Circular Runway

Peter Duniho wrote:
I don't think that's what he's talking about. You're right that circular
airfields (always grass, as far as I know) where the pilot could always land
into the wind were common in the early days of aviation.

The theory posited in the article was that one could always land and
takeoff into the wind using a circular runway.

Sounds to me as though what the original poster is talking about is a paved,
circular track. Sort of the exact opposite of the early circular airfields,
in that rather than always being able to operate in a straight line into the
wind, the pilot would always be assured of having the most difficult type of
landing or takeoff, with a varying crosswind at virtually every point of the
operation (except for one very brief moment), and the requirement that the
airplane be flown in a turn for the entire time.

The banked track would counter the crosswind component.

The only advantages I see are that you never run out of pavement (the runway
is effectively of infinite length) and that you can use the land more
efficiently. However, given how well landing in a straight line seems to be
working out for most of us, I can't imagine the benefits would outweigh the
considerable safety concerns.

Perfect for aircraft built by Republic Aircraft. ("If they built a
runway around the world at the equator, Republic would build and
airplane to use it.")

Perhaps this was an April Fool's joke that Air & Space Magazine played on
its readers?

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 00:52:35 GMT, jsmith wrote in
Message-Id: :

The banked track would counter the crosswind component.

That would be true 50% of the time.

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...

That would be true 50% of the time.


How so?

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 01:26:12 GMT, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote in Message-Id:
. net:


"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
.. .

That would be true 50% of the time.


How so?


Yah, you're right. I was being very liberal.

Larry Dighera writes:

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 00:52:35 GMT, jsmith wrote in
Message-Id: :

The banked track would counter the crosswind component.

That would be true 50% of the time.

Or less. A lot less. The bank needed would depend on the aircraft's
varying speed, in addition to the (variable) wind velocity. The whole
thing sounds like a joke--1 day early.

"jsmith" wrote in message ...
The theory posited in the article was that one could always land and
takeoff into the wind using a circular runway.

Surely you can see how that theory makes no sense. The airplane would only
be pointed into the wind for a very brief moment during a takeoff or
landing.

The banked track would counter the crosswind component.

Actually, I expect the bank is intended to deal with the bank of the
airplane required to produce the constant radius turn required for landing.
There's no way a banked track would "counter the crosswind component",
especially given that the component would be constantly changing throughout
the takeoff or landing.

But it's even worse than that, since the bank of the track will only match
the bank of a given airplane at a given groundspeed, since the aircraft
needs to maintain a constant radius turn. There will still be some degree
of difference between the bank of the airplane and the bank of the track.

Perfect for aircraft built by Republic Aircraft. ("If they built a
runway around the world at the equator, Republic would build and
airplane to use it.")

Not sure what that has to do with this circular runway. After all, a runway
around the world at the equator would still be straight.

Pete

jsmith wrote:

The theory posited in the article was that one could always land and
takeoff into the wind using a circular runway.

Well, at some point in your takeoff or landing you could be in line with the wind and
the runway at the same time, but at other points, you'd have to deal with a crosswind
component. Furthermore, that component would be changing as you rolled along.

The banked track would counter the crosswind component.

No, it would counter the tendency of the aircraft to travel in a straight line. If
the track were not banked, you'd run off the track before you got airborne.

George Patterson
Treason is ne'er successful, Sir; what then be the reason? Why, if treason
be successful, Sir, then none dare call it treason.