Will circular runways take off?

[NM]

At least someone is thinking outside the square. Its often worth questioning the status quo, but not all new ideas are good ideas.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Re: Ask The Pilot.

Imagine if the world always had circular runways and someone suggested building a straight strip. I applaud this guy for trying to make the world a better place. We need more people like him.

 

[Justinf]

Re: Ask The Pilot.

All I could think about was how close the wingtip was getting to the tarmac.

 

[htg123]

Re: Circular runways

Let's all get motion sickness even before takeoff

 

[Awesom Andy]

Re: Ask The Pilot.

I wonder how anyone could take off from it. If the plane is doing it take off roll going in a circle, one wing will always have higher air flow than the other. So you're basically trying to take off with one side having more lift than the other side. I don't think that will end well.

 

[Skyring]

At least someone is thinking outside the square. Its often worth questioning the status quo, but not all new ideas are good ideas.

We progress as a society and a technological civilisation and all advances must necessarily be weird and untested at some stage. The discussion is worth having, even if to highlight why it won't work.

Perhaps more usefully, the discussion might unearth some wrinkle or advance that never came up previously.

Thinking about the video, it seemed that there was a major distortion in scale. If the diameter is 3.5 km, then any given segment of the runway is going to be only mildly curved and banked. That's a circle more than ten kilometres long. I doubt that there would be too many problems with one wing generating more lift than another by going faster. At a rough calculation, an A380 with a 3 000m takeoff roll will have one wing travelling about 75m further than the other, a negligible difference in speed, easily compensated for.

But I still can't see much of an advantage. It eliminates crosswind landings - kind of - but how much of a problem is this really? Heathrow does just fine without cross runways, and that's pretty busy.

A fine topic for discussion, but I can't see it getting much beyond that point. Nor do I really care. So long as it gets me safely to and from, have your runways in any arrangement you please; my experience as a passenger will be exactly the same.

 

[OzEire]

Re: Circular runways

I think there is already a thread on this.

 

[harvyk]

<snip>
But I still can't see much of an advantage. It eliminates crosswind landings - kind of - but how much of a problem is this really? Heathrow does just fine without cross runways, and that's pretty busy.

A fine topic for discussion, but I can't see it getting much beyond that point. Nor do I really care. So long as it gets me safely to and from, have your runways in any arrangement you please; my experience as a passenger will be exactly the same.

This is exactly my thinking, what exactly is the problem that is attempting to be solved? The simple answer of "cross winds = bad" I don't think cuts it.


If the answer is it'll allow more flights into a location with a circular runway compared to a straight runway, that's a valid reason. If the answer is that it means airports in high wind prone area's won't need to close even in extreme winds, that's a valid reason.

IMHO (and thus the reason I wanted a pilot whom would know), cross winds are not that much of an issue that it requires a complete rethink of our runway strategy.

 

[docjames]

Wouldn't it be cheaper /easier just to duplicate runways and/or have three alignments?

_ | and \

??

 

[samh004]

The Enterprise was (or should I say will be) much bigger than a passenger jet and it was able to effect a vertical takeoff. Current technology advancements are exponential although no sure how far ahead we are advanced with this sort of techonology.

Yeah, the Millenium Falcon can do VTOL as well - so it's definitely just a matter of time!

I'm glad someone got there before me.

All I could think about was how close the wingtip was getting to the tarmac.

I wonder how anyone could take off from it. If the plane is doing it take off roll going in a circle, one wing will always have higher air flow than the other. So you're basically trying to take off with one side having more lift than the other side. I don't think that will end well.

As others have mentioned, the bank wouldn't be as noticeable due to the size of the runway, and wouldn't ground effect sort out the issue of one wing getting close to the surface than the other wing? After all, the actual bank of the plane would be very minimal, but the air cushion on the surface would be uniform over the whole underside of the aircraft, wouldn't it?

This is exactly my thinking, what exactly is the problem that is attempting to be solved? The simple answer of "cross winds = bad" I don't think cuts it.

If the answer is it'll allow more flights into a location with a circular runway compared to a straight runway, that's a valid reason. If the answer is that it means airports in high wind prone area's won't need to close even in extreme winds, that's a valid reason.

IMHO (and thus the reason I wanted a pilot whom would know), cross winds are not that much of an issue that it requires a complete rethink of our runway strategy.

I think they perhaps chose the wrong problem they were trying to fix as a reason for going forward. I think it solves a lot of problems, but ultimately it will need to be sold on one, and they simply chose the one they thought cause the most issues. Or alternatively, they are providing the reason the concept was thought up, even though it goes much further than that now and shouldn't be as emphasised.

 

[JessicaTam]

Unless you're talking about a blimp... the amount of thrust that'd require for something as heavy and big as a passenger jet...

I'll take that bet!

Well that is how we get into space. I think I will leave that bet alone.

 

[okiedokie]

But yelling 'right rudder!' during take off is the best part of instructing.

 

[moa999]

Wouldn't it be cheaper /easier just to duplicate runways and/or have three alignments?

_ | and \

??

What about /

And if you do all that where does the terminal and other facilities go