Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M.

Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 1 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

Determining the Largest Airplane

San Fernando Airport can Accommodate

Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 2 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

San Fernando Airport is a community airport located at Brgy. Poro, San Fernando City,
Province of La Union. It is a towered, general aviation airport with a runway dimension
of 2120 by 30 meters and is made up of concrete. The usual traffic serviced by the
airport is from those of a private civilian flight school utilizing small propeller-driven
trainers for their student pilots. Both ends of the runway are clear of obstacles such as
[1]
trees and tall structures that can pose safety hazards to flight operations . The
purpose of this paper is to determine what – aside from the Cessna trainers routinely
flying and landing on the airport – is the largest airplane that it can host in its tarmac.

[2]
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) adopted the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) Aerodrome Reference Code methodology to define the
standards for individual aerodrome facilities that are suitable for use by airplanes that
have been grouped in a range of performances and sizes. Table 1 below shows the
methodology:

Table 1: ICAO Aerodrome Reference Code

Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 3 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

The civilian flight school – Leading Edge International Aviation Academy Inc. (LEIAAI) –
[3]
doing business on the airport operates a fleet of Cessna 172’s with a wingspan of 11
[4]
meters and maximum length of 8.2 meters . Below is a table for some airplanes and
their characteristics:

Table 2: Some airplane characteristics

Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 4 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

Table 2: Some airplane characteristics

Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 5 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

Referencing ICAO’s Aerodrome Reference Code on Table 1 and the Airplane Reference
Field Length (ARFL) found in Table 2, LEIAAI’s fleet of Cessna 172s would have an
aerodrome reference code of 1A which qualify it as safe to land/take off and operate on
San Fernando Airport’s runway.

Based on the same approach in analyzing Tables 1 and 2, the author of this paper found
that the upper limit in the ARC methodology that San Fernando Airport’s runway could
accommodate would be those with AR code 3B. The reason for this is explained as
follows.

ARFL is defined as “the minimum field length required for take-off at maximum
certificated take-off mass, at sea level, in International Standard Atmosphere conditions,
in still air and with zero runway slope, as documented in the Aircraft Flight Manual
[5]
(AFM) or equivalent document” . Aeroplanes that are number coded 3 according to
code element 1 with ARFL of 1200 to 1500 meters should have no problem operating
on the 2120 meter runway of San Fernando Airport. The stopping distance is sufficient
enough to handle any engine emergency that might occur during the takeoff run.
Likewise during the landing approach, the distance is enough to put the aeroplane into
taxi speed upon touch down.

But why stop at 1500 meter ARFL? It’s because of the restriction imposed by code
element 2 that specifies what code letter would be assigned to a particular aircraft.
Analyzing again table 2, aeroplanes with wingspans of 15 to 23 meters fits within the 30
meter runway width limit of San Fernando Airport which gives them the code letter B.
With those findings, the author of this paper then arrived to the conclusion that the
upper limit is therefore 3B.
Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 6 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

The largest airplane that San Fernando Airport could accommodate based on Table 2 is
therefore the Embraer EMB 145 with a length of 30 meters, wingspan of 20 meters
and has a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of 19200 kg.

A British Airways Embraer EMB 145

during a landing approach

Module Title: Application of Standards to Aerodromes Name: Lean M. Badiola

Date: Oct. 30, 2020 Page 7 of 7

Instructor: Engr. Carl Lawrence C. Famero, MEAM
Grade: Activity No. 2

References

[1]

https://www.google.com/maps/@16.6027542,120.3038784,3a,60y,52.88h,90.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3
m4!1sqXXvJDMbvwzohzlJZ19vXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[2]

https://caap.gov.ph/manual-of-standards/

[3]

https://www.leadingedge.com.ph/#fleet

[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_172#Specifications(172R)

[5]

https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/ICAO_Aerodrome_Reference_Code