GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF THE AIRFIELD

 Geometric design guidelines prepared by FAA and ICAO.

AIRPORT CLASSIFICATION:
 Airports are classified based on the aircraft they accommodate.
 Airports are designed based on a series of critical or design aircraft.
 FAA defines critical aircraft as the aircraft most demanding on airport design that
operates at least 500 annual operations at a given airport.
 Normally more than one critical aircraft is selected at an airport for the design purpose
(smallest aircraft is critical to the orientation of runways and largest aircraft determines
most of the dimensional specifications of an airfield).
 Airport reference code is a coding system used to relate the airport design criteria to the
operational and physical characteristics of the aircraft intended to operate at the airport.
 The dimensional and performance characteristics of the critical aircraft determine the
airport reference code.
 The airport reference code is based on the aircraft approach category and the aircraft
design group to which the aircraft is assigned.
 The aircraft approach category is determined by the aircraft approach speed which is
defined as 1.3 times the stall speed in the landing configuration of aircraft at maximum
certified landing weight.
Aircraft Approach Categories
Category Approach speed, kn
A < 91
B 91 – 120
C 121 – 140
D 141 – 166
E > 166
1 kn = 1.15 mi/h
 Aircraft Design Group (ADG) is a grouping of aircraft based on wingspan or tail height.
Aircraft Design Groups
Group number Tail height, ft Wingspan, ft
I < 20 < 49
II 20 to < 30 49 to < 79
III 30 to < 45 79 to < 118
IV 45 to < 60 118 to < 171
V 60 to < 66 171 to < 214
VI 66 to < 80 214 to < 262
 Airport reference code is a two designator (C-IV) code referring to the aircraft approach
category and the aircraft design group for which the airport has been designed.
 An airport designed to accommodate Boeing 767-200 which has an approach speed of
130 kn and a wingspan of 156 ft 1 in would be classified with an airport reference code
C-IV.

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 ICAO uses a two element code termed as the aerodrome reference code to classify the
geometric design standards at an airport.
 The code elements consist of a numeric and alphabetic designator.
 The aerodrome code numbers 1 through 4 classify the length of the runway available
(reference field length) which includes the runway length and, if present, the stopway and
the clearway.
 Reference field length is the approximate required runway takeoff length converted to an
equivalent length at mean sea level, 15 C, and zero percent gradient.
 The aerodrome code letters A through E classify the wingspan and outer main gear wheel
span for the aircraft for which the airport has been designed.
ICAO Aerodrome Reference Codes
Code Reference field Code Wingspan, Distance between outside edges
Number length, m letter m of main wheel gear, m
1 <800 A <15 <4.5
2 800 to < 1200 B 15 to < 24 4.5 to < 6
3 1200 to < 1800 C 24 to < 36 6 to < 9
4  1800 D 36 to < 52 9 to < 14
- - E 52 to < 65 9 to < 14
- - F 65 to < 80 14 to < 16
 An airport which is designated to accommodate a Boeing 767-200 with an outer main
gear wheel span of width 34 ft 3 in (10.44 m), a wingspan of 156 ft 1 in (48 m), at a
maximum takeoff weight of 317,000 lb requiring a runway length of about 6000 ft (1830
m) at sea level on a standard day, would be classified by ICAO with an airdrome
reference code 4-D.
 There is an approximate correspondence between the airport reference code of FAA and
the aerodrome reference code of ICAO.
 FAA’s aircraft approach category of A, B, C, and D are approximately the same as the
ICAO aerodrome code numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
 FAA’s aircraft design groups of I, II, III, IV, and V approximately correspond to ICAO
aerodrome code letters A, B, C, D, and E.
 Utility Airport is defined as an airport which is designed, constructed, and maintained to
accommodate approach category A and B aircraft.
 Transport Airport is defined as an airport which is designed, constructed, and maintained
to accommodate aircraft in approach categories C, D, and E.
RUNWAYS:
 A runway is a rectangular area on the airport surface prepared for the takeoff and landing
of aircraft.
Runway Configurations:
 Runway configuration refers to the number and relative orientations of one or more
runways on an airfield.

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 Many runway configurations exist and most configurations are combinations of several
basic configurations.
 Basic runway configurations:
 Single runways,
 Parallel runways,
 Intersecting runways, and
 Open-V runways (or) Non-intersecting runways.
 Single Runway:
 Simplest of the runway configurations.

