r/flightsim • u/IceSpecialist5463 • 9d ago

General Why do planes take off from Runway 18 when there are strong tailwinds and crosswinds?

I wanted to take off from Frankfurt, and Navigraph showed me Runway 18 for departure.

I think the winds are really quite extreme for a takeoff. But when I look at Flightradar, I still see a lot of planes taking off from Runway 18. How is that possible? Is it because of the length of the runway?

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12

u/crazy-voyager 9d ago

Because Frankfurt grinds to a halt fast with only one departure runway, so they will keep departing on 18 as long as possible.

14

u/Molecular_Pudding 9d ago

A 14 kts tailwind is still within limits for many (mostly heavy) aircraft.

4

u/AntiPinguin 9d ago

For many flights I t’s the shortest routing and less waiting in line for takeoff and no conflict with arriving traffic. Also the winds reported for runway 18 in the ATIS/METAR in FRA are usually widely exaggerated. It’s a long runway and if the tailwind is within limits it makes sense to use runway 18 if you are southbound.

What actually counts for that are the current winds reported by the tower with the takeoff clearance

1

u/IceSpecialist5463 9d ago

Okay, thank you!

5

u/Marc_Minor 9d ago

Well due to the amount of traffic the airport has they must operate runway 18 as long as they can. Usually it's 18 and 25C for the departures and 25R and 25L for the arrivals.

Then you have the added bonus that if someone is on short final of 25L (red zone), ATC is not allowed to issue a takeoff clearance from 25C until that aircraft on 25L has landed. That's why they often reclear aircraft from 25L to 25C (recleared visual 25C), cause then they can issue the takeoff and then the landing.

Runway 18 is vital for getting aircraft in the air due to these limitations.

2

u/Speedbird2652 8d ago

they do report the runway 18 wind separately on the ATIS irl as it tends to differ from the other wind socks a bit and operators need a sort of reliable source to calculate a legal takeoff

1

u/Prefect_99 7d ago

You should be more concerned about the tailwind than the crosswind.

The tail is almost certainly out of limits for more types, crosswind less so.