The Airfield Layout Nantucket’s airfield layout, illustrated in Figure 1, consists of three runways, which vary in length from 3,125 feet to 6,303 feet. Nantucket ’s runways are aligned in three directions with runway ends pointing toward six distinct compass headings. Aircraft must generally take off and land into the wind, so the availability of specific runway configurations is determined by aircraft type, wind speed and direction, and other weather conditions.  If, for example, the wind is from the Northwest (or from 315 degrees), then a pilot approaching the airport would normally be directed to land on runway 33, the closest runway heading to the actual wind direction. The pilot's compass would read "330" when he or she was lined up with the runway and ready to land. Similarly, if a pilot is going to take off into a Southwesterly wind, then the cockpit compass would read "240" when he or she was at the end of runway 24 ready for takeoff. For the sake of brevity, the first and last "0" are dropped from the compass headings when designating runways. Thus a runway with a "060" compass heading is simply called "Runway 6". The runway layout provides necessary operating flexibility given Nantucket’s offshore location and highly variable wind conditions. Non-coastal airports, where wind conditions vary less, may have a simpler airfield layout and fewer required operating configurations. Return to Previous Page