Aerodrome Engineering and Management Runway Pavements

The thickness of runway pavements ranges

Airport - is a complex transportation facility, designed to
serve aircraft, passengers, cargo, and surface vehicles. Each
of these users is served by different components of an
airport.
2 Components of an Airport
1. Airside of an airport is planned and managed to
accommodate the movement of aircraft around the airport
as well as to and from the air.
 Airfield component includes all the facilities
located on the physical property of the airport to
facilitate aircraft operations.
 Airspace surrounding an airport is simply the area,
off the ground, surrounding the airport, where
aircraft maneuver, after takeoff, prior to landing, or
even merely to pass through on the way to another
airport.
2. Landside components of an airport are planned and
managed to accommodate the movement of ground-based
vehicles, passengers, and cargo.
 Terminal component is primarily designed to
facilitate the movement of passengers and luggage
from the landside to aircraft on the airside.
 Ground access component accommodates the
movement of ground-based vehicles to and from
the surrounding metropolitan area, as well
as between the various buildings found on the
airport property.
from 6 inches for runways serving lighter aircraft to over 3
feet for runways serving large commercial service aircraft.
Runways may be constructed of flexible (asphalt) or rigid
(concrete) materials. Concrete, a rigid pavement that can
remain useful for 20 to 40 years, is typically found at large
commercial service airports and former military base
airfields. The life of asphalt runways typically lasts
between 15 and 20 years, given proper design, construction,
and maintenance.
Runway Markings
3 types of runway markings:
1. Visual - intended solely for aircraft operations
using visual approach procedures.
2. Non precision instrument - one having an
instrument approach procedure using air
navigation facilities with only horizontal guidance
for which a straight-in nonprecision instrument
approach procedure has been approved by the
FAA.
3. Precision instrument - one having an instrument
approach procedure using a precision instrument
landing system (e.g., ILS) or precision approach
radar (PAR) that provide both horizontal and
vertical guidance to the runway.

Airfield - prominent facilities that are located on an

airport’s airfield are runways, taxiways, aircraft parking
areas, navigational aids, lighting systems, signage,
and markings. In addition, facilities to aid in the safe
operation of the airport, such as air rescue and fire
fighting (ARFF) facilities, snow plowing and aircraft de-
icing stations, and fuel facilities may be located on or
closely near the airfield.

Runways – single most important facility on the airfield.

 Utility runways - designed to handle operations of Runway designators identify the name of the runway by
propeller driven aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds the runway’s orientation.
or less. Runway centerlines identify the center of the runway and
Runway Orientation provide alignment guidance during takeoff and landings.
Runway threshold markings help identify the beginning
Primary Runways – oriented into the prevailing winds.
of the runway that is available for landing.
Crosswind Runways - runways oriented toward the most
 Relocated threshold is marked by a runway
common crosswind directions.
threshold bar.
Parallel runways - have both parallel and crosswind
 Displaced threshold is a threshold located at a
runways.
point on the runway other than the designated
Runway length and width
beginning of the runway.
Characteristics that determine the required
Runway aiming points serve as visual aiming points for a
length of a runway includes the performance specifications
landing aircraft.
of the runway’s design aircraft and the prevailing
Runway touchdown zone markings identify the
atmospheric conditions. Specifically, the maximum gross
touchdown zone for landing operations.
takeoff weight, acceleration rate, and safe lift off velocity of
Runway side stripes delineate the edges of the runway.
aircraft are considered.
Runway lighting
 Runway lighting is extremely important for
nighttime aircraft operations or in poor visibility
weather conditions.
3 categories of runway lighting
1. Approach lighting system
2. Visual glideslope indicators
3. Runway end identifiers
ALS – provide the basic means for aircraft to identify
runways when operating in poor weather conditions and
when operating under IFR.
Visual glideslope approach - lighting systems located
adjacent to runways on the airfield to assist aircraft with
visually based vertical alignment on approach to landing.
 visual approach slope indicator (VASI) - a
system of lights so arranged to provide visual
descent guidance information during an aircraft’s
approach to a runway.
 precision approach path indicator (PAPI) - uses
light units similar to the VASI, but they are
installed in a single row of their two or four light
units.
 Tricolor visual approach slope indicators normally
consist of a single light unit projecting a three-
color visual approach path to the runway.
 Pulsating visual approach slope indicators
normally consist of a single light unit projecting a
two-color visual approach path to the runway.
 Alignment of elements systems are installed on
some small general aviation airports.
structures that may be placed in the vicinity of an active
runway.
Primary surface - is a surface longitudinally centered
on a runway.
Horizontal surface - is a horizontal plane 150 feet
above the established airport elevation, the perimeter of
which is constructed by swinging arcs of specified radii
from the center of each end of the primary surface of each
runway of each airport and connecting the adjacent arcs by
lines tangent to those arcs.
Conical surface - extends outward and upward from the
periphery of the horizontal surface at a slope of 20 to 1 for
a horizontal distance of 4,000 feet.
Approach surface - is longitudinally centered on the
extended runway centerline and extends outward and
upward from each end of the primary surface.
Transitional surface - Transitional surfaces extend
outward and upward at right angles to the runway
centerline and the runway centerline extends at a slope of 7
to 1 from the sides of the primary surface and from the
sides of the approach surfaces.

Runway end identifier lights (REIL) - are installed at

many airfields to provide rapid and positive identification
of the approach end of a runway.
 Runway edge light systems - used to outline the
edges of runways during periods of darkness or
reduced visibility.
o HIRL—high-intensity runway lights
o MIRL—medium-intensity runway lights
o LIRL—low-intensity runway lights
 In-runway lighting - intended to aid aircraft on
approach, on takeoff, and for taxiing on and off the
runway

Runway centerline lighting systems (RCLS) are installed

on some precision instrument runways to facilitate landing
under reduced visibility conditions.
Touchdown zone lights (TDZL) are installed on some
precision approach runways to indicate the touchdown zone
when landing under adverse visibility conditions.

A runway’s imaginary surfaces

Federal Aviation Administration’s FAR Part 77—Objects

Affecting Navigable Airspace defines a series of imaginary
surfaces that define the maximum allowable height of any