UNITED KINGDOM CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY

NOTICE TO AERODROME LICENCE HOLDERS

Aerodrome Standards Department, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR

6/2008
AIRCRAFT CLASSIFICATION NUMBERS ON FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS: REVISED ALPHA FACTOR VALUES

INTRODUCTION 1 The alpha factor, or pavement thickness reduction factor, is used to take into account the effect of aircraft landing gear geometry in computing pavement design curves for flexible pavements 1 . Following the introduction into service of large transport aircraft with 6-wheel main landing gear units, research has been carried out by the FAA and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to determine their effects on aerodrome pavements. Currently ICAO Annex 14 Aerodromes, Volume 1, specifies that the Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) of an aircraft shall be determined in accordance with the procedures associated with the Aircraft Classification Number Pavement Classification Number (ACN-PCN) method that is detailed in the ICAO Aerodrome Design Manual, Part 3.

PURPOSE 3 The purpose of this NOTAL is to inform Aerodrome Licence Holders of the revised alpha factor values to take account of the effects on pavements of large aircraft with 6-wheel main landing gears.

SCOPE 4 The contents of this NOTAL apply to all UK licensed aerodromes that use the ACNPCN method of pavement classification.

Flexible pavements. Those which are surfaced with bituminous or asphalt materials. These types of pavements are called "flexible" since the total pavement structure "bends" or "deflects" due to traffic loads. A flexible pavement structure is generally composed of several layers of materials that can accommodate this "flexing".

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DISCUSSION 5 Research has been carried out by several states on behalf of ICAO, monitored by the ICAO Aerodrome Operations and Services Working Group, of which the UK CAA is a member. The research findings indicate that the original pavement design theories could not correctly predict the behaviour of soils and materials under the pavement when the design curves for dual-tandem landing gears were extrapolated for aircraft with 6-wheel main landing gears. Additionally, there was a lack of data points on the original alpha factor curves, which led to predictions of higher stresses in the pavement, whereas the additional set of wheels were intended to better distribute the load. ICAO published an alpha factor of 0.72 to be used by aircraft manufacturers for aircraft with 6-wheel main landing gears when these aircraft entered service in the mid 1990s. This factor of 0.72 was published as an interim value pending the completion of full-scale pavement tests to determine accurate values. The results of full-scale pavement tests conducted have now been reviewed by the Aerodromes Panel and accepted by ICAO, which has agreed revised alpha factor values, as detailed below: a) b) c) change the alpha factor value from the current 0.825 to 0.80 for aircraft with four-wheels per main landing gear; retain the alpha factor value at 0.72 for aircraft with 6-wheel main landing gears; and change the alpha factors for other main landing gear configurations so that the ranking of the damaging effect remains consistent.

REVISED ALPHA FACTOR VALUES 7 The full table of revised alpha factor values is shown below: Number of Wheels (per landing gear) 1 2 4 6 8 12 18 24 Original Alpha Factor 0.995 0.900 0.825 0.788 0.755 0.722 0.700 0.689 Revised Alpha Factor 0.995 0.900 0.800 0.720 0.690 0.660 0.640 0.630

IMPLEMENTATION 8 Aerodrome Licence Holders may apply the revised alpha factors when undertaking developments involving pavement refurbishment or replacement. Aircraft manufacturers have been requested to revise the ACN values for their respective aircraft types on various pavement subgrade categories. Refer to the guidance material in the ICAO Aerodrome Design Manual (Doc 9157), Part 3, Table A5-1.

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QUERIES 10 Any queries or further guidance required on the subject of alpha factors should be submitted by email to the Head of Aerodrome Standards Department at the following email address: aerodromes@caa.co.uk

May 2008

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The following NOTALs remain effective:

1/92 1/93 1/97 5/02 2/03 5/04 6/04 5/05 6/05 2/06 3/06 5/06 7/06 8/06 9/06 10/06 1/07 2/07 3/07 4/07 5/07 6/07 7/07 1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 Procedure for the Issue of Notice to Aerodrome Licence Holders (Revised) Helicopter Wake Vortex Safeguarding the View from Visual Control Rooms Issue of Authorisations to Non-CAA Personnel Requirements for Code F Facilities and the Introduction of A380 Aircraft Operations Rescue and Fire Fighting Services Remission The Introduction of Combined Licensed Aerodrome and Air Traffic Control Service Safety Audits Changes to Bird Control Measures Under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 & The Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) Used In Markings, Aeronautical Ground and Obstacle Lighting Systems Operations by Aircraft Deploying Brake Chutes Naming of Aerodromes Notified in Aeronautical Information Delethalisation of Structures in a Runway Cleared and Graded Area Dangerous Goods Issues Relevant to an Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) Initiation of Low Visibility Procedures Due to Low Cloud Ceiling Winter Operations Operational Trials Runway Incursions (Revised Definition) Assuring the Safety of Operations with Reduced Runway Length Available Submission of Required Documents in Electronic Form Introduction of RNAV (GNSS) Instrument Approach Operations New Style Aerodrome/Heliport and Aircraft Parking/Docking Charts in the UK Aeronautical Information Publication UK Implementation of Aerodrome Movement Area Hot Spots Calibration of Runway Visual Range (RVR) Assessment Using Human Observers Blast Pads and Runway Ends On-Aerodrome Development Aerodrome Boundaries RFFS Category Special Aerodromes, Initial Emergency Responder Transport of Bio Diesel in Multi-Product Pipelines