Bi-direction same runway operations

[Foxtrot]

I've been wanting to ask this question for a quite some time now. Unless my eyes were fooling me, I once saw planes landing on 17L and 35R (both ends of the same runway) at OKC. I don't quite remember the wind conditions, this was a while ago, but they might have been light and variable. Do controllers allow pilots to land on either end of the same runway if traffic is light enough? Initially I thought it had to do with a wind shift, but I know for certain that there was no front passing through that day.

If not then there's a good chance that my eyes did a great job fooling me and we can drop the subject.

Foxtrot

[DAL767-400ER]

Don't know about what conditions have to be in place for that to happen, but I have seen that more than being done here at HAM as well, with both 05 and 23 being switched back and forth. Why they did that, no idea. Also once had the same happen at CIA (Rome-Ciampino), and occasionally in JAX as well. Doesn't seem to happen that rarely.

[Foxtrot]

Ahh, ok, so I wasn't seeing things.

Foxtrot

[screaming_emu]

If the winds arent very strong and things aren't too busy, ATC will usually have no problem allowing you to take off in the direction the wind isn't favoring. Its only reccomended that you take off into the wind, not required. Also, I know there are some runways in the mountains or have other obstructions where you can only take off one direction and land the other.

I've actually had the experience when I was living in Japan and fying out of an aeroclub on an airforce base. They badly needed to resurface the runway, but they didn't want to shut it down for a few months, so what they did is they decided to do it half at a time. So for a while, you could only take off in one direction and land in the other. Whenever we wanted to stay in the traffic pattern and practice landings it made things real fun. We'd take off runway 36, and do a left 90 degree turn. Fly that way for a minute or so, then make a right 270 degree turn and land on runway 18. Run to the end of the runway, turn around, and take off again.

[uy707]

There are also some environnmental considerations taken into account to either cool or placate some local tree-huggers. Directions are changed alternatively to even the nuisances and altogether put all the nearby communities on the same par.
Alain

[Foxtrot]

Thanks for all your answers guys.

Foxtrot

[uy707]

You're welcome.
Alain