Question

A pilot is flying a plane 20000 ft above the ground.The pilot begins a 2 descent to an airport runway.How far is the airplane from the start of the runway(in ground distance)

Answer 1

Answer:

381623 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Since the airport altitude is 20000 ft and the pilot needs a 2° descent, to calculate the distance of the airplane at the start of this approach, first this is represented in the diagram attached. The distance from the runway at the start is x.

$tan(3) = \frac{20000}{x} \\x=\frac{20000}{tan(3)} \\x=381623ft$

The airplane is at a distance of 381623 ft away from the airplane runaway at the start of the descent.