ABSTRACT
When the Wright brothers flew, they took off against the wind — whichever way it blew. This technique was followed for years, with grass airfields allowing aircraft to use any direction, as indicated by a windsock. Even as recently as the Second World War, airfields were grass and any direction could be used. As aircraft became larger and heavier and all-weather operations become more important, prepared smooth runways capable of carrying the loads imposed by large aircraft were required. As a consequence, paved taxiways were needed to get the aircraft from parking areas to the runways for takeoff and back after landing. Runways were obviously best aligned with the predominant wind direction.
