In the absence of a Runway Use Program, the calm wind runway is selected when wind is ______.

• A. less than 3 KT
• B. 3 KT or less
• C. less than 5 KT
• D. 5 KT or less

Answer: (C)

Calm wind runway selection hinges on treating very light wind as negligible so you can choose the runway that best aligns with the wind without being biased by a breeze. The rule here uses a threshold of wind speed less than five knots. That means winds of 0 to 4 knots are considered calm, and the calm wind runway can be chosen based on the direction that minimizes wind impact. A wind exactly five knots or greater is not treated as calm, so you would base runway selection on the actual wind rather than calling it calm.