An Analysis of wind is essential for planning runway direction. As a general rule, the principal traffic runway at an airport should be oriented as closely as practicable in the direction of the prevailing wind. Aircraft are able to maneuver on a runway as long as the wind component at right angles to the direction of landing and taking-off, the cross wind component, is not excessive. ICAO recommends that runway be oriented so that aircraft may be landed at least 95% of the time with allowable cross wind components not exceeding specified limits based upon the airport reference field length. Based on the recommendation, the direction of the runway or runways at an airport can be determined through graphical vector analysis on wind rose. This study is to develop the wind-rose software for planning the optimum runway direction at an airport with the raw wind data based on reliable wind distribution statistics that extend over as long as a period as possible, preferably of not less than 5 years.
