Circular runways: Engineer wants to use design for drones

The Dutch engineer behind the idea for circular runways at airports has revealed plans to build a test runway for unmanned delivery drones. Henk Hesselink is collaborating with Valkenburg airport, a disused naval base near The Hague, which has ambitions to become a drone innovation centre. His design for circular runways at passenger airports captured global attention last year, in aviation circles and on social media. The point, he explained, was to make more efficient use of space, reduce tricky crosswind landings and cut down on noise pollution. Mr Hesselink, a senior research and development manager at the Netherlands Aerospace Centre, says growing demand for drone delivery services will call for "a network of drones, surfing distribution centres".