if you use that.  He'll blow a gasket during your "After Flight Critique" if you don't do what ATC told you or expected you to do.  ;-)

[Jon Clarke]

Thank you all so much for very informative & detailed information and suggestions. It has been very educational. You live and learn !

[Mickel]

There can be practical reasons for runway numbers. Parafield is a busy training airport with parallel runways, squashed between an international airport and airforce base. They should be 02/20 left & right. They're designated 03/21 left and right because they don't want a student have a moment under pressure and mix up two-zero with zero-two.