Dinosawer wrote:The fact that the runway is a circle doesn't mean you have to approach it in a circle...
Exactly. You can approach it in a direct line and start to bank slightly as you get closer to the ring.
And as Cornflakes stated before, the Idea is to separate the round runway into about 5 sections. So, 5 planes can start simultanously.
For landing approaches, you don't even have to land a plane manually today. Some pilots prefer to do it, yes. But today the autopilot is so smart, it could take off, fly to the target and land again. But you have to have the humans on board to do all the checks and to take control in dangerous or really difficult situations.
Also, you could equip planes with a holo display. It would be costly, yes. But you could benefit a lot from this. You could project the runway onto the display, and the pilot could land the plane based on this information even when the main window is covered in opaque foil.
Of course, this is only a concept idea. But it's a good idea. You have to flesh it out more, let the experts do some brain work on it, but in the end, it could really work out. And people that live near airports could hugely benefit from this.
I mean, how did JFK famously put it?
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept (...)"
We did before as impossible stated things in the past, we are doing them right now (fusion power, quantum mechanics research with (previously as impossible stated) instant communication).
I think the idea of a circular runway is just really abstract, and non-aviation experts can't really explain how it should work. I don't consider myself an aviation expert, but I think it will work.
Edit: PS. @Topic: This conversation.
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