Question

You are flying your drone near Columbia Regional Airport and hear on the radio a plane is upwind, midfield left of Runway 2. What direction is the plane from the runway?

Answer 1

When a plane is reported as upwind, midfield left of Runway 2, it would be located to the west of the runway, considering that Runway 2 is roughly oriented toward north-northeast.

Step-by-step explanation:

The direction a plane is from the runway when it is reported to be upwind, midfield left of Runway 2 can be understood by first knowing that runways are typically numbered based on the magnetic azimuth (compass bearing) in which they are oriented.

Runway numbers are determined by the runway's direction rounded to the nearest 10 degrees and then divided by 10. For example, Runway 2 would be oriented roughly toward 20 degrees magnetic, which is approximately north-northeast. If a plane is upwind, it means it is facing into the wind, which is the direction from which the wind is coming. 'Midfield' refers to the middle of the runway's length.

'Left' in this context likely means to the pilot's left when approaching or flying along the runway in the proper direction, which implies that the left side is relative to the direction the airplane would land or take off from Runway 2. This would put the plane to the west of the runway, since the runway is oriented north-northeast.