Somehow (stories are numerous) Gnoss's single runway is laid out almost exactly perpendicular to the prevailing onshore west winds.

Burdell before the new airport was built, and the current runway orientation provided an unobstructed approach and departure from both directions.

In appreciation, the entire Marin County Board of Supervisors voted to name the airport "Gnoss Field" in his honor.

Gnoss Field is known to local pilots and flight instructors as an excellent airport to practice crosswind landings, especially during afternoons in the late spring and summer when the west wind picks up.

The single (31/13) runway is on a similar heading as the close by Hamilton Air Force Base (closed) and Petaluma Municipal Airport (O69) runways, but the prevailing summer afternoon onshore west wind direction and speed at Gnoss Field are changed and amplified by proximity to 1,555-foot (474 m)[5] Burdell Mountain, just west of the airport.

When Gnoss Field's crosswinds exceed pilot or aircraft limitations, local pilots generally land at Petaluma Municipal / O69 (7.2 nautical miles (13.3 km), 327 magnetic heading) or Napa County Airport / KAPC (13.6 nautical miles (25.2 km), 058 magnetic heading).

The typical Gnoss Field crosswind landing conditions on runway 31 are stronger than reported headwind on right base and, in a typical training aircraft, a slight amount of wind shear about 100 feet (30 m) before the runway 31 threshold, settling down to a steady crosswind - but then adding to a slight headwind component, just past the near west side hangars.