Runway Markings & Patterns
~11 min read · Read runway numbers, traffic patterns and wind indicators from the ground.
Even a pilot who never enters controlled airspace works near airports — and the exam expects ground-level fluency: runway numbering, where traffic flows, and what the wind devices say about which runway is active.
Runway numbers and orientation
Runways are numbered by magnetic heading rounded to the nearest 10°, with the zero dropped: runway 9 points ~090° (east), runway 27 is the same strip flown the other way (~270°). Parallel runways add L/C/R. Knowing the number tells you the axis manned traffic uses — and therefore the extended centerlines where arriving and departing aircraft descend through drone altitudes, often miles from the field.
- Number × 10 = magnetic heading
- One strip, two numbers differing by 18
- Final approach and departure paths extend miles beyond the pavement
Traffic patterns
The standard pattern is a left-hand rectangle at ~1,000 ft AGL: upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, final. Aircraft take off and land into the wind. Right patterns are the marked exception (chart note 'RP', or the segmented circle's L-extensions). For drone crews, the pattern predicts where low aircraft will be: downwind parallels the runway roughly a half to one mile out; base and final sweep the approach corner.
- Left traffic standard; RP marks right-pattern runways
- Pattern altitude ~1,000 ft AGL, but climbing/descending legs pass low
- Into-the-wind operations: wind direction reveals the active runway
Wind and ground indicators
Wind sock: points downwind — the sock's fat end faces where wind comes FROM; fully extended ≈ 15+ knots. Wind tee: shaped like an airplane, 'flies' into the wind. Tetrahedron: points into the wind. The segmented circle packages a wind indicator with pattern-direction L's. Surface markings: displaced thresholds (arrows before the bar), closed runways (yellow X), hold-short lines. From wind direction alone you can name the likely active runway and thus the live approach/departure axes.
- Sock: wind blows from the big end toward the tip
- Tee and tetrahedron point INTO the wind
- Yellow X = closed runway; arrows = displaced threshold
Worked example
You must inspect a warehouse roof 1.2 NM east of a non-towered airport with runway 9/27. The wind sock shows wind from the west, fully extended. Where is the traffic threat, and how do you plan?
West wind → aircraft operate into it → runway 27 is active (landing/departing to the west). Landing traffic on 27 approaches from the EAST — descending over the corridor 1–3 NM east of the field, exactly where your warehouse sits. Departures climb out to the west, away from you, but pattern traffic (left traffic for 27) circles south of the field. Plan: monitor CTAF, keep the operation at the minimum useful altitude, position the VO to watch the approach corridor west of you, and be ready to descend/land the moment traffic announces or appears on final. A fully extended sock also means 15+ knots — check your airframe's wind limits before caring about the traffic at all.
Common exam pitfalls
Thinking airport hazards end at the fence.
Approach and departure corridors extend miles along the runway axis at low altitude — that is where drones and airplanes actually meet.
Reading the wind sock backwards.
The sock points DOWNWIND. Wind comes from the fat end; aircraft land facing the fat end's direction.
Assuming the pattern is always left.
Check the segmented circle or chart RP notes — right patterns put traffic on the other side of the field.
Number times ten, land into the wind, threat lives on the extended centerline.
Recap
- Runway number = magnetic heading ÷ 10; one strip carries two numbers 18 apart
- Standard pattern: left rectangle at ~1,000 AGL; RP = right-pattern exception
- Aircraft operate into the wind — wind direction names the active runway
- Sock points downwind; tee/tetrahedron point into the wind
- Approach/departure corridors extend miles past the runway at drone altitudes
- Near airports: monitor CTAF, minimum altitude, VO on the live corridor
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