How does the Pilot Line Up the runway from where they can't see the runway? What is distance for Line Up?

Question

The Pilot Line up the aircraft from such a distance, that it's not possible to see the runway, than how they manage to line up the center line of the runway?

Answer 1

There are other ways you can line up with a runway you aren't even looking at.  At my airport I usually do a tight circuit rolling out onto a 1/4 mile final.  I just use the physical features around me (a house here, a road there) to put my plane onto a correct path.  Somehow, the runway is always there straight ahead and lined up when I roll level.  I would go closer but I like to see the runway before I commit myself to landing on it.

Answer 2

atc gets them  in line far out issuing vectors utilizing radar. in low vis and close to the rwy gps, nav radios w. glide slope /localizer,  dme, etc to  gives visual clues on the face of the instruments assisting  the pilot to the rwy.

Answer 3

If you are referring to an instrument approach it is done with the glideslope. The IFR procedures are explained in the instrument approach profile of that particular airport and what runway is being used etcetera......Nowadays there are GPS approaches done as well. Approach minimums take you to a point where visual contact with the runway can be made. If you think you are going to land in zero-zero conditions, forget it

Answer 4

Pilots track along the runway's localizer.  A runway's localizer frequency is given on the instrument approach procedure chart and in the Airport/Facility Directory.

The localizer's nominal range is 18 nautical miles, but can often be received and identified much farther out.  Flying into Boston from the northeast the localizer for Runway 22 Left can be tracked from 70+ miles out.

Answer 5

Some very good answers above, and I particularly like the suggestion for anyone who just wants to take a commitment-free flight in a small plane to go to any local airport, big or small, and ask if there is an instructor who would be willing to do a "demo" or introductory flight. This is a real eye-opener for many people as to what it's like. Quite different from an airliner and very cool (in my opinion).

As for linig up for a landing on a runway, there are a veriety af methods. Above, several people mention an ILS (instrument landing system) and localizer. Similiar to a VOR (station that transmits special radio waves in all directions that a plane can use to navigate), these systems use a very precise set of radio waves that a plane's instruments can turn into a visual representation used to guide a pilot to the runway. BUT, in all but very few cases where millions of dollars of extremely precise equipment found only on some large airliners (usually) you MUST be able to see the runway from a certain distance, as regulated by the FAA, to legally (and sensibly) land a plane.

The legal limit is developed by the FAA (government) for an airport based on a variety of things including surrounding terrain, and a number of other factors to keep pilots safe from any surrounding obstructions. Generally these systems have to guide you to within 1/2 of a mile from the end and a little as 200 feet off the ground. If you don't see it by then, you abort the landing and go somewhere else.

There are also other methods including GPS and AM radio beacons and guidence by air traffic controllers, but they are usually not as precise (not including GPS with WAAS) and require you to see the runway from farther away.

Sorry for all acronyms :-)

Answer 6

Under visual conditions, a pilot can see the intended runway from many miles away, and there is never any need to "line up" the runway from a greater distance than the distance at which the runway is clearly visible.

To understand how this feels, go to a flight school and take an introductory flight lesson.  You will quickly see that under visual conditions the runway is visible from many miles away.

Under instrument conditions, in which the runway may not be visible, pilots use electronic navigational aids that provide a visual representation of the airport environment and the runways from any distance and altitude from which an approach might be initiated.

Try an internet search on "instrument landing system."

Have fun!

Answer 7

Don't know, ask Stevie Wonder.