Runway's

[Gareth Blackstock]

I've often wondered which airfields have the longest and shortest runways. I know the NASA landing facility is 15,000 ft but is there one longer than that? Also what is the shortest ILS runway? I think LHR 27R is the longest in England?

Gaz

[woodpecker]

Rwy 35 at Gatwick is quite short, but it's damn wide!

No approach lights except the odd C/C BMW in the crew car park.

[Vee One...Rotate]

I think the Groom Lake (Area 51) strip is pretty huge...maybe there's something at Edwards AFB that's quite long as well...not sure if the lakebeds count though! Don't JFK and O'Hare have some biggish runways in terms of civil aviation?

V1R

[selfin]

AFAIK:

Longest is at UWLW.

Shortest strip used for scheduled commercial flights is I believe at TNCS (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/432868/L/)

No idea whether TNCS is ILS equipped. I presume it isn't.

[TheOddOne]

UWLW?

Well, I just had to look it up!

Rwy Size(ft) Surface
20/02 16490/310 CON



Here's the TAF. Light snow, I see they report wind speed in metres per second - different!!!


ULYANOVSK UWLW 172045Z 172207 27009MPS 3000 -SN BR BKN010CB TEMPO 2207 0500 +SHSN VV002

Cheers,
The Odd One

[Gareth Blackstock]

Cheers for your replies so far, keep em coming.

results so far;

Saba (SAB/TNCS) runway 12/30 = 1,312ft non ILS

Heathrow, London (LHR/EGLL) runway 27R/09L = 12,802ft ILS
Chicago, O'Hare (ORD/KORD) runway 14R/32L = 14,000ft ILS
John F Kennedy, New York (JFK/KJFK) runway 13R/31L = 14,572ft ILS
NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (X15/????) runway 15/33 = 15,000ft ILS
Edwards AFB (EDW/KEDW) runway 04/22 = 15,013ft ILS
Ulyanovsk, Russia (ULY/UWLW) runway 02/20 = 16,404ft ILS
Groom Lake = NO DATA !!!

Would be interested see what others there are if anyone knows anymore.

TheOddOne - where do you get your info from? Only I got a different runway length for UWLW than you. Thanks.

Gaz

[Notso Fantastic]

Gareth- as for your original question, as this is a Questions forum, I must ask this:
where does the use of the stray apostrophe as in "runway's" come from? It seems to be becoming prevalent these days- grocers (not 'grocer's'!) sell "Apple's". Why? Apple's what's? Lying in the doorway may be the grocer's dog. Overhead the threshold there may be the resident runway's crows. Kids may collect photographs (not 'photograph's) of runways.

The greatest threat to English is not the French or the American's (!), it's this wayward uncontrollable damned apostrophe. Slipped into the language by the damned Communist's (!)

I shall go to bed and wander how we can counter the assault of 'there', 'their', 'they're'. I suppose the Germans have the same problem- trying to learn when to use ein, eine, einer, einen, einem and eines- done me 'ed in!

[spekesoftly]

I shall go to bed and wander ............. I wonder what you mean, sleep walking perhaps? ;)

[TheOddOne]

TheOddOne - where do you get your info from? Only I got a different runway length for UWLW than you. Thanks

Gaz,

I just Googled it!

Came up with

This (http://www.fallingrain.com/icao/UWLW.html)

Cheers,
The Odd One

[Pub User]

A Google search suggests Groom Lake is 27000 ft.

[twonky]

Have a look at Istres in Southern France

[Notso Fantastic]

Is that "Istre's"?

[twonky]

Don't know the correct spelling ..but it's the French flight testing airfield

[ftd83]

Dundee is pretty short and I think I am right in saying it has ILS.










Shed Rule:ok:

[Notso Fantastic]

Sorry Twonky, being a bit facetious. See above posting from me about wild, uncontrollable apostrophes!

[GARDENER]

I shall go to bed and wander

Not So- While one is giving the lesson in English grammar I feel it is my duty...as I can't get a flying job I will concentrate on spelling, "Wander" is to wander as in aimlessly- "wonder" is to wonder as in specutively!

