Question

A pilot is flying a plane 20000 ft above the ground.The pilot begins a 2 descent to an airport runway.How far is the airplane from the start of the runway(in ground distance)

Answer 1

381623 ft

Explanation:

Since the airport altitude is 20000 ft and the pilot needs a 2° descent, to calculate the distance of the airplane at the start of this approach, first this is represented in the diagram attached. The distance from the runway at the start is x.

`tan(3) = (20000)/(x) \\x=(20000)/(tan(3)) \\x=381623ft`

The airplane is at a distance of 381623 ft away from the airplane runaway at the start of the descent.