Question

To approach a runway, a plane must begin a 7° descent starting from a height of 5 miles above the ground. To the nearest mile, how many miles from the runway is the airplane at the start of this approach?

Answer 1

tan (7) = 5 / distance
0.12278 = 5 / distance
distance = 5 / 0.12278
distance = 40.7232448281
distance = 41 miles (rounded)