Plane Answers: Runway numbers, climbs and descents, becoming a pilot

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Dave asks:

I am a frequent flyer on several airlines (SW, UAL, Alaska). I have been flying for 25 years but always wondered about the runway numbers. I am not a pilot, but I thought the numbers had something to do with compass readings. 14L was 140 degrees. Is that correct? If I’m wrong, what do they mean?

You’re absolutely right, Dave. The magnetic headings, minus the last digit, represent the runway number. So yes, runway 14 may be 143 degrees.

If there are parallel runways, they’ll name the left one 14L and the right one 14R. If there are three it’s usually 14L,C & R. And sometimes they’ll have a parallel that’s organized for example like Miami, as 8L, 8R, and 9, even though they’re all the same direction. 9 just happens to be further away and south of the terminal.

These same runways are named 27, 26L, and 26R going in the opposite direction. Also, contrary to what you might see on TV and in the movies, we call them two-six right and not twenty-six right.
Herbert asked:

I used to work for an airline, so I’ve done a lot of travel. But there’s one thing that I’ve never understood: What determines your rate of descent and speed? The same for take off, do you climb at the fastest safe speed at the highest rate of ascent? Does it save gas by getting to cruise level quickly or slowly?

We descend either at the airspeed ATC assigns us or the speed that the FMS computer calculates is the most economical, or at whatever speed we feel is a good compromise between on-time performance and fuel savings. Once we’ve decided on that speed, to start the descent the throttles are closed and we will come down at whatever rate, say 1500-3000 feet per minute, that the selected airspeed gives us.

Climbing is almost the same. We set the power at the maximum climb thrust, adjust the airspeed for efficiency or timeliness and we then climb at a rate of 1000 to 5000 feet per minute to our most efficient altitude, or whatever flight level ATC assigns us.

Getting to that cruise level as soon as possible and staying there as long as possible before starting our descent is the most efficient way to fly, generally.

Jean asks:

Hi Kent,

I’m 34 years-old with five children and it is my dream to become a commercial pilot. How can a man like me with no money accomplish my goal?

That’s a tough one, Jean. There’s no way to do it without any money unless you go the military route, and your age disqualifies you for that.

That said, I’ve had friends who were rather broke but they managed to fly a few hours every week to earn their private pilot’s license. They were still in college and managed to starve a bit in the process, though.

For them, it was possible to share the aircraft rental costs with friends and worked toward their commercial and flight instructor ratings.

After acquiring their instructor ratings, at least they didn’t have to pay to fly. In fact, flight instructors can make around $20 to $40 per flight hour. If you reach this milestone, you may be able to instruct on the weekends if you’re lucky to find a small airport nearby that offers flight training. After that, it’s a matter of building flight time and gaining some multi-engine experience (perhaps as an instructor) before landing a job at a commercial operator, whether that’s at a corporate flight department, a small freight operation or a regional airline.

This is the most common civilian route. Others have had good luck towing banners or flying traffic report aircraft for radio stations.

Like many career paths today, it’s not easy to land a job right away. And with the industry concentrating on shrinking to survive, now isn’t the best environment. And you might get stuck along the way either at the flight instructor level, or in a time-building job that doesn’t pay well.

But surely the hiring will turn around and you could be in a position to advance if that’s the case. You’ll have to take it step-by-step, but I assure you, each step along the way can be fun.

As for your age, I did talk about this a few months ago. I’ve heard stories of people learning to fly well into their 30’s who ended up at the airlines. And now that the mandatory retirement age has changed from 60 to 65, you’re effectively five years younger.

If you still want to do it, the first step is to check out this site: www.beapilot.com

Good luck!

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for next Friday’s Plane Answers feature.