Runway Use vs Wind
Aircraft normally take off into the wind, so the wind should decide which way KPOU departs. Departures on Runway 24 climb out to the southwest, towards the Village of Wappingers Falls, the second most densely populated municipality in Dutchess County; Runway 6 departures leave to the northeast. This report checks every detected takeoff against the wind measured at KPOU at that moment.
Which runway departures used, by the wind at the time
Share of Runway 24 and Runway 6 departures in each wind condition. Even when the wind favoured Runway 6, about half still departed on Runway 24.
The split if the wind had decided
Departures with a favouring wind on that runway; calm and crosswind departures shared evenly between the two. Based on the 79,668 departures with a weather report within the hour.
Runway 24 departures with a tailwind
Takeoffs on Runway 24 while the wind favoured Runway 6, by the tailwind along the runway.
| Tailwind | Departures |
|---|---|
| 3–5 knots | 3,077 |
| 5–10 knots | 1,409 |
| 10–15 knots | 48 |
Towers may keep a preferred “calm wind” runway in light tailwinds, generally up to about 5 knots. The 1,457 departures at 5 knots or more of tailwind are the clearest cases where the wind pointed to Runway 6.
By year
| Year | Runway 24/6 departures | On Runway 24 | Calm wind: on 24 | Wind favoured 6: on 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 29,032 | 92.0% | 97.0% | 54.3% |
| 2025 | 33,346 | 91.4% | 96.2% | 53.9% |
| 2026to Oct 2026 | 19,326 | 87.3% | 93.1% | 42.9% |
How this was measured
- 84,713 takeoffs detected over KPOU from Jan 2024 to Oct 2026, from our ADS-B receiver and the ADSB.lol archive, each with the runway its initial track matched.
- Each takeoff was matched to the nearest KPOU weather report (METAR) within 75 minutes. The wind's component along the runway decides the class: a runway is favoured at 3+ knots of headwind; calm is 3 knots or less, or variable at 6 knots or less.
- Weather reports are hourly, so the wind can shift between them. “Departures” include touch-and-go climb-outs, which follow the runway in use.
- Choosing a calm-wind runway is normal practice; the question this report raises is which runway is chosen. With Runway 24 as the default, most departures pass over the most densely populated community beneath the airport.
- Snapshot built October 11, 2026.