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 Hourly capacity of a single runway in VFR conditions is between 50 and 100

operations per hour and 50 to 70 operations per hour in IFR conditions depending
on the composition of the aircraft mix and navigational aids available.
 Parallel Runways:
 Capacities of the parallel runway systems depend on the number of runways and
on the spacing between the runways.
 Two, three, and four parallel runways are common.

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  Runways are classified based on spacing between the parallel runways as close,
intermediate, and far.
 Close parallel runways are spaced from a minimum of 700 ft to less than 2500 ft.
 Intermediate parallel runways are spaced between 2500 ft to less than 4300 ft.
 Far parallel runways are spaced at least 4300 ft apart.
 The taxiing distance can be reduced if the terminal building is located in between
the parallel runways.
 If the terminal buildings are placed between parallel runways, runways are always
spaced far to allow room for the buildings, apron, and taxiways.
 For four parallel runways, each pair is spaced close, but the pairs are spaced far to
provide space for terminal buildings.
 Hourly capacity of a pair of parallel runways in VFR conditions is between 60 and
200 operations per hour depending on the aircraft mix and the manner in which
arrivals and departures on these runways.
 In IFR conditions, the hourly capacity of a pair of closely spaced parallel runways
ranges from 50 to 60 operations per hour, of a pair of intermediate parallel
runways from 60 to 75 operations per hour, and for a pair of far parallel runways
from 100 to 125 operations per hour.
 Intersecting Runways:
 Many airports have two or more runways in different directions crossing each
other, called as intersecting runways.

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 Intersecting runways are necessary when relatively strong winds occur from more
than one direction.
 When the winds are strong, only one runway can be used, reducing the capacity of
the airfield.
 If the winds are relatively light, both runways can be used simultaneously.
 The capacity of two intersecting runways depends on:
o Location of the intersection (midway or near the ends),
o Manner in which the runways are operated for takeoffs and landings,
referred as runway use strategy, and
o Aircraft mix.
 The capacity will be maximum when the intersection point is near the runway end
and decreases as it approaches towards the centre of the runways.

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 Open-V Runways (or) Non-intersecting Runways:
 Runways in different directions which do not intersect are called open-V runways.

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 Similar to the intersecting runways, when the winds are strong from one direction,
only one runway can be used, reducing the capacity of the airfield.
 When the winds are light, both the runways can be used simultaneously.
 The strategy which yields the highest capacity is when operations are away from
the V and is referred to as a diverging pattern.
 When the operations are towards the V, it is referred to as a converging pattern.
Runway Orientation:
 The orientation of a runway is defined by the direction, relative to magnetic north, of the
operations performed by aircraft on the runway.
 Typically (not always) runways are oriented in such a manner that they may be used in
either direction.
 Runways are oriented based on the wind conditions prevailing in the area.
 The primary runway at an airport should be oriented as closely as possible in the direction
of the prevailing winds.
 FAA recommends that runways should be oriented so that aircraft may be landed at least
95 percent of the time with allowable crosswind components not exceeding specified
limits based upon the airport reference code associated with the critical aircraft that has
the shortest wingspan or slowest approach speed.
 When the wind coverage is less than 95 percent a crosswind runway is recommended.
 The allowable crosswind is:
 10.5 kn for airport reference codes A-I and B-I,
 13 kn for A-II and B-II,
 16 kn for A-III, B-III, C-I, C-II, C-III and C-IV, and
 20 kn for A-IV to D-VI.
 ICAO specifies that runways should be oriented so that aircraft may be landed at least 95
percent of the time with crosswind components of:

