SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/sport-runway-number

A runway aligned with a magnetic heading of 270 degrees is numbered what?

27, the magnetic heading divided by ten.

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  1. 09
  2. 270
  3. 27 ✔

Why: Runway numbers are the magnetic heading of the centerline divided by ten and rounded. So 270 degrees becomes runway 27, and the opposite end of that runway, 090 degrees, is runway 9.

Huh, didn't know that: Runway numbers and letters are determined from the approach direction, and L, C and R distinguish parallel runways.

The dad joke
Runways are the only place where a 9 and a 27 can be the same thing.
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References

Answer: 27. Runway numbers are the magnetic heading of the centerline divided by ten and rounded. So 270 degrees becomes runway 27, and the opposite end of that runway, 090 degrees, is runway 9.

  1. FAA AIM 2-3-3, Runway Markings www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap2_section_3.html
    The runway number is the whole number nearest one-tenth the magnetic azimuth
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. FAA AIM 2-3-3, Runway Markings www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap2_section_3.html
    Runway numbers and letters are determined from the approach direction.
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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