[Gareth Blackstock]

Ok, some more

Dundee (DND/EGPN) runway 10/28 = 4,593ft ILS
Istres, Le Tub AB (LFMI) runway 15/33 = 12,303ft ILS
Las Vegas, McCarran (LAS/KLAS) runway 07L/25R = 14,510ft ILS
Groom Lake, Area 51 runway 14/32 = 27,000ft* (I would imagine this is ILS)

*from this site (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/area51.html)

Notso - must offer my sincere apologie's!!!!! for my use of uncontrolable apostrophie's!!!!!!

Gaz

[CargoOne]

Well, last year Denver got the longest paved rwy in USA - 16000ft.
The paved part of Area 51 rwy is about 15000 ft only.

Another big paved rwy I've heard about is Baikonur (Soviet space launch facility in Kazakstan), I believe it is about or even longer than Ulyanovsk (UWLW), but I cannot find the data.

[spekesoftly]

I will concentrate on spelling, "Wander" is to wander as in aimlessly- "wonder" is to wonder as in specutively!

GARDENER,

Did you mean "speculatively"? :rolleyes:

[wangi]

Wow, nobody's said Machrihanish / Campbeltown / CAL, which at 10003ft/3049m is amazingly long for its regular DH6 schedules from GLA. They can probably land using the width of the runway...

I'll not say anything else about the USAF, UFOs...

[cormacshaw]

The 15,000ft paved runway at KEDW has a 9,000ft unpaved overrun extending onto the Groom Lake dry lake bed. There are several runway outlines on the lakebed, of which the longest is 17/35, at about 7.5 miles (that's getting on for 40,000 ft)

I think Galway (EICM) has just had an ILS installed. Runway is 4430ft with a landing distance of 3937ft. Shortest ILS runway in this corner of the world?

A few miles further southwest, the runway on Inishmaan (EIMN) is just 1181ft but has daily flights by Aer Arann Islands. I think the runway at St. Mary's on the Isles of Scilly is even shorter though.

[Gareth Blackstock]

Ok so we now have a few more;

Inishmaan (IIA/EIMN) runway 15/33 = 1,700ft* NON ILS
St. Marys, Scilly Isles (ISC/EGHE) runway 15/33 = 1,969ft ILS**
Galway (GWY/EICM) runway 08/26 = 3,940ft ILS**
Campbeltown (CAL/EGEC) runway 11/29 = 10,003ft NON ILS
Denver (DEN/KDEN) runway 16R/34L = 16,000ft ILS
Baikonur / Yubeleniye (???/????) runway ??/?? = 14,764ft ILS**


* From this site (http://www.aircraft-charter-world.com/airports/europe/ireland.htm) and here (http://www.flyinginireland.com/airports.htm#EIMN)

** I think ISC, GWY and Baikonur has ILS, can anyone confirm for me?

Gaz

[BOAC]

I shall go to bed and wander
spekesoftly - theyre wur lotz of roomoors abowt himm :D

[Young Paul]

I think we concluded a few months ago that Madrid airport has the longest runways of a commercial airport in Europe.

[Gareth Blackstock]

Madrid (MAD/LEMD) runway 18R/36L = 14,272ft ILS

Got to be one of the longest in Europe.

Gaz

[Postit]

All this talk of feet has confused me. I know that Timisoara in Western Romania has a runway of 3,083m. Cat 2 now and soon to be Cat3. Loads of old Migs litter the south side.

As for the shortest well Barra doesn't have one for much of the day cos its flooded.

[Gareth Blackstock]

Postit

Barra, Brazil (BQQ/????) runway 06/24 = 4,265ft (1,300m) NON ILS
Timisoara (TSR/LRTR) runway 11/29 = 11,483ft (3,500m) ILS

Gaz

[seacue]

Picture of Saba (SAB/TNCS) that I like better. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/490051/L/

I don't know whether the 400 m is counted between the two thesholds or end-to-end. As the caption says, note the X marks indicating a permanently-closed airfield. But it's used every day.