Aircraft Classications

Dr. Antonio A. Trani Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering

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FAA Airport Design Group Classication

FAA Aircraft Design Group Classication Used in Airport Geometric Design.
Design Group I II III IV V VI Wingspan (ft) < 49 49 - 78 79 - 117 118 - 170 171 - 213 214 - 262 Example Aircraft Cessna 152-210, Beechcraft A36 Saab 2000, EMB-120, Saab 340, Canadair RJ-100 Boeing 737, MD-80, Airbus A-320 Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Airbus A-300 Boeing 747, Boeing 777, MD-11, Airbus A-340 A3XX-200 or VLCA (planned)

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Sample Use of FAA Design Criteria

FAA design group criteria is useful to size runways, taxiways, apron areas, and protection areas around the landing area.
Critical Engines for foreign object damage Shoulder

Shoulder

61 m

31 m

Shoulder Shoulder VLCA on Design Group VI Runway VLCA on Design Group VI Taxiway

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ICAO Airport Design Group Classication

Design Group
A B

Wingspan (m)
< 15 15 to < 24

Gear Width (m)

< 4.5 4.5 to < 6

Example Aircraft
All single engine aircraft, Some business jets Commuter aircraft, Large Business jets (EMB-120, Saab 2000, Saab 340, etc.) Medium range transports (B727, B737, MD-80, A320) Heavy transports (B757, B767, A300) Heavy transport aircraft (Boeing 747, L-1011, MD-11, DC-10)

C D E

24 to < 36 36 to < 52 52 to < 65

6 to < 9 9 to < 14 9 to < 14

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ATC Approach Speed Classication

Group
A B

Approach Speed (knots)

< 91 91-120

Example Aircraft
All single engine aircraft, Beechcraft Baron 58, Business jets and commuter aircraft (Beech 1900, Saab 2000, Saab 340, Embraer 120) Med. and Short Range Transports (Boeing 727, B737, MD-80, A320, F100, B757, etc.) Heavy transports (Boeing 747, L-1011, MD-11, DC10, A340, A300) BAC Concorde and military aircraft

121-140

141-165

> 166

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Aircraft Wake Vortex Classication

Group Small Takeoff Gross Weight (lb) < 41,000 Example Aircraft All single engine aircraft, light twins, most business jets and commuter aircraft Large turboprop commuters, short and medium range transport aircraft (MD80, B737, B727, A320, F100, etc.) Boeing 757, Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10, MD-11, Airbus A-300, Airbus A-340, Lockheed L-1011

Large

41,000-255,000

Heavy

> 255,000

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The Wake Vortex Phenomena

Resulting from the generation of lift around a three dimensional wing Wake vortex tangential speeds can reach up to 70 m/s (beyond the FAR Part 25 certication criteria of commercial aircraft)

60-70 m/s

Vortex Wake

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Typical VLCA Aircraft Specications

Parameter Passenger Capacity Desired Range Speed Runway Length Remarks 650 passengers in a three-class layout plus crew 13,000 Kilometers with 1.50 hour reserve Mach 0.85 at 11.0 km Use of conventional runways (i.e., 3,300 m at MTOW and Sea Level ISA)

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VLCA Aircraft
VLCA Boeing 747-400

24.87 m

14 o 75.67 m

Four 311.8 kN Turbofan Engines MTOW = 5,400 kN S = 700 m2 AR = 9.5

Payload = 650 passengers Design Range = 13,000 Km.

12 o 81.5 m. 78.57 m

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Wake Vortex Equations

4 mg = ------------V b
where, is the vortex circulation (in m2/s), mg is the gross weight of the wake generating aircraft (N.), is the air density (kg/m3), V is the true airspeed (m/s), and b is the aircraft wingspan (m).

Vt

y2 ------- - 1 e 4t = --------

2y

where, V t is the tangential velocity right or left from vortex core (m./sec.), y is the spanwise coordinate measured from the vortex core location, is the vortex decay value which has been found to be dependent upon the strength of the circulation, and t is the time behind the wake generating aircraft (in seconds).

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Tangential Velocity Proles

7 6 5 4

Clean aircraft Speed = 150 knots Sea Level ISA

VLCA (4,400 kN)

3 2 1 0 20 30
Vortex Cores Lockheed C5A (2,060 kN)

40

50

60

70

80

90

Lateral Distance from Center of Fuselage (m.)

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Projected Separation Criteria

24.0
Small (Learjet 23) Medium (DC9) Large (B757)

20.0

16.0

Heavy (747) VLCA

12.0

8.0

4.0 0.0 750.0 1500.0 2250.0 3000.0 3750.0 4500.0 5250.0

Leading Aircraft Weight (kN)

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Small Aircraft
Single-Engine GA Twin-Engine GA

Cessna 172 (Skyhawk) Beechcraft 58TC (Baron)

Beechcraft A36 (Bonanza)

Cessna 421C (Golden Eagle)

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Corporate Aircraft
Raytheon-Beechcraft King Air B300

Cessna Citation II

Gulfstream G V

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Commuter Aircraft
Embraer 120 (Brasilia)

Bombardier DHC-8 (Dash 8)

Saab 230B

Bombardier Regional Jet

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Short-Haul Transport Aircraft

Fokker F100

Airbus A-320

Boeing 737-300

McDonnellDouglas MD 82

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Medium-Haul Transport Aircraft

Beoing B727-200

Boeing 757-200

Airbus A300-600R

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Long-Haul Transport Aircraft

Airbus A340-200

McDonnell-Douglas MD-11

Boeing 777-200

Boeing 747-400

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