Good point...

I was dealing with "runway numbers" while communicating, where it probably
is best to think of them as a "name".

But, as you point out, one would want to think of it as a number while
aviating...




"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
...
"Lakeview Bill" wrote in message
. ..
The magnetic heading of Runway 5 can be any heading between 046 and 054.

From the Pilot/Controller Glossary: RUNWAY - ...Runways are normally
numbered in relation to their magnetic direction rounded off to the
nearest
10 degrees...

Go to http://www.airnav.com/ and examine some of their airport
information
sheets.

For example at KIGQ, with a magnetic variation of 02W (1995), RWY 18 has
a
heading of: 182 magnetic, 180 true.

So, it really is best to think of a "runway number" not as a number, but
as
a name composed of numeric characters 0-9 plus "L", "R", "C".

If you don't think of the runway number as a number (corresponding to an
approximate heading), then how do you form an expectation about which
direction to fly to enter, say, a downwind leg for a particular runway?

--Gary