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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-uphill-runway-takeoff

Compared with a level runway, how does an uphill slope affect takeoff ground run?

An uphill runway makes the takeoff ground run longer.

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  1. Longer ✔
  2. Shorter
  3. Unchanged

Why: An uphill slope resists the airplane's acceleration. Reaching liftoff speed therefore takes more runway than on a comparable level surface.

Huh, didn't know that: A positive runway gradient means the runway height increases along the takeoff direction.

The dad joke
The uphill runway was inclined to make takeoff harder.
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References

Answer: Longer. An uphill slope resists the airplane's acceleration. Reaching liftoff speed therefore takes more runway than on a comparable level surface.

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 11 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/13_phak_ch11.pdf
    An upsloping runway impedes acceleration and results in a longer ground run during takeoff.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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