follow up on the numbering system
When I'm flying east, pointing east, with a compass heading of about 090 (i.e. 90 degrees), when I land straight ahead I will be landing on runway 9. Just after I pass over the runway threshold, at about 50 feet above the runway, I'll overfly the big &quot;9&quot; painted on the runway, and I'll touch down some hundreds of feet beyond it. If I then roll all the way to the far end, the eastern end, of the runway, I'll reach the &quot;27&quot; painted there.
Conversely, if I'm east of the runway &amp; flying west, my compass heading will be about 270 and I'd land straight-in on runway 27. My compass heading as I'm landing (or taking off) corresponds to the designation of the runway that I'm using.