Airport Runway Location and Orientation

Airport Runway Location and Orientation

Dr. Antonio Traniwith contributions by Julio Roa and Osama Alsalous

Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringVirginia Tech

Air Transportation Systems Laboratory 2

The following factors should be considered in locating and orienting a runway:

• Wind

• Airspace availability

• Environmental factors (noise, air and water quality)

• Obstructions to navigation

• Air traffic control visibility

• Wildlife hazards

Read Chapter 2 of FAA AC/150-5300-13 for more information about each topic.

Runway Location Considerations


Each aircraft has a uniquely stated maximum crosswind component (derived from flight test experiments)

• A Boeing 727-200 (approach group C) has a maximum demonstrated wind component of 35 knots

• A cessna 172 (a single engine aircraft falling in approach speed group A) has a maximum demonstrated crosswind component of 17 knots

The challenge for the designer is to accommodate all of the aircraft using the facility in a reliable and reasonable manner

Demonstrated Wind Conditions


Wind is reported on an azimuthal basis as shown belowReporting Wind Conditions

w = 15 knots

45°West 270°

North 0°

East 90°

South 180°

Windfrom315°at15knots


Wind is reported on an azimuthal basis as shown belowSample Crosswind Computation

North

East

Runway 27

NOTE: Winds are always reported with respect to the magnetic North (in ATC transmissions)


• Read Chapter 2 of FAA AC 150/5300-13 or Aerodrome Design Manual (Volume 1 for ICAO standards)

• Employ the most critical aircraft expected to operate in the airfield (in this context the most critical is the largest

• Employ the most critical aircraft expected to operate in the airfield (in this context the most critical is the largest aircraft)

• Provide a runway (or runways) orientation that satisfies 95% coverage (i.e., crosswinds below a critical value) considering multiple year wind conditions

• If one runway does not meet the 95% criteria design a second crosswind runway

Design Criteria (FAA and ICAO)


Recognizing that each aircraft has unique maximum demonstrated crosswind characteristics the FAA (and ICAO as well) set a low value for crosswind design criteria.

FAA Crosswind Design Criteria

Source:Table3.1ofFAAAC150/5300-13A


ICAO has two aerodrome classifications shown in the table below.ICAO Airport Codes

ICAOAerodromeDesignandOperations(Volume1)


Similar to the FAA criteria in many ways but simpler (only three design values - instead of four).

ICAO Crosswind Design Criteria

Forairportsthatexperiencepoorbrakingactionwithregularfrequencyuse13knotsinsteadof20knots.


Collect wind data from a reliable source:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Data Service (EDS)

• The EDS's National Climatic in Asheville, North Carolina

• The wind data is usually available for hundreds of stations across the U.S.

• Ironically, Blacksburg has a National Weather Service station but EDS does not have a record of us!

• Carefully use weather record from two or more nearby stations if wind data is not readily available at the proposed airport site (be very careful of local weather effects)

Data Sources


For mountainous terrain with data without wind data, the use of nearby stations is of questionable value

• Take one year of wind data if possible

• Several automated reporting systems exist at airports that can be used for this purpose

AWOS - Automated Weather Observation System

• The data available from NOAA usually includes 10-15 years (daily observations)

• Use 5-10 years of data for airport planning purposes (except when you are collecting the data yourself)

WindData Sources


Sample Wind Data (Electronic Format)

Air Transportation Systems Laboratory

Issue About Wind Data• Unless noted, wind directions are always

reported with respect to the true North (0/360 degrees

• 0/360 true North

• 090 deg. is East

• 180 deg. is South

• and 360 deg. is North again

• When no specifications is given to you, assume True North directions

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• A clever way to portray all wind data in a graphical template

• Used to estimate the percent of time wind coverage satisfies a threshold crosswind value

• The wind rose is just a graphical way to decompose wind vector data

• The wind rose is populated with percentages derived from wind observations

• Wind rose is part of the data provided in the Airport Layout Plan (ALP)

Wind Rose Analysis


Wind Rose Template

The Wind Rose contains the percent of the time the wind blows from a narrow set of azimuthal directions and within a range of wind speeds

Rectangulartemplateindicatescriticalcrosswindstrength(16knotsshown)

RunwayOrientation(352degreesshown)


Sample Wind Rose with Data

Example:0.6%ofthetime,thewinddirectionisfrom125-115degreesanditsstrengthbetween11-16knots.

