Can you help me understand runways at LN?

[violasrbest]

A very simple and obvious question, but I am confused about the runways at Lakenheath, and I hope someone here will sort me out. I see that there are two runways, 06 being the Eriswell end, and 24 being the Brandon end. Do 06 & 24 stop in the middle, or does 06 run from Eriswell to Brandon and 24 run from Brandon to Eriswell? I watched some F15s depart yesterday (Wednesday), and they took off towards Eriswell, but seemed to start reasonably close to Brandon (but that may have been just my perception, they may have started at the mid-point).

Related to this, I understand an aeroplane takes off and lands into the wind. So if a plane takes off towards Eriswell, and just does a circuit, he would land from Brandon? Has he taken off from 06 and landed on 24? When someone quotes an active runway, is that for take-off, landing or both?

As you can see I am both confused and clueless.

[Amp]

LN now has only one runway. Facing one way is 06, facing the other way is 24. A take-off from 06 would typically result in a landing on 06 and vice versa for 24. These are simplistically compass bearings. Take-off and landing are both into wind, as much as possible. (Cellos are nice too).

[Amp]

The active runway would be in use for take-off and landings. Look at an aerial photo and it should become more clear.

[DanBeeden]

The quoted runway will always be used for both landing and take off at any given time. Obviously the risk for collision is a real one if you have aircraft departing from/landing on opposite ends of the same runway! So if winds favour runway 24, that'll be the runway in use for all movements so take offs and landings will be on runway 24. Take off's at Lakenheath are always from the end of whichever runway is in use - you won't see any midsection departures. Bear in mind (and a view on Google Earth will help) that there is an over-run at each end which would only be used in case of an emergency. This is the bit at Lakenheath at the Brandon end, between where the jets line up on the runway, and the fence. Painted with yellow chevrons.

Occasionally at Mildenhall you'll get an opposite direction departure when either the routing of the aircraft to its destination, or the aircraft's proximity to that end of the runway (i.e. it is parked near to one end or the other), means it makes far more sense to use the other end from that which is designated. Needless to say this is only the case when the wind is calm or very light, as taking off with a significant tailwind presents various hazards. So you may have a day when 29 is in use, but the tower can clear an arrival or departure to runway 11 if circumstances permit.

[violasrbest]

Thanks guys.

[apex]

Just to get a bigger picture of the whole runway thing, it may help to think of the runway number as a direction. Therefore any airfield that has a runway facing the same way as Lakenheath will also be 24 and 06.
Have a look at Mildenhall and Lakenheath on Google maps or something similar. You will note that Mildenhall's runway faces a different direction, the numbers there being 29 and 11, i.e. a fifty degree turn to the right, that being the numerical difference between the compass headings 240 and 290. An aircraft cruising at 30,000ft and heading 240 will be flying in the same direction as Lakenheath's runway, or from the Brandon end to the Eriswell end if you like.
A good starting point for a basic understanding is to know that a runway facing east and west will likely be 27 and 09. Most runways in the UK have a direction from about 210 to about 270 or facing southwest/northeast or east/west This is because the most common direction for the wind to be coming from in this country is from the southwest and this helps maximize the opportunity to take off and land into the wind. Strong winds also tend to come from the same direction as well.
An airband radio is a great learning tool of how things are done.

[Yunglee]

Wiki has a good page explaining runways: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway

[f-4]

Had to check this wasn't posted today...

[Nighthawke]

Why? It appears to be a sensible question from someone new to the hobby, does not know about the subject and wants to learn.