Size and elevation

Each runway has a size label printed along it. The first number is the length. The second number is the width. Both are in feet. Runway 8-26 is 6,004 feet long and 150 feet wide.

Runway 13-31 is shorter: 4,825 feet long. It is also 150 feet wide. The length is the whole runway, from one end to the other. Before every flight, you must know the runway lengths where you will take off and land.

Then compare the length with the takeoff and landing distances in your airplane's handbook. Say the wind favors Runway 31. Then you have 4,825 feet, not 6,004. Width matters too. If you learn on wide runways, a narrow runway can make you feel higher than you are.

That can lead to a low approach. Check the width before you fly to a new airport. Now the elevation. The small elevation labels show how high each runway end is above sea level. The Runway 8 end is 70 feet. The Runway 26 end is 84. The Runway 31 end is 82.

The box at the Runway 13 end shows the field elevation, 84 feet. The field elevation is the highest point of the runways. Use it before takeoff. Set the current altimeter setting. The altimeter should read close to 84 feet.

If it is off by 75 feet or more, do not trust it. The AIM says a repair station should check it. Pattern altitude uses it too. The Chart Supplement lists the SNS pattern at 884 feet. That is 800 feet above the field. Next, why you do not land on the first 396 feet of Runway 8.