Editing Runway (section)

=== Orientation ===
The primary consideration in determining runway orientation is the prevailing wind direction, in lieu of spatial constraints or obstructions that may prevent optimal alignment. To mitigate the occurrence of crosswind operations which are more challenging and dangerous, runways at airports are designed to align with the wind’s direction. Utilizing runways oriented with the wind direction also allows for aircraft to take-off and land into the headwind, reducing the length of runway used during operations. Taking off and landing into the wind increases the relative air speed of the aircraft to create more lift; this allows aircraft to reach take-off velocity with a shorter amount of ground roll and also allows aircraft to land with a slower ground speed. To determine the prevailing wind directions, analysis of a [[wind rose]] is used before constructing airport runways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enviroware.com/windrose-pro-for-airports-runway-design |title=WindRose PRO for airports runway design |website=Enviroware  |access-date=2012-02-24}}</ref>

[[File:China lake.jpg|thumb|Triangular runway pattern at Armitage Field, [[Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake]]]]
Originally in the 1920s and 1930s, airports and air bases (particularly in the United Kingdom) were built in a triangle-like pattern of three runways at 60° angles to each other. The reason was that aviation was only starting, and although it was known that wind affected the runway distance required, not much was known about wind behaviour.{{cn|date=January 2024}} As a result, three runways in a triangle-like pattern were built, and the runway with the heaviest traffic would eventually expand into the airport's main runway, while the other two runways would be either abandoned or converted into taxiways.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/61396/when-and-why-was-runway-07-25-at-kai-tak-removed|title=Airport - when and why was runway 07/25 at Kai Tak removed?}}</ref>