10knotwindspeedarc

16knotwindspeedarc

285-295degreewindwedge


Wind Rose Coverage (Single Runway)

20knotcrosswind(99.73%) 10knotcrosswind(92.98%)

20knots 10knots


Principle of Why the Wind Rose Works

• The wind rose is a clever way to decompose wind vectors

• The Wind Rose determines the cross wind component for a given wind direction and speed

• If the “wedge” of wind is covered by the rectangular template, the cross wind is below the critical crosswind used to draw the rectangle

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16knots


Principle of Why the Wind Rose Works

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RunwayOrientation

Crosswindcomponentofaveragewindvectoriscontainedbythe10knotrectangularboundary(hencecovered)

Averagewindvector:a) 25-35degreesb) 11-16knots

crosswindmagnitudeis:Wc=(13.5knots)sin(38deg)=8.31knots


Obtaining Wind Data from National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

1. Gotohttp://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/CDO/dataproduct2. Select“GlobalClimateStationSummaries”fromtheDataSet/Product

Options3. Click“accessdata”4. Agreetotheterms5. Select“unitedstates”fromcountrymenu,clickcontinue6. SelectState,andclick“selectedstationsinthestate”,thencontinue7. Alistofavailablestationsopens,choosethedesiredairport,click

continue8. Selectdaterangebyspecifyingthenumberofyears(recommended)or

byselectingcustomrange.


Obtaining Wind Data from National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)


Select the Summary Type Wanted (5, 10, 20 year period)


Select the Summary Type (Wind Speed / Direction)

1.Finalizetheorderbyenteringyouremailaddress,clicksubmit.Anotificationwillbesentwhenthefileisready.2.Theemailcontainslinkstothetextfile,italsoincludesalinktoviewthedatainyourbrowseraswellasgraphicalpresentationoftheWindRose.


Table Depictionof Wind Rose Data from NCDC

Virginia Tech - Air Transportation Systems Laboratory

Definitions of the NCDC Data

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Graphical Depictionof Wind Rose Data from NCDC

Notes:● Thefileexpiresafteraweek.● FilesareformattedandreadytobeuploadedtotheFAAWindRosejavatoolat:https://airports-gis.faa.gov/airportsgis/publicToolbox/windroseForm.jsp


Another Way to Get Wind Data (FAA Wind Rose Weather Link)

• FAA dedicated web site to obtain wind data (all data provided by NOAA)

• https://airports-gis.faa.gov/windRose/

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Available at: https://airports-gis.faa.gov/agis/publicToolbox/windroseForm.jsp

Wind Rose Java Tool at FAA Website


Soliciting Access to Airport Tools (FAA)

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https://adip.faa.gov/agis/public/#/registration


FAA ADIP Portal Tool

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https://adip.faa.gov/agis/portal/#/portal


FAA ADIP Wind Rose Tool

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FAA ADIP Portal Tool

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San Diego Data

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https://www.airnav.com/airport/KSAN

Remember:Wind is reportedusing True Heading

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San Diego results with no Tailwind

Select the true headingof the runway

Select the maximum crosswind component allowed

Select the tailwind component


San Diego results with 5 knot Tailwind

27g

Select the true headingof the runway

Select the maximum crosswind component allowed

Select the tailwind component5 knots in this case


San Diego All Weather Wind Rose with no Tailwind

27h

Departures on runway 27Arrivals on runway 27


San Diego All Weather Wind Rose with 5 knot Tailwind

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Departures on runway 27Arrivals on runway 27


San Diego All Weather Wind Rose with 60 knot Tailwind (bidirectional)

27j

Departures on runway 27 and 9Arrivals on runway 27 and 9


Wind Rose Java Tool (Modes)• Can be used in manual mode

• Can be used by uploading a wind file (called a PRN file downloaded from NCDC web site)

• The later method is obviously preferred but if your proposed airport site does not have data, the first method will apply.

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TouploadwinddataobtainedfromNCDC


Example Problem:Using Abilene Texas Municipal Airport Wind Data

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Example: Abilene Municipal Airport• Suppose we would

like to know the wind situation for the existing airport

• The idea is to estimate the percent of time each runway can be used

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source:FAA2015

Assume:Criticalaircraftfor17R/35L=D-IIICriticalaircraftfor04/22=B-II


Abilene Municipal Airport

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source:FAA2015

Source:airnav.com AssumeCrosswindWindDesignComponentis16knots(forFAAAircraftDesignGroupC-III)


Magnetic Variation• A definition (Wikipedia)

• “Magnetic declination or variation is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic north (the direction the north end of a compass needle points, corresponding to the direction of the Earth's magnetic field lines) and true north (the direction along a meridian towards the geographic North Pole). This angle varies depending on position on the Earth's surface, and changes over time.”

