“POLKA DOT” RUNWAYS Seven colored dots, 50 feet in diameter, are painted
on the two main AirVenture runways. The dots are approximately 1,500 feet apart,
the minimum spacing for aircraft on AirVenture runways, and they help controllers
quickly tell arriving pilots where to land on each runway. A controller can direct one
plane to land near the green dot ( 3,000 feet down the runway), followed by directions to another plane to land near the orange dot ( 1,500 feet down the runway),
leaving room for a plane needing the full runway length to “put it on the numbers.”
Controllers on mobile platforms near the runway control takeoff activity.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BONNIE KRATZ, DAN LUFT
