MOTORWAYS AS RUNWAYS

[Old Wombat]

You should note, however, that that article was last updated on 4/1/2011 

On a slightly amusing note this had me confused for a little while, then I realised anthonyp is probably an American!

To an American/Canadian this reads as April 1, 2011; to those of us from Aus, Kiwiland & the UK it reads as 4th January, 2011.

So I'm a little slow but this is why I write the name of the month, it saves confusion.

[PR19_Kit]

Five countries divided by an (almost...) common language.... 

[dragon]

You should note, however, that that article was last updated on 4/1/2011 

On a slightly amusing note this had me confused for a little while, then I realised anthonyp is probably an American!

To an American/Canadian this reads as April 1, 2011; to those of us from Aus, Kiwiland & the UK it reads as 4th January, 2011.

So I'm a little slow but this is why I write the name of the month, it saves confusion.

In my everyday life (read Job) we are required to write the name of the month (exp: today would be 15Apr2011).  It does save confusion.  You are not the only one.

[Spey_Phantom]

as fas as i know, Sweden, Switserland and Singapoer also use long stretches of motorways as runways.
i remember reading an article that Sweden has no large air force bases, as all of its fighters operate from highway roads, the aircraft itsself hiding in the woods and caves 

[rallymodeller]

Sweden does have air bases; they just have many dispersal fields and often practice operating from them.

[GTX]

I understand Poland has/did have road way ops as well - I'm sure I have seen joint Swedish/Polish ops during an exercise in the '90s.

Regards,

Greg

[Daryl J.]

Montana Highway 16 from Culbertson to Medicine Lake had not so much as a bend over its 20+ miles for the first 50 or so years of its existance.    One could put some fanciful large, very high speed Republic interceptors designed to thwart the Russians in the farmer's barns yes?   Especially since Med. Lake is only about 35 miles south of the Canadian/US border and the road runs perfectly north/south.

Yes, they changed the road up a bit adding a bend here and there for safety's sake.   

[Weaver]

Montana Highway 16 from Culbertson to Medicine Lake had not so much as a bend over its 20+ miles for the first 50 or so years of its existance.    One could put some fanciful large, very high speed Republic interceptors designed to thwart the Russians in the farmer's barns yes?   Especially since Med. Lake is only about 35 miles south of the Canadian/US border and the road runs perfectly north/south.

Yes, they changed the road up a bit adding a bend here and there for safety's sake.   

Made me smile  - in Britain they're usually taking bends out for safety's sake....

[stevebarra]

IN THE OUTBACK AREA OF NORTHER TERRITORY ,QUEENSLAND AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA THE DEFENCE DEPARTMENT HAS IMPROVE SECTIONS OF MAIN HIGHWAYS TO CATER FOR THE CARIBOU AND HERCULES AIRCRAFT AS LANDING AND REFUELING STOPS

[rickshaw]

Interesting claim.  On what basis do you make it?

Oh, and please don't shout! 

[tahsin]

I wouldn't know about the Eisenhower era , but it is common in Turkey that Russians and Americans competed in Afghanistan in the Cold War years . American build roads in the South were wide and straight while Russian roads in the North were thick as if to carry tanks .

[rickshaw]

Montana Highway 16 from Culbertson to Medicine Lake had not so much as a bend over its 20+ miles for the first 50 or so years of its existance.    One could put some fanciful large, very high speed Republic interceptors designed to thwart the Russians in the farmer's barns yes?   Especially since Med. Lake is only about 35 miles south of the Canadian/US border and the road runs perfectly north/south.

Yes, they changed the road up a bit adding a bend here and there for safety's sake.   

Made me smile  - in Britain they're usually taking bends out for safety's sake....

Downunder, if we don't add bends, people go to sleep:

[Weaver]

Montana Highway 16 from Culbertson to Medicine Lake had not so much as a bend over its 20+ miles for the first 50 or so years of its existance.    One could put some fanciful large, very high speed Republic interceptors designed to thwart the Russians in the farmer's barns yes?   Especially since Med. Lake is only about 35 miles south of the Canadian/US border and the road runs perfectly north/south.

Yes, they changed the road up a bit adding a bend here and there for safety's sake.   

Made me smile  - in Britain they're usually taking bends out for safety's sake....

Downunder, if we don't add bends, people go to sleep:

I dunno, no forward planning: if you'd left the original straight bit in as well, you could have made a runway out of it....

[McColm]

When I used to be in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, I did some tower work at Heathrow. Air India often mistook the A4 for a runway.
Well airports look the same at 30,000ft!! and that donk donk noise was the wings clipping the lamp posts.
I was told that back in the 1970's a pilot of a Boeing 707 mistook the A40 for a runway and thought that RAF Northolt was Heathrow. The passengers went by coach and their cheif test piolt flew the stripped out 707 to Heathrow, minus seats. They had to lay metal sheets as the runway isn't long enough for a 707 to take off from.
I wasn't there when the Biz-jet crashed at RAF Northolt, something tomdo with an argument in the cockpit and no reverse thrust on that make of jet.

[icchan]

So what kind of work needs to be done to make a roadway suitable for runways?  Not the big bombers, but interceptors and such.  How thick do you need the concrete/asphalt/whatever, and how wide should it be?  (Landing and takeoff runs of your aircraft provide obvious minimum lengths of straights of course)