How Is It Possible To Detemine An Active Runway?

[macroth 0]

Hello together! I have some flight plannung troubles. I use Flightsimm Commander X for flightplanning. I include no SID or STAR in the flightplan so I have to do the programming of them during flight. SID is no problem but I have problems here everytime to detemine the right STAR, because I don't now the active runway of my destination airport. How can I get this information before I reach the airport to get my programming right in time to make a correct approach? Are there any tools (maybe within flightsim commander???) which can deliver me this information? I use FSX by the way...thanksKai

[Geofa 108]

Hello together! I have some flight plannung troubles. I use Flightsimm Commander X for flightplanning. I include no SID or STAR in the flightplan so I have to do the programming of them during flight. SID is no problem but I have problems here everytime to detemine the right STAR, because I don't now the active runway of my destination airport. How can I get this information before I reach the airport to get my programming right in time to make a correct approach? Are there any tools (maybe within flightsim commander???) which can deliver me this information? I use FSX by the way...thanksKai

Well in my reality (GA) there usually isn't a way until you contact approach control and they say expect "x" approach for rwy "x". Looking at the weather briefing before you go and the forecast surface winds can give you an idea however of what you may expect.That is half the challenge of flying-things get real busy at the end. One of the worst for me and my flying partner who was flying at the time was a short 5 minute flight from St. Petersburg to Sarasota at night. We spent 15 minutes on the ground-listening to the Sarasota atis and getting everything set up for the runway they were using. After takeoff and contacting Sarasota approach 2 minutes out they said they were changing runways and cleared us for an opposite approach while they booted up runway lights. Trying to find the new approach and get set up in the dark with a flashlight with minutes to go was challenging-even for two of us in the plane.

[Guest jshyluk]

Geof, based on his extensive experience, is generously showing us the real-world way of doing things. I feel I can add to that in a small way.Based on my many hours as an aircraft passenger and many more hours as a slacker video gamer, I can give you my gamers' cheater(ish) answer. I know this answer for myself, because if memory serves, this is the first practical question I had ever seen answered on AVSIM, before I became a member. So this isn't my idea, in the unlikely event anybody should think I was smart enough to come up with this on my own:Active runway is based on wind direction. The airplanes try to land into the wind so as to make the most of lift and drag. So, in the Weather menu, simply turn the wind to the direction that you need for landing, and there you go. Make sure you don't allow the sim to update the weather, and you can fly anywhere and know where the active runway will be.Airline pilots often (but not always) get the chance in advance to "reconsider" their approach and landing if it does not exactly follow the flight plan, and if winds are changeable. You can do this in-flight by opening up the Map. Click on any airport, and you will find its weather info, including wind speed and direction at that moment. As long as the weather does not change, you can deduce the active runway. When I feel like I have to be precise, I will use FSC to build STARs for approaches for every wind direction at the destination airport. Then, when I know what the wind conditions are at the destination (using the Map trick works well), I pick the flight plan with the STAR that suits the wind. Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

[Shri 0]

Active runway is based on wind direction. The airplanes try to land into the wind so as to make the most of lift and drag. Jeff Shyluk

I am not a real pilot but I can add to the comment Shyluk had made. He is right when he said

[Slick Willy 2]

Shri,True airspeed is not ground speed(unless winds are 000/00). You need to take your indicated airpeed (IAS)then figure out pressure altitude to know what your true airspeed is, then figure out what your head/tail wind component is to get your groundspeed.Kai,Just to add to what others have said. Real world ops at major airports often configure what runways are in use based on noise pollution more often then the direction of the wind. Regarding your arrival procedures, most of the STARS in the U.S. use the same chart for different runways but will have instructions for what to do after a fix/navaid (radar vectors is pretty common) If you are flying into a GA airport somtimes you will take a tail wind and an ILS approach over a non precision approach, assuming you meet the landing requirments listed in the pilot operating handbook (POH)Willy

