Posted on 04/25/2017 2:09:26 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
Last month we published a video arguing the case for circular runways at airports, as part of a series called World Hacks. It took off and went viral.
The video has had more than 36 million views on Facebook and generated heated debate on social media - including within the aviation community. Many people are sceptical about the concept.
So we decided to hand-pick some of the top concerns and put them straight to the man proposing the idea: Dutch engineer Henk Hesselink.
This is what he had to say.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Well, hell, if you’re going that large, you may as well do a giant SQUARE.
He’s undoubtedly nuttier than squirrel poop.
No use cutting corners...
Interesting. I didn’t see ground effect concerns.
Regardless. NASCAR pilots really like the idea
It will be easier for corkscrew landings which is most important for avoiding sniper fire when Hillary is landing.
Add a few round-a-bouts for the planes on the ground.
Are you talking about “Wagon Wheels”?
During WW2 we had many in S. Fla.
There was one in Davie, that is where Nova University is now located.
I went to Broward College 1960-61, at the old Navy barracks, west side of what is now Ft. Laud. airport. Those barracks housed the crews of the 5 avengers lost(1945) in the Bermuda Triangle.
You bet. It looks like a circle to me, not an oval, so it is a continuous turn. Which means to maintain position on centerline you’d have to be turning as soon as you hit the runway, really as soon as your started your flare. The more I think about this, the more dangerous it is.
Disoriented pilots...pranged wingtips, horizontal stabs, fuselages...blown tires...aircraft plowing over the top of the banked circle and crashing...aircraft ground looping and rolling over...aircraft colliding.
Dutch Demolition Derby!
It really can’t handle 3 or 4 times the traffic, the guy is just making crap up. Because you simply do not EVER want multiple planes getting up to speed (or down) on the same piece of tarmac at the same time. Somebody’s speed will vary and it’ll all go to crap.
On a windy day you eventually are going cross wind if you’re in a circle, so altering the approach accomplishes nothing. Straight runway systems always have one perpendicular to the rest, which is the correct way to alter for wind.
Approach area noise is a small problem.
It is, simply, a terrible idea. It has no benefits, and dozens of serious problems. None of the benefits he lists are reasoned at all, he’s an idiot.
Thanks for the link. Interesting idea.
Thanks. I misread it then.
I was told it was described a three kilometers, not miles.
It’s not as big as I had thought.
How many hours of does this guy actually have in a log book? I ask, because something tells me that he has never piloted an aircraft in the real world.
“:^)
“:^)
You would know better than I. I appreciate your input.
Anything else. I could be a Thursday landing too ya know.
Glad to see you have an open mind on it.
LOL
I don’t really care, but it is funny to watch folks go postal over it.
Maybe it's just me...
-PJ
It’s important not to have one’s mind so open logic falls out. It’s a stupid idea, it’s obviously a stupid idea. Nothing postal about pointing out that the stupid burns.
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