"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/14/2020 at 10:52 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/14/2020 at 10:52 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik | 2
| 19 |
I haven’t been out to Austin-Bergstrom International to take pictures since April of last year, and now that I finally have a bit of time, there’s no point. Runway 17L/35R, which is next to the observation parking lot, is closed, and has been for months. And when it reopens at the end of October, it won’t be 17L/35R any more. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I wrote a piece a few years ago about airport runways. The numbers of any runway correspond to the airstrip’s compass heading. But magnetic north wanders around a bit, and has moved significantly since the Earth cooled into it’s current shape. Every so often the pole moves enough that a runway has to be renumbered because the heading is no longer accurate. And now that will happen to the runways at Austin-Bergstrom International. The shorter of the two runways at the former SAC base will become 18L/36R, while the longer runway, originally built for B-52s, will become 18R/36L. With the change comes new signage for runways and taxiways, and new charts. Fortunately, this only happens every 50-60 years or so.
A chart showing the old runway designation of 17 and 35
An American Airlines Airbus A319 lands on the former runway 17L at Austin-Bergstrom Int’l Airport
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> ttyymmnn
09/14/2020 at 11:16 |
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That’s a weird one. Always enjoy this random minutia.
Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> ttyymmnn
09/14/2020 at 11:27 |
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I’m familiar with this happening, but seems like a lot of effort for a one degree change.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
09/14/2020 at 11:46 |
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It’s pretty important for navigation, especially when operating in inclement weather. If your equipment doesn’t align you correctly with the runway, there’s a chance of missing what you can’t see. When the runways change, the airspace also changes to accommodate the new alignment. The long approaches have to be shifted to match the runway alignments.
Even more interesting is that there are regional and local magnetic anomalies that can affect navigation over long distances. GPS is the current standard for navigation, but pilots still have to know how to use a map, compass, and timer (watch) to navigate. Local magnetic north can be several degrees off of “true” or “map” north. That can throw you off by miles over long distances.
PatBateman
> ttyymmnn
09/14/2020 at 11:53 |
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They’re renaming the runway after the Capital of Texas Highway.
[sentence deleted because I skipped over the part of the post that told me the answer]
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ttyymmnn
> PatBateman
09/14/2020 at 12:00 |
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I’m surprised the city hasn’t renamed the airport after Elon Musk.
smobgirl
> ttyymmnn
09/14/2020 at 12:00 |
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I flew into the south terminal yesterday. Damn is it in the middle of nowhere.
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ttyymmnn
> smobgirl
09/14/2020 at 12:02 |
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I’ve driven up to that terminal a couple of times. There are some great views from there, and it’s neat to see all the historic hangars. I’d love to go inside and poke around, but I imagine that’s frowned upon. I also wonder if they’d get mad if I set up a step stool to take pictures over the fence. Probably couldn’t do that either.
Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> ttyymmnn
09/14/2020 at 12:17 |
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Gasp. Where’s that famous Texan freedom?!
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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/14/2020 at 15:11 |
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Every few years or so I see updates like this in the Jeppensen approach database, but I rarely fly IFR anymore so it’s kind of non-issue for me. Mo st folks fly with GPS course guidance so the delta between mag north and true north is not critical.
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> ttyymmnn
09/16/2020 at 21:37 |
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I think you’re telling me that I won’t be able to find Salt Lick anymore. Sigh.
Nothing’s the same these days
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ttyymmnn
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/16/2020 at 21:44 |
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Not if you’re using a compass. Salt Lick is still there. There’s one out by the Dell Diamond, too.
Just Jeepin'
> smobgirl
09/16/2020 at 23:13 |
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Remind me what is it you do that takes you everywhere? Amazing amount of traveling.
Only Vespas...
> ttyymmnn
09/16/2020 at 23:28 |
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12248ft. That’s a lot of concrete. I’ll bet yo u could do like 4 touch and goes before yo u had to rejoin the pattern!
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smobgirl
> Just Jeepin'
09/17/2020 at 00:17 |
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Environmental consultant, generally for commercial lending. Sometimes I miss having a predictable life but I do love to see places.
SmugAardvark
> ttyymmnn
09/17/2020 at 01:37 |
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Yep, they renumbered our runways earlier this year. Listening to pilots and controllers get it wrong occasionally for the first couple weeks was slightly amusing, if not also worrisome.
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Just Jeepin'
> smobgirl
09/17/2020 at 07:45 |
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A surprising number of people in my family are in wastewater management. It’s a bit of a weird coincidence. Cousin, dad (retired), brother-in-law.
A nd another brother-in-law is in construction and occasionally works on one of their projects, and my nephew is in drilling (although that’s the one non-coincidence in all this, since his dad is in the above list).
Stef Schrader
> ttyymmnn
09/17/2020 at 11:51 |
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That is really, really interesting. TIL!
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ttyymmnn
> Stef Schrader
09/17/2020 at 12:11 |
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:D
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Stef Schrader
> ttyymmnn
09/18/2020 at 22:52 |
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This may have been the subject of enough oohs and aahs to merit a h/t in an explainer: https://www.thedrive.com/news/36549/airports-have-to-change-runway-names-when-magnetic-north-moves