[Guest PPSFA]

Macroth, if you are flying in the US and using real world weather, you can go to many sites to get current METAR info for your destination. I use www.airnav.com because it has all charts and they are all current. For most flights, I check it before departure, then about 1/2 way, and finally about 30 minutes out, to ensure I have the latest weather. This way I can plan the arrival and set the approach I want well in advance. I fly in multiplayer mostly,so I don't have to listen to FS ATC, and do my own 'vectors'.Hope this helps

[Gypsy Baron 10]

Determining the active runway....What I do is simply tune the #2 Com radio to the destinations ATIS and select "Both" for audio.As soon as the ATIS is in range I get the broadcast that states what runways are active.This gives one sufficient time to set up a proper approach for active runway, set ILS freq, etc. Paul

[Guest]

Determining the active runway....What I do is simply tune the #2 Com radio to the destinations ATIS and select "Both" for audio.As soon as the ATIS is in range I get the broadcast that states what runways are active.This gives one sufficient time to set up a proper approach for active runway, set ILS freq, etc. Paul

I currently fly the MD-11. Usually I can get in contact with ATIS when I am about 7 minutes away from the airfield... and since I am flying straight towards it until that time, that's not much time, specially if you have to figure out which STAR to use (which for me is a pick-one-and-see-what-it-does-on-the-ND-game...). I think that from now on I will simply look at the weather and pick the runway that seems most suited, looooong before I get there. :( And if it's the wrong one, well... I fly without AI, so who cares. :(

[Guest byoungblood]

An appropriate STAR is chosen by the direction you are arriving from and not by the active runway. As mentioned previously, a STAR will have routes available for all landing runways. Generally you file a STAR as part of your flight plan before takeoff so wind direction is irrelevant.

[Andydigital 93]

As mentioned previously, a STAR will have routes available for all landing runways.

No it wont always, many STARS to UK airports are for specific runways only, and I'm sure this is the case in other parts of the world too.

[Geofa 108]

No it wont always, many STARS to UK airports are for specific runways only, and I'm sure this is the case in other parts of the world too.

Well I'll mention again how it works in the ifr GA world I am familiar with,at least in the US. No matter what you file- a-sid/star you probably will get something different when you get your departure/arrival clearance-as atc, flow patterns, winds etc. are not static but dynamic (changing).Therefore-all that great flight planning goes right out the window with your clearance a good deal of the time-both on takeoff and landing . On arrival contacting the initial approach controller you will be told something like-expect radar vectors for the ils xx, or fly the crux 3 arrival (star).At that point if you get that rare star you start button punching.In my 20 years of ifr GA flying I have gotten a Star 25 times-but never flown one-usually even before the first fix-radar vectors usually given. Why do they give them at all then? In case radar or radio communication goes out you have a route to fly that both you and atc understand. I have flown a Sid only once to the letter. As an example-flying to Martin State a few months ago I was given one of my rare Sid's. Punching it in the gps and looking at the map-the Sid keeps you clear of the Camp David tfr and Washington Adiz. However-I never even got to the first waypoint-vectors were given. If I had lost communication though-I would have had a route to follow to get me there and keep me clear of those nasty airspaces.http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7345R/...1240Z/KPTK/KMTNGenerally Radar vectors are just more efficient for everyone.

[maximus92 0]

I find that the good thing about flight simming is when you're feeling the crunch, and the runway wasn't the runway you thought you were going to land on, you can hit the little "P" key to pause the flight, reset everything, hit that key again, and continue flying. It takes you a bit out of the realism, but if you're flying a heavy, you would normally have a co-pilot, and in some cases, a flight engineer to help you reroute. Unfortunately, my wife wants a paycheck to be a co-pilot, so I usually go it alone.

[Mace 1,902]

Get a TAF for your destination ICAO from this site:http://www.aviador.es/metar.php...and from that you can get an estimate of your winds at destination. Usually, it is quite accurate.