Runway distance remaining signs
A runway distance remaining sign shows how much runway is left, in thousands of feet. White numerals on a black background, spaced along the side of the runway.
![[4] Runway distance remaining sign: white numeral 4 on black — 4000 feet of runway remaining](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fdistance-remaining-4.2pskjjzjoqv2s.png&w=3840&q=75)
What a runway distance remaining sign is
A runway distance remaining sign tells the pilot how much usable runway is left ahead. A line of these signs is spaced along the side of the runway, and each shows a single white numeral on a black background — the distance remaining in thousands of feet. A sign reading 3, like the one above, means roughly 3,000 feet of runway remain.
The signs give the flight crew a direct, at-a-glance cue during the take-off roll or landing rollout, supporting the decision to continue or reject and improving situational awareness on long or reduced-length runways.
An FAA sign type
Runway distance remaining signs are an FAA sign type. They are defined in the FAA's advisory circulars — the physical sign as equipment type L-858B (with an L-858H half-distance variant), and their siting along the runway in AC 150/5340-18H. They are common in the United States and other jurisdictions that follow FAA design.
ICAO Annex 14 Volume I and EASA CS-ADR-DSN do not specify a runway distance remaining sign as a standard aerodrome sign, so at an ICAO/EASA aerodrome you may not find one at all, or it may be provided as a local option rather than a standardised sign. Because the concept is FAA-specific, this page describes the FAA sign and does not attribute dimensions or placement to ICAO or EASA.
How it reads
- One numeral per sign, giving the whole thousands of feet remaining: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
- White legend on a black background, sized to be read from the runway.
- A one-half distance remaining sign (FAA equipment type L-858H) shows a fractional value such as 2½, meaning 2,500 feet remaining — it marks a half-thousand-foot point between the whole-thousand signs, not the runway midpoint.
The final sign in the series marks the last full thousand feet before the runway end; the distance to the physical end after the "1" sign is less than the spacing between signs.
Draw them in Wingframe
Wingframe draws runway distance remaining signs to FAA geometry — numeral height, sign proportions and colours — so a full runway-side series is consistent from the first sign to the last. See what Wingframe can do.