Airport

Airport
Aircrafts, helicopter- land and take of
Maintenance
Storage

Components
Runway
Terminal Building
Apron
Taxiway
Aircraft stand
Hanger
Control tower
Parking

Runway
Where aircrafts land and take of
Special marking- pilot
Runway numbers are given- eg 36 , 18 etc
More number of runways- R,C,L

Runway

Terminal buildings
Passengers- wait, board ,
Custom clearance
Luggage
Cafes, lounge, bars
Ticket counter
Large airports may have more than one terminal

Apron
Aircrafts park
Depending on size of the aircraft
Vehicles are allowed
Safety is critical

Taxiway
Taxiway ramps, hangers, terminal buildings,

Hanger
Servicing of aircrafts

Control tower
Tower- radio communication, ILS, etc

Layout ex

Cont.

Regional Plan

Regional planning
Airport- national interest
Seriously impair the efective air transport
Avoids creation of separate airport by individual jurisdictions
The regional plan usually provides the following information:
1. Approximate location of airports in national map
2. Classification of airport
3. Location of air strips
4. Routes of air travel

 The following data needs to be collected for a

scientific and sound planning on regional basis
1. Population
2. Topographical and geographical features
3. Existing airports in the vicinity
4. Air traffic characterisitics

The Site
Selection

 The selection of a suitable site

for an airport depends upon the
class
of
airport
under
consideration.
The site-selection process for
l a r g e a i r p o r t s c a n t a ke m a n y
months; in some notable cases
it
has
extended
over
many
years.
The
procedure
is
complicated by the number of
f a c t o r s t h a t m u s t b e t a ke n i n t o
account.

The factors listed below are for the selection

of a suitable site for a major airport
installation:

Operational Capability
The operational capability of the
site is assessed, particularly with
respect to weather conditions
such as wind, snow, ice, fog, and
low visibility and also with respect
to obstructions to air navigation
around the airport, particularly on
the approach and takeoff paths.

 Regional plan

The site selected should fit well

into the regional plan there by
forming it an integral part of
the national network of airport.

 Airport use

The selection of site depends

upon the use of an airport.
Whether for civilian or for
military
operations.
However
during the emergency civilian
airports are taken over by the
defense. Therefore the airport
site selected should be such that
it provides natural protection to
the area from air roads.

 Proximity to other airport

the site should be selected at a

considerable distance from the
existing airports so that the
aircraft landing in one airport
does not interfere with the
movement of aircraft at other
airport. The required separation
between
the
airports
mainly
depends upon the volume of air

 Ground accessibility

the site should be so selected that it is

readily accessible to the users. The airline
passenger is more concerned with his door
to door time rather than the actual time in
air travel. The time to reach the airport is
therefore
an
important
consideration
especially for short haul operations.

 Topography

this includes natural features

like
ground
contours
trees
streams etc. A raised ground a
hill top is usually considered to
be an ideal site for an airport.

 Obstructions

when aircraft is landing or

taking off it loses or gains
altitude
very
slowly
as
compared
to
the
forward
speed. For this reason long
clearance areas are provided
on either side of runway known
as approach areas over which
the aircraft can safely gain or

 Visibility

poor visibility lowers the traffic

capacity of the airport. The site
selected should therefore be free from
visibility reducing conditions such as
fog smoke and haze. Fog generally
settles in the area where wind blows
minimum in a valley.

 Noise nuisance

the extent of noise nuisance depends upon

the climb out path of aircraft type of engine
propulsion and the gross weight of aircraft.
The problem becomes more acute with jet
engine aircrafts. Therefore the site should
be so selected that the landing and take of
paths of the aircrafts pass over the land
which is free from residential or industrial
developments.

 Grading, drainage and soil

characteristics

grading and drainage play an

important role in the construction
and maintenance of airport which
in
turn
influences
the
site
selection. The original ground
profile of a site together with any
grading operations determines
the shape of an airport area and
the
general
pattern
of
the
drainage system. The possibility
of floods at the valley sites should

 Future development

considering that the air traffic

volume will continue to increase in
future more member of runways
may have to be provided for an
increased traffic.
availability of utilities from town
economic consideration

Aircraft
characteristics
afecting the
design of airport

Type of Propulsion
Size
Circling radius
Speed
Weight
Noise
Basic runway length

Size of aircraft
Wing span-width of taxiway, separation between two
parallel trafficways, size of apron and hanger
Length extra widening at curver(taxiway), apron and
hanger
Height- hanger
Wheel base- minimum circling radius

Minimum turining radius

Ground- taxiway radius, apron design

Minimum circling radius

1.
2.
3.
4.

Small general aviation aircrafts

Bigger aircrafts say two piston
Piston engine aircraft under IFR
Jet enginer aircrafts under IFR

= 1.6 km
= 3.2 km
=13 km
= 80 km

Speed of aircrafts
Cruising speed
Air speed

Aircraft capacity
Capacity of runway
Capacity of terminal building

Weight of aircraft and wheel

configuration
Weight length of runway, thickness of pavement

Jet blast
Hot gases 300 kmph
Discomfort to passengers
Jet blast deflectors , blast fences

Noise
Minimum efect on surroundings