Do they mean anything? I remember seeing something like “22R-3L”. The numbers seem to be similar but I can’t figure out if they mean anything.
The runway numbers are (more or less – some deviation is allowed) the magnetic heading of the runway. The number on one end is 180° different from the other end. For example, 24 points to 240° and its opposite end is marked “6” points to 060°. “L” and “R” mean left and right when there are paralell runways.
IIRC, and I am Not a Pilot:
Being told to land on runway 27 is an indicator that you need to land on the (obvious) runway flying with a heading of 270 degrees (due west). The same piece of asphalt (or whatever they make runways out of) would be called Runway 9 by the air traffic controller if you were wanted to land on it by flying due east.
In the case where there are a pair of parallel runways, ‘Runway 26 Right’ would be used to designate which strip.
Perhaps a Real Pilot will be along soon to correct me. Oops. Simulpost noted on preview 
-AmbushBug
The heading. In your instance
Heading of 220 deg (give or take) and a twined runway (or possibly tripled). In your example, the right.
Same for your 3L, 30 deg heading (northeast), Left runway.
If they were single runways, it would be just runway “22” or just “3”
FYI - Due North would be Runway 36, not 0.
Heh. Triplepost.
Wo-hoo!
Dallas/Fort Worth International has made use of some of the slop that Johnny L.A. alluded to - mainly because they (now) have five runways all pointed essentially north-south.
This map shows the runway layout and their designations. I believe (but don’t have cites) that the different numbers were given to the main runways on each side of the airport just to avoid confusion.
IIRC, the 13/31 runways aren’t used all that often - although I have landed on 13R at least once, I believe.
Runway 17L/35R is relatively new; prior to its completion, 17C/35C was known as 17L/35R. Hopefully, the reasoning behind the renumbering is relatively clear.
Yes, the same strip of pavement has two numbers - one for each direction. Takeoffs and landings are both done (as much as possible) into the wind; if the wind backs around, planes start using the opposite direction. At DFW, this is pretty common - I believe both directions of the main runways get approximately equal time. Unlike, say, Los Angeles, where only once in a blue moon does the wind come from inland, rather than off the ocean (it happens, but not too often).
And as a piece of trivia, runway numbers change. The magnetic pole is constantly moving in relation to true north. So over time, runway 28 might have to change its name to runway 27 or 29.
That’s exactly what happened here in Edmonton - The Edmonton Municipal airport has a runway 29, and a company built a large lounge at the end called “Runway 29”. Then a year or two later a new survey of magnetic deviation was done, and Runway 29 became Runway 30.
The lounge kept its name.
Sam, do you mean that they actually use the actual magnetic declination, rather than a geographic north? Wouldn’t that cause unnecessary problems, as most navigation is done using satelites, or intertial systems. (Or are planes really using magnetic compasses to find their way? I’m confessing my ignorance on this point.)
Yes, they really use magnetic headings for the runways, and there’s even a good reason.
It’s only recently that airplanes started using GPS, and while the intertial systems are somewhat older, they aren’t that much older. While airliners tend to have the latest and greatest navigational equipment, MANY smaller airplanes don’t, and still relay on radio navigation and compass.
Now, imagine you’re taking off in weather conditions such that you can’t see the far end of the runway (maybe it’s dark, maybe it’s foggy, and in any case we’re assuming you have the training to do this safely). It’s very important that you stay on that runway until you leave the ground. Heck, you probably want to stay on the same heading after you leave the ground, because there might be trees or buildings to either side. How do you do that? You need something that will tell you exactly what direction you need to go. There isn’t really anything that will point to geographic north (prior to GPS) but the compass (and directional gyro) points due magnetic north. So you need the magnetic heading of the runway. It’s simple, it works, and it uses equipment that you have to have on any airplane flying in such lowered visibility.
Remember, the two digit runway number is actually rounded off. There are diagrams published for instrument flight that give the exact magnetic heading of each runway at the airport, and they’re updated frequently. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at one, but if I recall correctly they also give the rate of magnetic drift over time, too.
Another interesting thing about the drift is that sometimes the runways have to get renumbered, because that drift pushes them over into the next rounded off heading. I am sure it happens very seldom too.