Lesson D23 1:31 23 of 26
Learn how parallel runways are named, and how to keep from using the wrong one.
The video plays from YouTube. FAA airport diagrams, d-TPP cycle 2611, effective 29 OCT 2026. Not for navigation.
Some airports have two runways side by side, pointing the same way. These are parallel runways. They share one number. A letter tells them apart: L for left, R for right, and C for the center one of three. Left and right are as you see them when you fly toward the runway.
At Oakland, fly east toward Runway 10. Runway 10L is on your left, and 10R is on your right. Turn around, and left and right swap. The other end of 10L is 28R. At Oakland, each one has its own pattern altitude: 606 feet for 28L and 1,006 feet for 28R.
In the pattern, do not overshoot final. You could fly into the final approach of the parallel runway. At Monterey, the parallel runways are very different. 10R-28L is 7,175 feet long. 10L-28R is only 3,503. Line up on 28R when you were cleared for 28L, and you have less than half the runway.
A runway location sign shows the runway you are on. It is black, with the runway number in yellow. The AIM says these signs go where runways are close together and pilots could confuse them. When you see one, check it against your clearance and your compass.
Next, we taxi out from the North Aero ramp.
Before you fly, check the current airport diagram, the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.
A discovery flight is actual flight training with a certified flight instructor at the Salinas Airport. Your hands on the controls, with the airport diagram on your knee.
