Displaced thresholds

At the Runway 8 end, two small curved marks sit across the runway. The legend calls this symbol a displaced threshold. The threshold is where the part of the runway you can land on begins. A displaced threshold is not at the start of the runway.

At Salinas, the Chart Supplement gives the distance: 396 feet in from the Runway 8 end. The diagram does not print that number. Look it up in the Chart Supplement. It is there to keep obstructions from being a hazard on the approach to Runway 8.

Landing on Runway 8, touch down past the threshold. Do not land on those first 396 feet. That leaves 5,608 feet from the threshold to the far end. The first 396 feet still have uses. You may take off on them, in either direction.

So for a takeoff on Runway 8, line up at the very end and use all 6,004 feet. Landing on Runway 26, you may roll out all the way to the Runway 8 end. On the runway itself, white paint marks this area.

White arrows point down the centerline toward the threshold. White arrowheads cross the runway just before it. A white bar across the runway marks the threshold itself. Some runways have one at each end. At Long Beach, Runway 8L-26R shows the symbol at both ends.

The Chart Supplement lists 1,305 feet on Runway 8L and 532 feet on Runway 26R. It also lists the landing distance available. For Runway 8L, that is 4,887 feet. Before you land at a new airport, check for a displaced threshold and the runway you have left.

Next, the pavement past the runway ends.