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.

Get oriented: KPOU and surrounding communities

North is up. Blue dashed outline: the site’s KPOU Class D boundary. Shading: residents per square mile.

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People per sq miunder 250250–750750–1,5001,500–3,0003,000–6,0006,000+

Census ACS 2024 5-year block-group estimates; this layer covers Dutchess County only. Unshaded areas outside coverage do not mean zero population. The boundary matches the existing site polygon; this map is not for navigation.

Departures on Runway 24

90.7%

81,466 of 89,774 Runway 24/6 takeoffs, Oct 2023 – Oct 2026

In calm wind

95.7%

of calm-wind departures used Runway 24. Calm is the most common condition: 42% of tower hours.

When the wind favoured Runway 6

51.7%

still took off on Runway 24, with a tailwind: 4,908 departures.

Beyond what the wind required

~9,022

extra Runway 24 departures a year, against an even split in calm and crosswind (60% on 24 instead of 91%).

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 87,643 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	3,335
5–10 knots	1,525
10–15 knots	48

Towers may keep a preferred “calm wind” runway in light tailwinds, generally up to about 5 knots. The 1,573 departures at 5 knots or more of tailwind are the clearest cases where the wind pointed to Runway 6.

The split if the wind had decided, by year

The same comparison for each year since 2024: departures with a favouring wind on that runway, calm and crosswind departures shared evenly. 2026 runs to October 16, 2026.

2024

29,667 departures

9,814 more Runway 24 departures than the wind called for.

2025

32,923 departures

10,481 more Runway 24 departures than the wind called for.

2026to date

19,277 departures

5,157 more Runway 24 departures than the wind called for.

Runway 24Runway 6

Days Runway 6 was favoured but Runway 24 was used

Each day’s departures on Runway 24 made while the wind favoured Runway 6, so with a tailwind of 3 knots or more. Calm-wind departures, which could also have used Runway 6, are not counted here. Hover a day for details.

929 departures on Runway 24 when the wind favoured Runway 6, on 98 days (43% of the 2,181 departures made in that wind). 366 had 5 knots or more of tailwind.

5+ knots of tailwind3–5 knots of tailwind

Days with the most in 2026

Day	On 24 in a Runway 6 wind	5+ kt tailwind	Departures in that wind	Trails
Mon, Jun 29, 2026	69	15	73	View
Fri, Aug 21, 2026	63	28	74	View
Wed, Mar 4, 2026	47	0	50	View
Tue, Sep 29, 2026	36	14	39	View
Sat, Jan 10, 2026	32	0	32	View
Sat, Jan 24, 2026	31	11	32	View
Wed, Mar 11, 2026	28	0	28	View
Thu, Feb 5, 2026	24	24	24	View
Sun, Oct 4, 2026	23	2	30	View
Wed, Oct 14, 2026	21	21	22	View
Sun, Feb 15, 2026	21	11	21	View
Sat, Jun 27, 2026	21	0	22	View
Sat, Aug 29, 2026	18	18	32	View
Tue, Jun 2, 2026	17	17	38	View
Mon, Feb 2, 2026	17	0	17	View

Runway and wind, by year

For each year, one bar for Runway 24 departures and one for Runway 6, split by the wind at takeoff. The teal slice of a Runway 24 bar is departures that took off with a tailwind when the wind favoured Runway 6. Hover a year for the counts. 2023 starts October 11, 2023 and 2026 runs to October 16, 2026.

By year

Year	Runway 24/6 departures	On Runway 24	Calm wind: on 24	Wind favoured 6: on 24
2023	5,850	92.6%	96.5%	49.3%
2024	30,405	92.1%	97.0%	54.8%
2025	33,750	91.5%	96.2%	54.7%
2026to Oct 2026	19,769	86.8%	92.4%	42.6%

How this was measured

93,191 takeoffs detected over KPOU from Oct 2023 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 17, 2026.