Jonathan Johnson Posted January 5, 2017 at 07:28 PM Posted January 5, 2017 at 07:28 PM Might seem like a dumb question, but when I'm approaching an airport and there is no ATC online, how should I decide what runway to land on? A good example of my dilemma was one time I was approaching KPIT, and proceeding to land via 28R. As I was preparing to land, I noticed that straight ahead of me another aircraft was landing 10L, and on a direct collision course with me. I missed approach the runway and avoided colliding, but still.. it got me wondering how should I decide which runway to land on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Harrison Posted January 5, 2017 at 08:27 PM Posted January 5, 2017 at 08:27 PM Hi Jonathan, Probably a couple of things involved here; runway selection and coord. Runway selection, without ATC, is the pilots choice. Even with ATC the pilot remains responsible for the safety of their aircraft and its operation. Generally, I choose the runway that is most closesly aligned into the prevailing wind, and long enough for the landing given my weight and aircraft POH. If there are parallel runways, then I go for the shortest of the two, IF the length is ok for me. Generally when parallel runways are built, the longer is [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned as a departure runway, and the shorter as landing. If you want to go further, most airports will have SOPs, where they indicate what is the preferred runway configuration. Note: with ATC online, if they [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign you a runway that does not fit with your current operational and safety factors, then you should "Request xxL, due my winds/weight/brake failure/etc." Coord This is raised regularly on this forum. All I wish to say, is that if I am aware (servinfo, fsinn radar, anything else) that another acft is within cooee, I will text on 122.800 my intentions at TOD, and again entering the TMA, and at anytime a new ping appears on the radar. My view is that if I provide these texts, and no-else can be bothered, then I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume I am not going to interfere with them and continue as intended. I have had the same situation, you described, and I simply landed and drove through the other acft. This was beacause I had texted several messages on 122.800 and had no response. Lastly, don't let it get you overly concerned, generally everything can be resolved through communication. Sean C1/O P3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernesto Alvarez 818262 Posted January 6, 2017 at 03:27 PM Posted January 6, 2017 at 03:27 PM i do the same as i would in the real world, in fact i find it easier to coordinate online then real world since we have a lot more tools available to us start off with checking the winds, that gives me which runway to pick check the runway layouts, this tells me if its suitable for what im flying. check the online maps, such as vatspy, vattastic, etc.. to see if there is any traffic operating around the field or surrounding fields and see which way they are generally landing. this will clue me in on things like calm wind runways, for example in Florida the calm wind runway is generally landing East or North (a few exceptions, but that usually the direction). so if i see a bunch of other aircraft going a certain way and the wind is calm, that helps immensely figure it out. make a call on unicom indicating where i am and what my intentions are and also asking for traffic at the field as i would in the real world "Homestead (or use the 4 letter ICAO) traffic, Cessna 1234 15nm South inbound to land, any traffic Homestead". thats a queue for anyone around the field to pipe up. if they do, ill ask what are they using. the trick here is online some dont know how to choose runways so you gotta use your judgement on whether you follow them or not, but at least you are now coordinating the other option is just to monitor unicom and listen to what others are using, go from there. and then lastly but most important, use your EYES! never rely solely on the radio, even in the real world. watch and observe what others are doing around you. ive flown into plenty of fields that had other aircraft flying around that were not using the radios (not required to even have one at those fields), such as gliders, ultralights etc.. we managed, but always on our toes watching traffic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Johnson Posted January 7, 2017 at 02:18 AM Author Posted January 7, 2017 at 02:18 AM Yeah I usually contact unicom if the area is populated. I always check Vatspy, but didn't think to see which direction they are when landing. I've also found myself listening in on real ATC communications via Live ATC to get an idea of what they are doing in real life.. I figure since weather on here is so close to real life, it would probably be about the same. Just got totally thrown off guard when I saw someone landing the opposite direction of me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradley Grafelman Posted January 7, 2017 at 02:26 AM Posted January 7, 2017 at 02:26 AM Just got totally thrown off guard when I saw someone landing the opposite direction of me.. Well, there's your problem; you were on guard, not on UNICOM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Meese Posted January 7, 2017 at 09:23 AM Posted January 7, 2017 at 09:23 AM The right runway is always the intersection in a venn diagram where the two m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]es are A: The one allowing the most straight in approach, and B: The one allowing for the shortest taxi to your parking. Weather, traffic and/or ATC doesn't have a say in it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott DeWoody Posted January 9, 2017 at 02:15 AM Posted January 9, 2017 at 02:15 AM The right runway is always the intersection in a venn diagram where the two m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]es are A: The one allowing the most straight in approach, and B: The one allowing for the shortest taxi to your parking. Weather, traffic and/or ATC doesn't have a say in it! As long as you are OK, with not landing on your "right runway"... I suppose I must agree with checking the wind, and traffic. Or if you are familiar with the facility and their "calm wind" operation policy, that would also help. Scott DeWoody CEO - American Virtual Airlines joinava dot org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Selin Posted January 9, 2017 at 09:27 AM Posted January 9, 2017 at 09:27 AM I usually check active take off and landing runways on https://www.flightradar24.com/ I also do a quick check on http://en.allmetsat.com/metar-taf/ for QNH and winds. It should give you a clue on what runways to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Wiebe 1101951 Posted January 9, 2017 at 05:34 PM Posted January 9, 2017 at 05:34 PM The right runway is always the intersection in a venn diagram where the two m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]es are A: The one allowing the most straight in approach, and B: The one allowing for the shortest taxi to your parking. Weather, traffic and/or ATC doesn't have a say in it! What if I want to land on the left rwy? Mr. VATSIM P2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent Hopkinson Posted January 9, 2017 at 11:41 PM Posted January 9, 2017 at 11:41 PM The right runway is always the intersection in a venn diagram where the two m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]es are A: The one allowing the most straight in approach, and B: The one allowing for the shortest taxi to your parking. Weather, traffic and/or ATC doesn't have a say in it! What if I want to land on the left rwy? I happen to like runway 11 Centre at YSBK Trent Hopkinson YMML. www.youtube.com/musicalaviator WorldFlight 2002,2008,2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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