Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleC
@ATCZero: By the way, I'm curious to know as to why the Speedbird on its early days at Austin usually used runway 17L landing and departures, but later on it almost always used 17R (never caught it using 17L again, actually). Was it only using 17L at first so people could get a good glimpse of Austin's first transatlantic 787? I see that the 777 has sometimes used the shorter 17L as well, although I can't say that's a good thing.
Or perhaps usage of 17R is because of the hot temperatures here, so therefore the airplanes need more runway length for take-off during the summer.
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When they first started flying in to Austin it was March and cool weather. They also had a photo op with the media on their first day which is why they got 17L/35R. Their load factor might not have been as high too. When summer hits, they always take the longer runway because of the temperature and their weight. Even some of the regular aircraft going to JFK or BOS will take the longer runway because of weight.
From Oct. 30th till about Nov. 5th or 6th they were limited to only using 17L/35R because the RV/Temporary Tower was only able to see the full length of that runway. It was either use that runway or don't fly in or out of Austin. Now, things should be pretty normal again.