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Plan your touchdown, plan your exit

iStock_000003062133XSmall I fly from Denham (EGLD) which has a short runway so most of my approaches end in short field landings by default.

However, like most pilots, I also visit airports with very long runways. For example Newquay airport has such a long runway that is an alternate for the Space Shuttle.

I fly into Amsterdam Schiphol from time to time in a Cirrus SR22. Normally they put you on the little eastern runway that is right by the private terminal but they could send you any of the other runways.

Patrick Flannigan’s AviationChatter.com has a nice article about “Landing at Busy Airports: Have an Exit Strategy.” I think this is really helpful. Working out which runway exit to use before you get to a big airport is great. Especially if, as at Schiphol, you might need to land long to make the right exit and minimise your time on the runway. There’s no point putting the plane down on the numbers if I have to taxi half a mile to get to the nearest exit.

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