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Source:Wikipedia,2015

IsogonicLines



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source:FAA2015

Source:airnav.comAssumeCrosswindWindDesignComponentis16knots(forFAAAircraftDesignGroupC-III)



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Source:airnav.comAssumeCrosswindWindDesignComponentis13knots(sincethisisasmallrunway)


Example: Abilene Municipal Airport

• Develop a Wind Rose analysis for Abilene Municipal airport

• Collect data from NCDC web site

• Use FAA Java toolbox

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ABIairportwinddata10yearperiod(2004to2013)


AssumewindvectorsaretrueNorthdirections Tworunwaysshown

(sincerunways17-35areparallel)

FAA Wind Rose Java Tool

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NCDCDatadownloadedaccordingtotheprocedurestatedinpreviousslides

60knotsmeanswewanttogetthepercentcoverageforbi-directionalrunways

Totalwindcoverage(%)



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Percentwindcoverage(allruwways)

AssumewindvectorsaretrueNorthdirections



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Some relevant questions:

1. What percent of the time can runways 35L and 35R be used?

2. What percent of time can the full runway 17R/35L be used?

• In the analysis, assume a 5 knot tailwind component is allowed for the operations.



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1. What percent of the time can runways 35L and 35R be used for landings and departures?

Percentwindcoverage(runway35)

5knottailwind

Runway35trueNorthorientation

Runway35designcrosswind



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1. Estimate the percent of the time runways 35L and 35R be used.

Landingandtakeoffdirection(runways35Rand35L)



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Whatpercentoftimecanthefullrunway17R/35Lbeused?Equivalenttothepercentoftimerunways35and17canbeused(bothdirections)

Use60knotstailwindtomakesuchcalculation



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Usingtworunwayorientations17/35and04/22(bi-directionalanalysis)HerewecalculatethewindcoveragefortworunwayorientationsatAbileneMunicipalairport

Note:weincludetworunwaysintheFAAJavatool

PrimaryRunway

CrosswindRunway


Wind Rose Procedure if FAA Site is not Available

• Download the NCDC data per our instructions

• Use the Autocad DXF or DWG file provided to construct a wind rose

• Fill in the NCDC wind summary data into the Autocad wind rose template

• Setup up a rectangular coverage element to estimate the percent of time crosswinds are not covered

• Calculate the wind coverage from the wind rose

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Empty Wind Rose if FAA Site is not Available

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Fill-in Summary Wind Data into Wind Rose

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24.7%

0.4%

SSE is wind from 147 to 168 degrees


Estimate Coverage from Wind Rose

42d

Use your CAD skillsto solve the wind rose problemif the FAA site is notavailable

Count thepercent oftime operationsare not covered

Virginia Tech - Air Transportation Systems Laboratory 42e

Other Sources of Wind Data (Iowa State)

Source: Iowa State University https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/sites/windrose.phtml?network=IL_ASOS&station=ORD

ORD hourly observations (30 years)

Winds from the West, Southwest, and Northeast are more dominant at ORD

Favors West flow for East/West parallels and Southwest flow for crosswind runways (22R and 22L)

https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/sites/windrose.phtml?network=IL_ASOS&station=ORD






Virginia Tech - Air Transportation Systems Laboratory 42f

ORD Nighttime Wind Rose (All Months)

Source: Iowa State University Mesonet Database

Nighttime winds are lighter at ORD

117,478 nighttime hourly observations (30 years of data)

Winds from the West and Southwest are more dominant at ORD

Favors West flow for East/West parallels and Southwest flow for crosswind runways (22R and 22L)


• When you want to know the percent of time a runway is used from both runway ends (bi-direccional analysis), use an artificially high value of tailwind (60 knots)

• Calculates in one step the percent of time the runway is usable from both approaches.

When Do I use a 60 knot Tailwind?