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  20 kn for runways lengths of  1500 m,
 13 kn for runway lengths between 1200 and 1500 m, and
 10 kn for runway lengths < 1200 m.
 Once the maximum permissible crosswind component is selected, the most desirable
direction of runways for wind coverage can be determined by examination of the average
wind characteristics at the airport under the following conditions:
 Entire wind coverage regardless of visibility or cloud ceiling (represents entire
range of visibility from excellent to very poor referred to as all weather condition),
 Wind conditions when ceiling is at least 1000 ft and visibility is at least 3 mi
(represents the range of good visibility conditions not requiring the use of
instruments for landing, termed VMC), and
 Wind conditions when ceiling is between 200 and 1000 ft and/or the visibility is
between ½ and 3 mi (represents poor visibility requiring the use of instruments for
landing, termed IMC).
The Wind Rose:
 Wind rose consists of a series of concentric circles cut by radial lines using polar
coordinate graph paper wherein the wind data (direction, duration, and intensity) are
graphically represented by a diagram called wind rose.
 Wind data should be collected for a period of at least 5 years (10 years preferable).
 Typical wind data is shown below:
Duration of wind, %
Wind direction Total in each direction %
6.4 to 25 kmph 25 to 40 kmph 40 to 60 kmph
N 7.4 2.7 0.2 10.3
NNE 5.7 2.1 0.3 8.1
NE 2.4 0.9 0.6 3.9
ENE 1.2 0.4 0.2 1.8
E 0.8 0.2 0.0 1.0
ESE 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.4
SE 4.3 2.8 0.0 7.1
SSE 5.5 3.2 0.0 8.7
S 9.7 4.6 0.0 14.3
SSW 6.3 3.2 0.5 10.0
SW 3.6 1.8 0.3 5.7
WSW 1.0 0.5 0.1 1.6
W 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.5
WNW 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.3
NW 5.3 1.9 0.0 7.2
NNW 4.0 1.3 0.3 5.6
Total 86.50 %
 Percentage of time during which wind intensity is less than 6.4 kmph = 100 – 86.50 =
13.5% and this period is called calm period and does not influence the operation of
landing or take-off because of low wind intensity.

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 Wind rose diagrams can be plotted in two types: (i) Type I: showing direction and
duration of wind, and (ii) Type II: showing direction, duration and intensity of wind.
 Type I Wind Rose:
 The radial lines indicate the wind direction and each circle represents the duration
of the wind.

 The total percentage of time in a year during which the wind blows from north
direction is 10.3% and this value is plotted along the north direction.
 Similarly other values are also plotted along the respective directions.
 All plotted points are then joined by straight lines.
 The best direction of runway is along the direction of the longest line on the wind
rose diagram.
 The best orientation of runway is along NS direction.
 If deviation of wind direction is permissible up to (22.5 + 11.25) from the
direction of landing and take-off, the percentage of time in a year during which
the runway can safely be used for landing and take-off can be obtained by
summing the percent of time along NNW, N, NNE, SSE, S, and SSW directions
(57% in the example).
 Calm period (percentage of time during which wind intensity is less than 6.4
kmph) is added to the above period.
 Total time = 57% + 13.5% = 70.5%.
 This type of wind rose does not account for the effect of cross wind component.

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 Type II Wind Rose:
 Each circle represents the wind intensity to some scale.
 The values in each segment represent the percent of time in a year during which
the wind with particular intensity blows from the respective direction.

 Draw three equidistant parallel lines on a tracing paper in such a way that the
distance between the centre line and the adjacent line is equal to the permissible
cross wind component.
 Distance is measured on same scale with which the wind rose diagram is drawn.
 The permissible cross wind component in this case is 25 kmph.
 Place the tracing paper over the wind rose diagram in such a manner that the
centre line passes through the centre of the wind rose.
 Rotate the tracing paper about the centre of the wind rose such that the sum of all
the values indicating the duration of wind within the two outer parallel lines is
maximum.
 Runway should be oriented along the direction indicated by the centre line.
 Fractional areas are determined by judgement to the nearest decimal place.

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 Maximum wind coverage = 13.50% (calm period) + (7.4 + 5.7 + 2.4 + 1.2 + 0.8 +
0.3 + 4.3 + 5.5 + 9.7 + 6.3 + 3.6 + 1.0 + 0.4 + 0.2 + 5.3 + 4.0 + 2.7 + 2.1 + 0.5 +
0.1 + 0.03 + 2.1 + 3.2 + + 4.6 + 3.2 + 1.13 + 0.3 + 0.02 + 1.5 + 1.3 + 0.2 + 0.2 +
0.0 + 0.3 + 0.25) = 96.50%.
 If the coverage provided by a single runway is not sufficient, two or more
runways are required in such a manner that the total coverage provided by them is
is as required.
 Example: For the wind rose diagram shown below, the permissible cross wind
component is 25 kmph. Determine the calm period, the best direction of runway
and the wind coverage. If another runway is to be placed at right angles to the
above runway, determine the total wind coverage.

