So this will be slightly embarrassing for me to admit… but before I became a pilot, I had no clue why some days planes took off to the north and other days to the south.
And I live right next to a general aviation airport.
You’d think I’d have cracked the code.
So in case you were also in the “didn’t know” club, let me save you a few years of guessing:
It’s the wind.
Planes take off into the wind and land into the wind. Think Bob Seger: Against the Wind ... but with way more checklists and way fewer guitars.
Why? Because airplanes need airflow over the wings to create lift. If the wind is blowing toward the plane, you get “free” airflow before you even start rolling.
** a clip of my landing in Sedona, Arizona
It’s like getting a gentle push from Mother Nature… who only sometimes cooperates.
Take off with the wind instead, and the airplane basically goes: “Cool story, bro, you want lift? You’re gonna need a lot more runway.”
So next time you see the runway direction flipping back and forth, just know:
It’s not random.
It’s not the pilot being spicy.
It’s just physics doing its thing.
