Unit 5: Airport

Runway Length

Syllabus

Airport planning and Airport layout-, Runway orientation, Wind Rose diagram, Basic
runway length, corrections for runway length, Airport classification, Geometric design.
Airport capacity, Aircraft parking systems.
2018
Airport Classification
 ICAO Airport Classification
Airport Basic Runway Width of Max
Type Length (m) Runway Longitudinal
Pavement Grade (%)
(m)
Code Equivalent Tire Pressure
Max Min
No Single Wheel (kg/cm2)
A >2100 2100 45 1.5 Load (kg)
B 2099 1500 45 1.5 1 45000 8.5
C 1499 900 30 1.5 2 34000 7.0
D 899 750 22.5 2.0 3 27000 7.0
E 749 600 18 2.0 4 20000 7.0
5 13000 6.0
Example:
6 7000 5.0
An airport B-3 would have basic runway length
7 2000 2.5
ranging between 1500-2099m. Single wheel load
capacity of 27000 with a tire pressure of 7 kg/cm2
Runways
 Definition

It is a strip of land used by aircrafts for

take-off and landing operations. It is
perhaps the single most important facility
on the airport.

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Actual Runway Length
=
Basic Runway Length + Corrections
 Basic Runway Length (ICAO)
Airport Basic Runway Length (m) Width of Max Longitudinal
Type Runway Grade (%)
Pavement

Max Min

A >2100 2100 45 1.5

B 2099 1500 45 1.5

C 1499 900 30 1.5

D 899 750 22.5 2.0

E 749 600 18 2.0

Standard Atmospheric Parameters:
• Temperature at MSL = 15C
• Pressure at MSL – 760mm of Hg
• Air Density = 1.225kg/m3

If the standard atmospheric conditions vary due

to any reason - corrections are applied to the
basic runway length to calculate the actual
runway length.
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
Corrections to basic runway length
There are three main corrections to be applied
to basic runway length to determine the actual
length of runway for an airport. These are:

• Elevation Correction
• Temperature Correction
• Gradient Correction

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Elevation Correction
Change in elevation affects air density, atmospheric
pressure and temperature. Correction should be applied
for change in altitude.

The Elevation Correction is as shown below:

Correction for Altitude: Increase runway length by 7%

per 300m altitude above MSL

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Temperature Correction
If standard temperature varies, correction to runway length
should be applied:

1. Compute Airport Reference Temperature (ART)

2. Compute Standard Temperature at the given Elevation (STE)
3. Compute Increase in ART above STE= ART- STE
4. Apply Correction based on the value obtained in Step-3

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Airport Reference Temperature (ART)

ART = 𝑇1 + 1/3(𝑇2 − 𝑇1 )

Where,
𝑇1 = Monthly mean of average daily temperature for the
hottest month of the year (C)

𝑇2 = Monthly mean of maximum daily temperature for the

same month (C)

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Standard Temperature at Elevation (STE)
STE = Temperature at MSL +/- (rate of change of temperature x elevation)

Rate of change of temperature with height is given as:

-6.5C / km height ---------- Up to 11km height from MSL

Constant at -56.5C --------- 11-20km height (Stratosphere)

+1C / km height ---------- 20-32km height (Troposphere)

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Temperature Correction

Increase basic runway length by 1% for every 1C

rise in Airport Reference Temperature (ART).

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Gradient Correction
Longitudinal Gradient:
• If the gradient is steep, it may cause pre-mature lift-
off or may cause structural damage
• It will consume more energy and will need longer
runway to attain desired ground speed

Effective Longitudinal Gradient:

It refers of the average gradient computed by subtracting
maximum and minimum elevations along the runway
divided by the total length of runway.

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Gradient Correction

Runway length is increased at a rate of

20% for every 1% of the effective
gradient

Note:

This correction is applied only if the combined

correction for Elevation and Temperature
remains less than 35%

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Summary: Basic Runway Length
Corrections
Correction Amount Combined Corrections
1 Elevation Correction 7% per 300m rise above
MSL The combined
correction for Elevation
2 Temperature 1% for every 1C rise in and Temperature
Correction airport reference should NOT exceed
temperature. 35%

3 Gradient Correction 20% for every 1% of the

effective gradient

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Numerical Example-1
Problem-1:
Compute the airport reference temperature if the monthly mean of average
daily temperature of the hottest month is 27.3C and monthly mean of
maximum daily temperature for the same month is 43.2C.