 Calm period is percent of time during which wind intensity is less than 6 kmph =
100 – (7.8 + 4.8 + 3.7 + 1.5 + 2.3 + 2.4 + 5.0 + 6.4 + 7.3 + 4.4 + 2.6 + 1.6 + 3.1 +
1.9 + 5.8 + 4.8 + 4.9 + 1.3 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.3 + 0.4 + 1.1 + 3.2 + 7.7 + 2.2 + 0.9 +
0.1 + 0.4 + 0.3 + 2.6 + 2.4 + 0.3 + 0.1 + 0.2 + 0.2) = 5.8%.
 Runway oriented along 150 - 330 line gives maximum wind coverage as
obtained by summing the data within the two outer parallel lines drawn on the
tracing paper.

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  N = 5.67%, NNE = 3.85%, NE = 1.50%, ENE = 2.50%, E = 2.40%, ESE = 5.80%,
SE = 9.60%, SSE = 15.0%, S = 6.0%, SSW = 2.62%, SW = 1.60%, WSW =
3.10%, W = 1.95%, WNW = 7.1%, NW = 7.35%, and NNW = 13.0%.
 Sum = 89.04%.
 Add calm period of 5.8%.
 The required wind coverage = 89.04% + 5.8% = 94.84%.
 Alternatively, one can obtain the above solution by summing the percentage
outside the parallel lines as: N = 0.38%, NNE = 0.60%, NE = 0.10%, ENE =
0.30%, E = 0.32%, ESE = 0.30%, SE = 0.0%, SSE = 0.0%, S = 0.44%, SSW =
0.75%, SW = 0.1%, WSW = 0.4%, W = 0.25%, WNW = 1.5%, NW = 0.05%, and
NNW = 0.0%.
 Sum = 5.49%.
 Required wind coverage = 100% – 5.49% = 94.51%.
 If another runway is placed at right angles to the previous runway, it would give
an additional wind coverage = 0.21% + 0.40% + 0.10% + 0.42% + 0.40% +
0.10% + 0.30% + 0.20% = 2.13%.
 Total wind coverage using both the runways = 94.51% + 2.13% = 96.64%.
Estimating Runway Length:
 The length of a runway is critical for the safe landing and takeoff of an aircraft.
 The required runway length depends on the aircraft size and also the ambient conditions.
 FAA’s procedure for estimating runway length is based on the following data:
 Designation of a critical aircraft.
 Maximum takeoff weight of the critical aircraft at the airport.
 The airport elevation.
 The mean daily maximum temperature for the hottest month at the airport.
 The maximum difference in elevation along the runway centreline.
 For the purpose of estimating runway length requirements, FAA groups aircraft by
MGTOW.
 Aircraft Less Than 12,500 lb MGTOW:
 Critical aircraft less than or equal to 12,500 lb MGTOW are considered small.
 Design runway length is based on the aircraft’s reference approach speed (Vref).
 Aircrafts with Vref < 30 kn are considered short takeoff and landing (STOL)
aircraft. The design runway length for STOL aircraft is 300 ft (92 m) at sea level.
For airports at elevation above sea level, the design runway length is 300 ft plus
0.03 ft for every foot above sea level.
 For aircraft with 30  Vref < 50 kn, the design runway length at sea level is 800 ft
(244 m). For airports at elevation above sea level, the design runway length is 800
ft plus 0.08 ft for every foot above sea level.
 For aircraft with Vref  50 kn, the design runway length is based on the number of
passenger seats in the aircraft.
 For aircrafts with less than 10 passenger seats, following figure is used where two
sets of curves, one representing “95 percent of fleet” to be used at airports serving

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 small communities, and one representing “100 percent of fleet” to be used at
airports near large metropolitan areas.

Smaller Aircrafts with less than 10 passenger seats

 For aircrafts with 10 or more passenger seats at elevation 3000 ft AMSL or less,
the following figure is used.
 At airports at elevation greater than 3000 ft AMSL, previous figure with “100
percent of fleet” is used.

