Look to your left, then to your right, and you will be able to see all the relevant signage that pertains to you. That means that if signs aren’t easily visible from the cockpit and don’t provide clear, easy to understand information and directions, they are failing to meet their purpose. The good news is that the whole purpose of airport signs is to guide you, the pilot. The location of other signs and the physical configuration of the airfield also come into play when the airport operator is determining sign placements. Other types can be on the right or the left depending on what type of information they are providing. Some types of signs will only be located on the left. The first place to look for a sign is on the left side of the runway. If you fly into a more primitive airport, you will find that grass strip runways are designated with a “G” suffix. For example, 6 parallel runways at heading 270 could be named 27L, 27C, 27R, 28L, 28C and 28R. To differentiate between them, they are given alphabetical suffixes of either “L,” “R,” or “C.” These suffixes stand for “left,” “right,” and “center.” If there are more than 3 parallel runways, the general rule of thumb is for the airport to increase or decrease the numerical designation of the additional runway(s) by one. Up to three parallel runways can share the same numerical designation. The approach on the opposite end of that runway would be the reciprocal heading of 270, so it would be named Runway 27. That means that if a runway is at heading 093, it would be named Runway 9. The heading is rounded and shortened to the first two digits. Runway numbers are generally determined by their magnetic compass heading (at least in the United States). That means that Taxiway B would be referred to as “Taxiway Bravo.” Runway naming conventions When reading the names of taxiways, use the NATO phonetic alphabet. What you won’t see are double-different alphabet letters like “AB, BC, CD, DE, etc.” The letters “I, O and X” are also not allowed to be used for taxiway naming since they can create confusion and lead a pilot to read them as a runway number or an indication of a closed runway or taxiway.
Because of this, “AA, BB, CC, DD, EE or A2, A3, A4, etc.” also refer to taxiways. Taxiway designations start out with a single alphabet letter, although at larger airports, you may start seeing double-same alphabet letters or alphanumeric identifiers because of the sheer number of taxiways. That means that if you see “9, 17, 27, 35, etc.,” the sign is referring to a runway. Taxiways, on the other hand, have alphabetic designations. Runways are always designated numerically.
#Runway numbers how to#
How runways and taxiways are namedįirst up, do you know how to tell the difference between a runway designation and a taxiway designation just by looking at the name?
This will set you up for success later on when we get into the details. Ready to get started? Critical Baseline Knowledgeīefore we dive into the specifics of airport signs, let’s review the basics of airport layouts and naming conventions. Airport signs and airport markings are the guides that help us to navigate the intricate network of aprons, taxiways, runways and other aircraft movement surfaces.Īs a beginner pilot, all the airport signs will initially seem confusing, but once you learn how to read them, it will come naturally, and you will be finding your way around new airports with ease.
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