Solution
1
Airport Reference Temperature (ART) = 𝑇1 + 3 (𝑇2 − 𝑇1 )
Where,
𝑇1 = Monthly mean of average daily temperature of the hottest month (C)
𝑇2 = Monthly mean of maximum daily temperature of the hottest month (C)

1
𝐴𝑅𝑇 = 27.3 + (43.2 − 27.3)
3
= 27.3 + 5.3,
𝐴𝑅𝑇 = 32.6°𝐶

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Numerical Example-2
Problem 2:
If the airport is located at mean sea level (MSL), and the airport reference temperature
is that calculated in Problem 1. Apply temperature correction to the runway length.
Solution
Given: Airport Reference Temperature : 32.6C.
At MSL, the Standard Temperature at Elevation (STE) is given as 15C.

The difference in temperature = (ART-STE) = 32.6-15 = 17.6C

Let the runway length be L meters.

The temperature correction is applied to increase the runway length, L, by 1% for
every degree rise in temperature. Hence,
1
The correction is: L × 100 × 17.6°𝐶
= 0.176L
The corrected length = L + 0.176L = 1.176L
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Numerical Example-3
Problem 3:
Compute the corrected length of runway for an airport located at an elevation of
170m above MSL if the length of runway under standard conditions is 2100m. The
airport reference temperature is 32.6C and the runway has to be provided with an
effective gradient of 0.23 percent.
Solution:

Elevation Correction:

7 170
× 2100 × = 83.3m
100 300

Corrected length = 2100 + 83.3= 2183.3m

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Numerical Example-3
Calculation of standard temperature at elevation of 170m above MSL (STE).
= 15° − 0.0065 × 170 = 13.9°𝐶

Temperature Correction

Rise of temperature above ART = 32.6° − 13.9° = 18.71°C

1
Correction = 2183 × × 18.71 = 408.3m
100

Corrected Length = 2183.3 + 408.3 = 2591.6m

Check for the total correction:

2591.6 − 2100
× 100 = 23.4% => OK
2100
The combined correction (Elevation + Temperature) should remain below 35%

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Numerical Example-3
Gradient Correction:

20
× 2591.6 × 0.23 = 119m
100

Corrected Length = 2591.6 + 119 = 2710.81m

Rounding the above value to the nearest 10m, the

corrected length of runway is 2720m

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Numerical Example-4
The Longitudinal section of the runway provides the following data
End to end Runway Length Gradient (%)
(m)
0 -200 +1
200-600 -1
600-1200 +0.8
1200-1600 +0.2
Calculate the Effective Gradient of the runway

Chainage Elevation
0 100
200 100 + 0.01 x 200 = 102.0
600 102.0 - 0.01 x 400 = 98.0
1200 98.0 + 0.008 x 600 = 102.8
1600 102.8 + 0.002 x 400 = 103.6
Max difference in elevation = 103.6 - 98 = 5.6m
Total Runway Length = 1600m
Effective Gradient = 5.6/1600 x 100 =0.35
Basic Runway Length
 Basic Runway Length
It refers to the length of an airport runway under the
following assumptions:
Related to runway:
No wind is blowing on runway
Runway is levelled (No effective gradient)
Related to Airport:
Airport is at sea level
The temperature at the airport is 15C (Standard Temperature)
Related to aircraft:
Aircraft is loaded to its capacity
Related to route to destination:
No wind is blowing on the way to destination
Standard temperature prevails along the way

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Factors Affecting Basic Runway Length
The following factors affect the calculation of
basic runway length:

• Aircraft characteristics

• Airport environmental conditions

• Safety requirements

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Aircraft Characteristics
• Power and propulsion system
• Critical aircraft:
The aircraft that requires longest runway length for
landing and take-off operations. The length of runways for
both the operations may be determined from the flight
manual of aircraft performance.
• Gross landing and take-off weight of the
aircraft
• Aerodynamic and mechanical characteristics
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Airport Environment
• Atmosphere
• Temperature
• Surface wind
• Altitude
• Runway Gradient

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 Safety requirements

• Normal landing case

• Normal take-off case

• Engine Failure Case

Each of the above cases is discussed in the next slides

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Normal Landing Case
 Normal Landing Case
The aircraft should come to a halt within 60% of the landing
distance. The runway of full strength pavement is provided for
the entire landing distance