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 Smaller Aircrafts with 10 or more passenger seats
 Aircraft Greater Than 12,500 lb But Less Than or Equal to 60,000 lb MGTOW:
 For aircraft greater than 12,500 lb but less than or equal to 60,000 lb MGTOW,
the critical aircraft is located on a Table (not shown here) with “75 percent of
fleet” require less than 5000 ft of runway or a Table (not shown here) with “100
percent of fleet” require 5000 ft or more of runway.
 For the design aircraft, a “useful load” of either 60 or 90 percent is selected.
 A 60 percent useful load represents the condition where the critical aircraft
typically operates at 60 percent load factors, or performs shorter range operations,
requiring less fuel, while a 90 percent useful load represents the condition where
the critical aircraft typically operates at 90 percent load factors, or performs long
range operations.
 The runway lengths determined from the following figures are adjusted for any
non-level runway gradient.
 The runway length is increased by 10 ft for every foot in elevation difference
between the lowest point and highest point on the runway.

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Seventy-five percent of fleet at 60 or 90 percent useful load

Hundred percent of fleet at 60 or 90 percent useful load

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 Aircraft Greater Than 60,000 lb MGTOW:
 Runway lengths are estimated based on the specific performance specifications of
the critical aircraft.
 Performance charts are used to determine the aircraft’s required runway lengths
for both takeoff and landing, based on the aircraft’s operating configuration, its
estimated weight during takeoff and landing, the airport elevation, and the average
high temperature during the hottest month.
 Problem: Consider an airport with elevation 1000 ft AMSL and mean daily maximum
temperature of the hottest month of 84 F, is planning for a new runway to be designed
for the Boeing 737-900 aircraft, equipped with Pratt & Whitney CFM56-7B27 engines.
At the airport a runway gradient of 20 ft is projected. According to the performance
specification chart in the Boeing 737-900 airport planning manual, the maximum design
landing weight for the aircraft is 146,300 lb and the maximum design takeoff weight is
174,200 lb.

Boeing 737-900 General Aircraft Characteristics

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Landing runway length for Boeing 737-900 (CFM56-7B27 Engines, 40 Flaps)
 First, estimation of required runway length for landing is performed using the
landing runway length performance chart for the aircraft.
 The design runway length for landing is estimated by considering wet runway
conditions.
 If a landing runway length performance chart does not include wet runway
conditions, the design runway length is estimated as the runway length found
under dry runway conditions, plus 15 percent.
 A vertical line is drawn from the base of the horizontal axis at the location of the
maximum design landing weight (146,300 lb), up to an interpolated point between

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 the sea level and 2000 ft (to represent the airport’s 1000 ft elevation) wet runway
curves, and then a horizontal line is drawn to the vertical axis, where the estimated
required runway length may be found.
 The estimated runway length for landing is approximately 6600 ft.
 These charts are designed for level runways.
 An adjustment for runway gradient must be made by adding 10 ft of runway
length for every foot of runway gradient.
 The runway gradient in this example is 20 ft.
 Adjusted runway length for landing = 6600 + 200 = 6800 ft.

Takeoff runway length for Boeing 737-900 (CFM56-7B27 Engines)

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  Second, estimation of required runway length for takeoff is performed using the
takeoff runway length performance chart for the aircraft.
 An aircraft may have multiple takeoff performance charts for different average
high temperatures.
 The chart associated with the temperature nearest to the airport’s average high
during the hottest month is used.
 A vertical line is drawn from the base of the horizontal axis at the location of the
maximum design takeoff weight (174,200 ft), up to an interpolated point between
the sea level and 2000 ft curves, and then a horizontal line is drawn to the vertical
axis, where the estimated required runway length for takeoff may be found.
 The estimated runway length for takeoff is approximately 8800 ft.
 Adjusted runway length considering the runway gradient = 8800 + 200 = 9000 ft.
 For design purpose, the design runway length is the longer of the required runway
lengths for landing and takeoff.
 The design runway length for this example is 9000 ft.
Runway System Geometric Specifications:
 The runway system at an airport consists of the structural pavement, the shoulders, the
blast pad, the runway safety area, various obstruction free surfaces, and the runway
protection zone.

Runway systems dimensions

 The runway structural pavement supports the aircraft with respect to structural load,
manoeuvrability, control, stability, and other operational and dimensional criteria.
 The shoulder adjacent to the edges of the structural pavement resists jet blast erosion and
accommodates maintenance and emergency equipment.
 The blast pad is an area designed to prevent erosion of the surfaces adjacent to the ends of
runways due to jet blast or propeller wash.
 The runway safety area (RSA) is an area surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for
reducing the risk of damage to aircraft in the event of undershoot, overshoot, or excursion
from the runway.

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