ENDLESS RUNWAY - The Endless Runway
Overview
Background & policy context:
The airports capacity is determined by the capacity of its runway system. The real capacity is usually lower than the declared capacity because of weather restrictions (cross- and tailwind and visibility) and because of dependencies between runways.
Aircraft need to take off and land within defined cross- and tailwind limits. The direction of the runway determines the cross- and tailwind components. With changing wind (direction and speed), other runways in other directions need to be used.
Objectives:
Endless Runway investigates the use of a circular runway. Starting anywhere in the circle, aircraft can take off from the point where the crosswind is at minimum (or zero). Just as well, they can land at the point where they fly exactly headwind and continue their landing roll in the circle, exiting anywhere where they are closest to their gate. This will create a runway that can be used under any conditions without loss of capacity.
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