Touchdown
Stop Point 15m

Full Strength Runway

Runway
60% of the landing distance Threshold

Landing Distance
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Normal Landing Calculations
• Field Length (FL) = landing distance (LD)
• LD = Stopping distance (SD) / 0.60 = SD x 1.67
• Length of full strength runway = LD

Touchdown
Stop Point 15m

Full Strength Runway

Runway
60% of the landing distance Threshold

Landing Distance
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
Normal Take-off Case
 Normal Take-off Case
• The take-off distance (TOD) must be equal to 115% of
the actual distance the aircraft uses to reach a height
of 10.5m
• TOD should be equal to 115% of the distance to reach a
height of 10.5m.

10.5m

Full Strength Runway Clearway

Lift-off distance (LOD)
115% of LOD Clearway > Half this distance

Distance to reach a height of 10.5m

Take-off Distance = 115% of the distance to reach 10.5m height

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Normal Take-off Calculations
• Field Length (FL) = Full Strength (FS) runway + Clearway
(CW)
• TOD = 1.15 x D10.5m
• CW = 0.5[TOD -1.15(LOD)]
• Take-off Run (TOR) = TOD – CW
• Length of full strength runway (FS) = TOR

10.5m

Full Strength Runway Clearway

Lift-off distance (LOD)
115% of LOD Clearway > Half this distance

TOR=Distance to reach a height of 10.5m

Take-off Distance = 115% of the distance to reach 10.5m height

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Normal Take-off Case

So the runway should look as shown in Figure

Full Strength Runway Clearway

Min 150m
Normal Take-off Runway Composition
• It requires a clearway, as shown in figure below.
• The width of clearway should not be less than
150m (500ft)
• The clearway ground area should not have any
object protruding a plane inclined upwards at a
slope of 1.25% from the end of runway.

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Engine Failure Case
 Engine Failure Case-Criterion
It is an emergency condition!

This condition applies when the aircraft is speeding up on the runway to take-
off and pilots detect some problem in the engine(s):

Two Options exist:

Option 1. To abort the flight (This is permissible only if the speed of aircraft is
below the designated speed (engine failure speed), or

Option 2. Proceed with the take-off and turn the aircraft back from the
turning zone (This option applies if speed is > engine failure speed).

Option -1 is important from runway length design perspective: The runway

should be adequately long to let the plane to de-accelerate and come to a
safe halt without running beyond the runway.

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

 …Engine Failure Case

Engine 10.5
Failure
De-accelerate-Stop Distance

Full Strength Runway

Stopway
Clearway
Lift-off distance (LOD) Clearway = Half this distance

Accelerate-Stop Distance
Take-off Distance = Distance to reach 10.5m height

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Stopping in Emergency: Calculations-1
Engine Failure, take-off proceeded case
Field Length (FL) = FS + CW
TOD = D10.5
CW = 0.5[TOD-LOD]
TOR = TOD + CW
Length of FS runway = TOR

Engine 10.5m
Failure
De-accelerate-Stop Distance

Full Strength Runway

Stopway
Clearway
Lift-off distance (LOD) Clearway = Half this distance

Accelerate-Stop Distance
Take-off Distance = Distance to reach 10.5m height

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

Stopping in Emergency: Calculations-2
Engine Failure, take-off aborted case
FL = FS + SW
FL = Deaccelerate stop distance (DAS)

Engine 10.5
Failure
De-accelerate-Stop Distance

Full Strength Runway

Stopway
Clearway
Lift-off distance (LOD) Clearway = Half this distance

Accelerate-Stop Distance
Take-off Distance = Distance to reach 10.5m height

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi

The Required Basic Runway length
Field Distance = max{TOD2, TOD3, DAS, LD}
Full Strength Runway (FS) = max{TOR2, TOR3, LD}
SW = DAS – max{ TOR2, TOR3, LD}
CW = min{(FL - DAS), CL2, CL3}
SWmin = 0
CWmin = 0
CW max = 300m

Full Strength Runway Min 150m

Stopway
Clearway
Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi
 Airport Environment
• Atmosphere
• Temperature
• Surface wind
• Altitude
• Runway Gradient

Dr. Mohd Ahmadullah Farooqi