1 AIRPORT DESIGN Topic 1: History of Aviation and Airport Design

AIR TRANSPORTATION- is the movement of passengers and freight
by any conveyance that can sustain controlled flight.
HISTORY OF AIR TRANSPORTATION
Source: Library of Congress Photo 2A13.
 Orville and Wilbur Wright of Dayton, Ohio, made rapid progress in
developing the first airplane after writing to the Smithsonian
Institution in 1899 asking for publications about flight. They soon
developed a large kite using an innovative system of flight controls
and wing-warping that made the kite more maneuverable. By 1900,
the Wrights were testing a glider incorporating these breakthroughs at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright
made the first flight with a self-propelled, heavier-than-air airplane.
The flight lasted only 59 seconds and traversed just 852 feet (284
meters) in the air, but the event marked the beginning of modern
aviation.
 On January 1, 1914, the world’s inaugural scheduled flight with a
paying passenger hopped across the bay separating Tampa and St.
Petersburg, Florida.
 After WW1 the 8-12 passenger Dutch-built Fokker Trimotor, the most
popular airliner in the early interwar years, had a top speed of 170
kilometers per hour and a range of 1,100 kilometers was used.
 By the eve of World War II, airlines worldwide were adopting the
USA-built Douglas DC-3 with a capacity of 28 passengers, a speed of
310 kilometers per hour, and a range of more than 2,400 kilometers
nonstop.
 The DC-3 made its maiden commercial flight in 1936 between New
York and Chicago. The Douglas DC-3 was the first airliner able to
undertake the profitable transportation of passengers.
 In 1936, Pan American World Airways launched services across the
Pacific with a roundtrip fare of $1,438 (about $26,900 in 2020 dollars)
between San Francisco and Manila.
 Wars catalyzed the growth of air transportation since airpower became
an ever more crucial element of military operations. New airports, vast
numbers of trained pilots, great strides in jet aviation, and other
aviation-related innovations, including radar, were among the legacies
of World War II.
 October 1958, the Boeing 707 took its maiden commercial flight with
a Pan American World Airways route linking New York and Paris,
with a refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland.
Source: Wikipedia. Photo circa 1964. BOAC (British Overseas Airways
Corporation) merged in 1974 with Imperial Airways to form British Airways.
2 AIRPORT DESIGN Topic 1: History of Aviation and Airport Design
 Boeing was among the first aircraft company to build a turbojet civil
airline. A Pan American Boeing 707 first flew a commercial service
on October 26, 1958, between New York and Paris.
 Just 12 years after the debut of the 134-seat (in a typical two-class
configuration) B707, the 366-seat (in a typical three-class
configuration) B747 made its maiden flight
 By the 2010s, however, the majority of the B747s were being retired
and replaced by longer range and more fuel-efficient twin-engine
aircraft such as the B777, the A330, the B787, and the A350.
AIR TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENTS
Like all modes of transportation, air transport is subject to accidents that
can be due to human (67%) or technical (20%) causes, and rarely due to
atmospheric conditions (6%). Since air accident statistics started to be
systematically compiled, 54% of all accidents took place less than 10 km
from an airport. 50% and 21% of all accidents took place during the
landing and takeoff phases, respectively.
Source: Aircraft Crashes Record Office, Geneva. Number of Yearly Fatalities
due to Air Transport Crashes 1918 2021
TYPES OF AIR TRANSPORT BASED ON TYPE OF
OPERATION
 Passenger airlines (e.g., United Airlines) offer the freight
capacity in the bellyhold of their all-passenger-aircraft fleet. For
these operators, freight services are rather secondary and
represent a source of additional income. It remains an important
market as about 50% of all the air cargo is carried in the bellyhold
of regular passenger aircraft. However, low-cost airlines usually
do not offer air cargo services since their priority is a fast rotation
of their planes and servicing lower-cost airports that do not
generate cargo volumes.
 Combination airlines (e.g., Korean Air) have fleets with both
freighters and passenger aircraft able to carry freight in their
bellyhold. Most of the freighter operations involve long-haul
services.
 Dedicated cargo operators (e.g., Cargolux) maintain a fleet of
cargo-only aircraft and offer regularly scheduled services between
the airports they service. They also offer charter operations to
cater to specific needs.
 Air freight integrators (e.g., FedEx Express) operate air and
ground freight services providing nearly seamless (at least from
the customer’s perspective) door-to-door deliveries.
 Specialized operators (e.g., Volga-Dnepr Airlines) fulfilling
niche services that cater to specific cargo requirements (e.g.,
heavy loads) that do not fit the capabilities of standard cargo
aircraft.
3 AIRPORT DESIGN Topic 1: History of Aviation and Airport Design
 As aircraft becomes larger, the number of airports capable of being
 Some airports are far away from urban centres and this offsets the
 It offers no access between termini and therefore minimum potential
 Airports use up valuable land and aircraft cause a lot of noise and air
ADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
 Air transport is a fast and efficient system which is especially
suited to passenger traffic, offering comfort and high quality
service; today long distance passenger movements are made almost
entirely due to air transport.
 Air transport involves the use of direct routes.
 It is suited to high quality, expensive and perishable cargoes for
which speed is essential; aircraft may also carry freight too small to
interest the providers of other transport systems.
 It can often reach areas inaccessible to other modes of transport.
For instance, areas of in hospitable environment such as Central
Brazil and Northern Canada.
 It offers complete freedom of movement and this provides
potentially flexible routes and services (although most air
movements are channelled along strict routes and political factors
may restrict both landing and flight paths).
DISADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
 Air transport is very expensive and as a result of this, it disqualifies
all heavy, bulky or low-value cargoes.
 Aircraft are expensive to build and operate; it requires elaborate
provisions in the form of airport facilities, controlling systems and
maintenance.
 It depends on weather conditions and therefore can provide and
unreliable services.
used is declining. This reduces flexibility. There is a growing
difficulty of finding suitable sites for airport building as well.
advantage of speed and convenience.
for intervening opportunity.
pollution.
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4 AIRPORT DESIGN Topic 1: History of Aviation and Airport Design

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