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FAIRBANKS — The old North Pole ain’t where it used to be.

I’m not referring to the geographic North Pole at the top of the globe or the magnetic community just outside of Fairbanks, but to the Magnetic North Pole in northern Canada.

It is drifting northwest across the Arctic at about 25 miles per year, according to the National Geophysical Data Center.

One way in which the restless Pole has a direct bearing on life in Fairbanks can be found on the new runway at Fairbanks International Airport.

The runway was rebuilt this summer with a new asphalt up to eight inches deep — thickest in the center where the big planes roar — on a project that cost about $33 million.

The rebuilt runway, which is more than two miles long, opened at 6 a.m. on Oct. 2. It has a new designation because the Magnetic North Pole won’t sit still.

This is the first time in the history of the airport that the runway numbers — based on the magnetic heading of the airport — have been revised.

The runway has two names, depending upon which way the pilot is landing.

When the airport was built, its magnetic heading was close to 10 degrees, but now it is closer to 20 degrees, with the moving of the Pole.

The main runway was numbered “One Left,” for pilots approaching from the south, and “One Nine Right” for those from the north.

(In a circle, which has 360 degrees, 10 degrees is at a point directly opposite 190 degrees. Multiply the runway numbers by 10 and you find the compass heading.)

Pilots from the south are now landing on “Two Left” and those from the North are touching down on “Two Zero Right.”

As to why the Magnetic North Pole exists, here is an explanation from National Geographic: “The planet’s outer core of molten iron spins constantly, acting as a giant dynamo, or electromagnet. This energy interacts with the rocky mantle of the Earth, which is also shifting, resulting in a complex, ever-changing magnetic field.”

The Pole is constantly moving, covering up to 50 miles per day, and its location is determined by an average of those readings.

During the past 100 years or so, the Pole has moved about 700 miles toward Russia.

In future decades, the runway might have to be renumbered again if the Pole continues to wander.

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MASTER PILOTS: Staying with matters of aviation interest, the 2009 Aviation North Expo takes place Thursday through Saturday at the Princess Hotel. There are many seminars and workshops for pilots, mechanics and people interested in aviation.

The awards banquet for the Aviation North Expo will be at the Westmark Gold Room on Friday at

6:30 p.m.

The two outstanding pilots to be honored this year with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award are Pete Haggland and Tim Sander.

Tickets for the banquet are $45 and available at Northland Aviation, Tamarack Air and the Alaska Airmen’s Fairbanks Office.

If you have a column idea, contact me at cole@newsminer.com or 459-7530.