By Lee Logan, Times Staff Writer
Friday, January 7, 2011
On Monday a white X of lights marks the primary runway at Tampa International Airport that is shut down to redo its numeric designation to correspond with a shift in the magnetic north pole.
TAMPA — The skies of South Tampa are noticeably noisier these days, as dozens more planes heading into and out of Tampa International Airport are roaring over neighborhoods instead of Tampa Bay. The culprit, of all things, is a shifting magnetic north pole.
The pole's movement has forced the airport to install new signs on its runways, which are labeled with numbers according to compass headings. As the pole moves roughly 40 miles a year toward Russia, the numbers on the runways eventually get out of whack.
The good news: The first phase of the project ends Thursday, and most of the noise will leave South ...