AIRPORT ENGINEERING

Lecture 7

Runway orientation, Runway configuration

Landing
 Graphic shows planes
lined up to land at
O’Hare and Midway
Airports
 Jan. 20, 2003
05:30 pm
RUNWAY ORIENTATION
Usability Factor
 Definition: “the percentage of time during which the
use of a runway or system of runways is not restricted
because of cross wind component”
 Usability of the runway depends upon the
metrological and topography of the site (use of
prevailing wind direction)
 Cross wind component is a function of airplane mass
and the type of undercarriage
 System of runways should provide at least 95%
usability factor
Runway Orientation
 Critical task in the planning and design of an airport
 Depends on direction of wind (oriented in the
prevailing direction of wind)
 Utilize the available wind force at time of take-off and
landing (lift and drag)
 Runway govern the orientation of the remaining
facilities (terminal building, parking, apron, taxiways
hanger, etc.)
 Avoid delays in landing and take-off operation (least
interference)
Runway Orientation – cont’d
 Provide shortest taxiway distance to terminal building
 Provision of multiple taxiways
 Provide adequate taxiways so that landing aircrafts
can exit runways as quickly as possible
 Provide adequate separation with other facilities of
the airport and air traffic
 Depends on topography of the area (requires
minimum grade changes)
Wind Direction Data
 Wind direction
 Head wind (from front)
 Tail wind (from behind)
 Cross wind (perpendicular)
 Wind intensity (velocity in km/hr)
 Wind duration
 Direction of wind not same all year round
Cross Wind (CW) Component
 Maximum CW depends on:
 Size of aircraft
 Wing configuration
 Condition of pavement
 For medium and light aircraft CW <= 25 kmph
 ICAO recommendations:
Required Reference Field Length Max. CW Component
1500 m or more 37 kmph
1200 m to 1499 m 24 kmph
< 1200 m 19 kmph
Calm Period
 Wind intensity remains below 6.4 kmph (4 mph)
 Common to all directions and is added to the wind
coverage for any direction
Runway Orientation (Analysis of Wind)
 The principal traffic runway should be oriented as
closely as practical in the direction of the prevailing
winds when the crosswind is excessive.
 Guidelines are provided by ICAO and FAA for
maximum allowable crosswind under different
conditions
 Runways should be oriented so planes may be landed
at least 95 percent of the time with cross wind
components not exceeding 15 mi/ h.
Wind Rose Diagram
 Consists of series of concentric circles cut by radial
lines on polar-coordinate graph paper
 Radial lines are used to scale
the wind magnitude
 Each radial line is 22.5 degree.
 Circle: wind is from SE,
between 20 to 25 mph,
3.0 percent of the time
 Less than 4 mph is
referred as calm period
General Approach - wind rose (I)
 Draw three equidistance parallel lines on a
transparent template. The middle line is the runway
center line and distance between outside lines
represents the allowable cross wind component
 Template placed on the wind rose such that the
centerline passes through the center of wind rose
General Approach - wind rose (II)
 Enter data for wind velocity,
direction and percentage of
wind in each direction
 Using the template, rotate to
get the maximum wind
coverage
 For fractional parts add the
appropriate percentages
 Total area under template is
97 percent
 EW is the best orientation, also
labeled as 9/27 (90 and 270
degree from north)
Example (Wind Data)
Example Solution (I)
Example Solution (II)
 Primary runway
 Computed wind coverage
is 90.8 percent
 Greater than 95 % is
required
 The runway designation
are:
 90o to 270o
 N 90 E to S 90 W
 9/27 or 9-27
 Requires cross wind
runway
Example Solution (III)
 Proposed cross wind
runway direction
 N 30 E to S 30 W
 3/21 or 3-21
 Total coverage equal
to 85.8 percent
 Additional coverage =
5.8 percent
 Total= 90.8+5.8 =
96.6 percent
Example Solution (IV)
Percentage of Time in Specific Direction
QUESTIONS ???