Circular Runways: Engineer Defends His Proposal

World Hacks, the British Broadcasting Company ^ | 04/21/2017 | Dougal Shaw

[UCANSEE2]

On a circular and properly banked track, one can take their hands off the wheel (i.e. nose wheel centered for a plane) and the vehicle will continue to follow the circular path.

[DoughtyOne]

They wave a checkered flag when you hit flight speed...

[DoughtyOne]

I’ll join you. “:^)

[ReaganGeneration2]

Do planes land clockwise south of the equator, counter-clockwise in the north?

[linear]

Which you are clearly not.

[DoughtyOne]

LOL, we have Asian drivers out here and some of them I wouldn’t put behind the wheel of a tricycle.

[DoughtyOne]

...and what happens when you have a strip on the equator?

Dang!

[Nifster]

Oh goody round about a for airliners

[discostu]

They don’t have anything on the line. They’re “proposing” something that will never be built. They’re not even looking at anything happening for 20 years. So on the off chance it happens they’ll all be retired. No rep on the line for anybody.

[C210N]

Well, if a circular runway is flat out... can't we at least have rooftop runways?

[Nifster]

IF future planes have a different configuration then we can look at how airports should be configured

[discostu]

But then you still have to go around the circle, so eventually you will be perpendicular to the wind. And because the plane is tilted it’ll have more surface exposed to the wind, and with less ground clearance for the wing tips there’s less forgiveness for any tilt that wind causes.

[libertylover]

Sounds like something only a Democrat could support.

[discostu]

Ice on a buggy was the least bad idea available to solve that problem. When all other options are terrible the merely crappy idea is king. We have a runway solution that actually works.

[TexasGator]

“Which you are clearly not.”

Your comment was stupid. You can’t engage nose-wheel steering at high speeds.

[M Kehoe]

“As a former AF pilot, this idea horrifies me. “

As a former passenger of an AF pilot, this idea horrified me too.

5.56mm

[YogicCowboy]

We can return to taildraggers, like the ME 262 prototypes. Oh, wait...

[YogicCowboy]

Physics is so pre-Common Core.

[DoughtyOne]

“:^)

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the response.