The runway is the most important part of the airfield. This is a specially equipped earth surface, which allows for takeoffs and landings of all kinds of aircraft.
Each runway (hereinafter referred to as the runway) has a certain magnetic heading (MK). The MK value is rounded off and divided by ten. For example, the magnetic course of the airport located in Tolmachevo is 72 °, so the runway in this case will be designated as runway-07. However, this is only half of the designation. Any runway simultaneously has two directions (in both directions). Therefore, the value of the opposite course will be 252°. We get the full designation of the airport: runway 07/25.
Some airports are building several runways (mainly in large cities). Often they are placed in parallel (for convenience and safety at the same time). Then the letters are added to the numerical designation: L, C, R (the initial letters of the English words "left",center, right). For example, the rather large Midway Airport has three runways, the course of which is 133 ° / 313 °. Each runway at the mentioned airport has its own name: either runway 13R/31L, or runway 13L/31R, or runway 13C/31C.
Different airports accept different aircraft. Therefore, the coatings of the bands are also different. They can be concrete, asph alt, gravel and dirt. The size of the runway also differs. They again depend on the level of the airport and the aircraft it receives. The smallest runways (length 300 m and width 10 m) are used mainly for sports (small) aviation. However, there are respectable airports known to the world, the runway of which does not exceed these dimensions too much. By the way, they are listed in the top ten most dangerous airports (of all existing).
These include Tenzing Airport. The runway huddles at the "gates" of Everest. It runs along the side of the mountain and has a duration of 475 m. The pilot has only one attempt to land, as the surrounding terrain does not allow a second lap.
If the plane suddenly goes down, even the most experienced pilot will not be able to stop it, and if the landing gear does not come off in time during takeoff, the car will rush into the abyss, and passengers will only have to hope for a miracle. The largest runways (their length is up to 5000 m, and the width is up to 80 m) are built on the territory of aircraft factories and at international airports.
The mostthe long runway belongs to Edwards AFB. The place for its laying was the bottom of a dry lake in California. The length of the concrete pavement stretches for 4572 m, the total length is 11917 m, and the width of the runway is 297 m.
In Russia, the longest runway was opened in May 2013 in Akhtubinsk (GLITs flight test center). The first takeoff from it was made by military bombers. The "take-off", which is 4 km long and 60 m wide, is planned to be used for takeoff and landing of aircraft of all modifications and dimensions, and in all weather conditions. The runway coating itself is comparable to an eight-layer cake with a thickness of 1.8 m. This strip is a strategic object of the Air Force. In the near future, the latest aircraft will be tested here.
