New runway numbers


Message posted by Peter Merlin on December 22, 2019 at 16:38:25 PST:

Earth's magnetic north pole has been creeping across the Canadian Arctic toward Russia since 1831. Recently, it has been shifting at a record-breaking pace of 34 miles per year. This has forced scientists to update the World Magnetic Model used by civilian agencies and military services alike as a basis for navigation a year ahead of schedule.

Although forecasts call for the shift to slow to less than 25 miles per year, we can expect to see some tangible changes as a result of the current movement. Specifically, there will be changes to existing runway numbering at airfields. If, for example, an airstrip was previously designated as runway 06/24 it would now have to be re-designated 07/25. Such changes are already underway. Don't be surprised if it starts happening at some of our favorite airfields.

Earth's magnetic field completely reverses its polarity about every several hundred thousand years. This means that the magnetic north pole will eventually slide around to the geographic South Pole. According to the latest scientific data, the last reversal took place 770,000 years ago. The processl took less than 4,000 years, but was preceded by 18,000 years of instability, including two temporary and partial reversals.


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