# Underground Runway **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374 "2008-08-27T01:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/1 "2008-08-27T01:38:48Z")
A poster on another board advised me to look in Google Earth for “korea underground runway” There it is, big as life. Part of a runway coming out of one side of the mountain, the other part coming out of the other side. Obviously, this is a way of launching laughably old airplane so they be blasted out of the air rather than being squished on the ground. (Of course, the possibility of entombment plus perpetual care presents itself, but I digress.) Not good enough. I am not interested in a mere catapult launcher in a tunnel. I want a fully operable, fully underground airbase. Could it be done? We build a runway in a tunnel. We project the flight path of a plane on takeoff and on landing. We carve out tunnels to allow the aircraft to fly along these exact paths. Of course the ground effect at the tunnel portals would be a spot of bother. We will solve this by massive overpressure to ensure the transition from outside to inside is alway done under identical conditions. What other engineering concerns might it in the way of my Legions of Doom building me such a base? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/2 "2008-08-27T01:54:58Z")
Launching via a tunnel runway should be easy; landing not so much. I’ve heard it said that the Swiss can launch jets out of tunnels carved into mountains. But I never heard any notion of landing into them. > [@](#): > > Of course the ground effect at the tunnel portals would be a spot of bother. I don’t see why it would be a big deal, any more than when using an aircraft carrier. What do you see as the issue here? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/3 "2008-08-27T02:02:21Z")
Batman used to do this from a tunnel connecting to the Batcave in the old days. I don’t think we’ve advanced to his level of technology, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/4 "2008-08-27T03:51:15Z")
Is ground effect a big deal at takeoff and landing speeds? I would think crosswinds would be more of a problem. As soon as you enter or leave the tunnel on a windy day you’re either under or overcorrecting. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/5 "2008-08-27T04:09:50Z")
So the whole airport can be shut down with with one missile into the mouth of the tunnel? Sounds easier than shooting womp rats from a T-16… ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/6 "2008-08-27T04:11:24Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Is ground effect a big deal at takeoff and landing speeds? [/QUOTE] I think it’s rarely a big deal. For it to be meaningful, you must be flying slowly (as for takeoff or landing) and within about half a wingspan of the ground (or water, or other impermeable surface). > [@](#): > > As soon as you enter or leave the tunnel on a windy day you’re either under or overcorrecting. Not a problem when departing, but could be when landing into that narrow tunnel. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/7 "2008-08-27T04:14:25Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Is ground effect a big deal at takeoff and landing speeds? I would think crosswinds would be more of a problem. As soon as you enter or leave the tunnel on a windy day you’re either under or overcorrecting. [/QUOTE] I suspect this is where the conveyor belt comes into play. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/8 "2008-08-27T05:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] A poster on another board advised me to look in Google Earth for “korea underground runway” There it is, big as life. Part of a runway coming out of one side of the mountain, the other part coming out of the other side. Obviously, this is a way of launching laughably old airplane so they be blasted out of the air rather than being squished on the ground. (Of course, the possibility of entombment plus perpetual care presents itself, but I digress.) [/QUOTE] Coordinates? My Google-fu is inferior to yours, as I can’t seem to find anything other than a few news stories and no pictures or coordinates by Googling “korea underground runway.” ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/9 "2008-08-27T05:18:04Z")
Nevermind that. Found it on Google Sightseeing. (39° 5’36.11"N, 127°24’47.56"E for the curious) That’s hellacool. I wonder if it’s included in FSX… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/10 "2008-08-27T05:56:13Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Batman used to do this from a tunnel connecting to the Batcave in the old days. I don’t think we’ve advanced to his level of technology, though. [/QUOTE] I blame that on a lack of preparation. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/11 "2008-08-27T11:55:32Z")
Perhaps ‘ground effect’ is the wrong word, but don’t forget, I am a washed-up helicopter pilot. So are we saying there are no obvious technical problems to building such a thing? We have to presume some most-excellent computer landing aids and so on of course. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/12 "2008-08-27T12:08:08Z")
[80" RC plane, two lane tunnel, 3.9km long](http://spluch.blogspot.com/2007/06/flying-rc-plane-through-tunnel.html) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/13 "2008-08-27T13:03:14Z")
What if the plane starts to lift off way before it emerges from the tunnel, and hits the tunnel roof? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/14 "2008-08-27T13:19:55Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] What if the plane starts to lift off way before it emerges from the tunnel, and hits the tunnel roof? [/QUOTE] This would be easy for the pilot (or the computer) to control. There’s nothing hard about holding a plane on the runway, or flying along a few feet above it. The big concern would be on landing. Due to the looming mountain , at some point well before the plane reaches the tunnel entrance it passes the last place at which it can “go around” (abandon the landing attempt and fly into position for another attempt). There is then almost no room for error (including imperfect anticipation of wind). For an analogy, consider planes landing on an aircraft carrier: They have a small target and excellent guidance; a decent fraction don’t do it exactly right and must fly around for another attempt. If a miss were fatal, this would not be a practical form of aviation. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/15 "2008-08-27T14:20:24Z")
I would be willing to pay to experience such a thrilling ride. I would not be willing to pay to be the first person to try the fool thing out. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/16 "2008-08-27T16:27:32Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I would not be willing to pay to be the first person to try the fool thing out. [/QUOTE] Okay, you get that ride at no cost. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/17 "2008-08-27T18:07:16Z")
Urine just hoses off the passenger seats, right? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/18 "2008-08-27T19:35:14Z")
[QUOTE=atomicbadgerrace] Nevermind that. Found it on Google Sightseeing. (39° 5’36.11"N, 127°24’47.56"E for the curious) That’s hellacool. I wonder if it’s included in FSX… 😃 [/QUOTE] Here’s a [direct link](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=korea+underground+runway&sll=38.891033,126.694336&sspn=14.420758,25.180664&ie=UTF8&ll=39.094431,127.412653&spn=0.028111,0.049181&t=h&z=14). ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-runway/461374/19 "2008-08-28T03:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Urine just hoses off the passenger seats, right? [/QUOTE] Order of the Wet Diaper, right?