with a runway 9/27 I am approaching from the east travelling in a westerly direction will I land at the 9 end or the 27 end? in other words, is the number on the end the compass heading or the direction of travel?
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2Does this answer your question? How are runways numbered? – Abdullah is not an Amalekite Mar 21 '21 at 05:23
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When I'm flying east, pointing east, with a compass heading of about 090 (i.e. 90 degrees), when I land straight ahead I will be landing on runway 9. Just after I pass over the runway threshold, at about 50 feet above the runway, I'll overfly the big "9" painted on the runway, and I'll touch down some hundreds of feet beyond it. If I then roll all the way to the far end, the eastern end, of the runway, I'll reach the "27" painted there.
Conversely, if I'm east of the runway & flying west, my compass heading will be about 270 and I'd land straight-in on runway 27. My compass heading as I'm landing (or taking off) corresponds to the designation of the runway that I'm using.
Ralph J
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