Aircraft are expected to land and takeoff against the wind

• Under some conditions, pilots are allowed to operate with a small tailwind component

• The amount of tailwind varies from airline to airline but is seldom more than 8 knots (relatively small winds)

Implications of taking off with tailwinds

• longer runway length Implications of landing with tailwinds

• Faster approach speeds (i.e., ground speed)

• Longer landing runway requirements

Explanation About Tailwind Allowances


• Pilots may prefer to use a higher precision approach by taking a small tailwind component while landing• Busan (Korea) accident (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020415-0)

• Pilots landing at Kingston, Jamaica prefer runway 12 because it has an ILS approach

• Terrain in one of the approach forces a pilot to take a small tailwind

• For Design of Runway Orientation;• Use 5 knots of tailwind to estimate the percent of time a runway end is used.

Reasons for Tailwind Allowances


Pusan, Korea


Other Features• Wind Rose analyses can be saved in various file formats

including .tbw and .DXF

• PRN files contain wind summary information (can be loaded into the FAA Java tool)

• Wind Rose analysis can be partitioned into VFR and IFR analyses

• This requires information on visibility and ceiling beyond just wind direction and magnitude

• Visibility and ceiling data can be found at various web sites including:

• NOAA

• Weather underground47


• Design the optimal runway orientation for an airport using FAA airport design code D-V

Solution:Step 1:

• Determine the design crosswind component

• D-V requires 20 knots of cross wind component (see FAA AC 150/5300-13)

Example Problem


Step 2:

• Use the Java tool available at the FAA GIS website

• This steps requires that you estimate the percent coverage for each runway orientation

Step 3:

• Find the new coverage for each new runway orientation (say every 5 degrees)

• Create a plot with coverage vs runway orientation Step 4:

• Select the runway orientation that provides the highest coverage

Example Problem (cont.)


Step 5:

• Check is the coverage meets the 95% criteria required by FAA and ICAO

• If the 95% is met you are done

• Otherwise add a second (crosswind) runway repeating steps 1-4 until the 95% criteria is achieved



Old FAA Standalone Program (DOS Application)

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The FAA computer program companion to the AC 5300-13 can be used to study runway orientation coverages.

It requires a text file in a very specific format that contains number of wind observations from various azimuths and winds speeds (similar to the wind rose template described in the previous pages).

Use of FAA Computer Program (AD42.exe)


Sample Data for Computer ProgramUsedtoestimatefullrunwayuseonbothrunwayends(i.e.,bi-directionaluse)


Sample Output of AD42.exe ProgramSampleresultfor2runways

Primaryrunway

Crosswindrunway


Sample Analysis for One Runway End (5-knot tailwind component allowed)


Single Runway End AnalysisRunway End 100° can be used 80.4% of time (allows 5 knot tailwind)


Runway Labels and Nomenclature

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Runway Labels Runway numerals (or labels) are used to uniquely identify runways at airports • Runway labels are assigned based on runway magnetic

heading (divided by 10)

• Example: Roanoke Regional Airport runway 16-34

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Roanoke (ROA) Regional

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ROA Regional Airport Example

• Runway 16 has a magnetic heading of 156 degrees • Runway 16 has a true heading of 148 deg. • ROA has a magnetic variation of 8 degrees West (+)

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Source:airnav.com


Parallel Runways

Two parallel runways • Use Right and Left designations

• Example: 18R and 18L

Three runways • Ideally, use Right, Left and Center designators

• Example: 18R, 18C and 18L (like Charlotte, NC)

• Variation with two close parallels labeled equally, third runway adopts a heading 10 degrees apart (like Phoenix, AZ)

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Example: Charlotte Douglas Airport

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Example: Charlotte Douglas Airport (CLT) (North Carolina)

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Source:GoogleEarth


Example: Phoenix Airport (Phoenix, Arizona)

View of the West Section of the airport

Runway 8

Runways 7L and 7R

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Example: Phoenix Airport (Phoenix, Arizona)

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CloseParallelRunways

NorthRunway

Allrunwayshavethesamerunwayheading(78/258deg.magnetic)

3,600ft(110m)

800ft(244m)

Source:GoogleEarth


Parallel Runways (4 or More)

Four parallel runways • Use Right and Left designations for each close parallel set

• Differentiate each pair using designators separated by 10 degrees

• Example: 08R and 08L and 09R and 09L (like Denver, CO)

For five runways - use the four runway rule + a new designator for the 5th runway (like Atlanta)

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Example: Denver Airport

• Runways 34L and 34R

Runways 35L and 35R

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Example: Atlanta Airport

Runways 09L and 09R

Runways 08L and 08R Runway 10

All runways have similar headings

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Example: Denver Airport (Two Far Away Parallel Runways)

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Airport Runway Location and Orientation

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