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Tutorial

2. From Airfield to Airport Airports were not always known as airports. They wereoriginally called "flying fields". This is because they wereust that, fields. During the early days of aviation, a large

field was needed for airplane operations. A long andequally as wide field was necessary because the airplaneneeded to be oriented into the wind no matter whichdirection the wind was blowing.

Airplanes take off and land more efficiently when orientedinto the wind. To maximize the airplane's potential toachieve the greatest lift in the shortest amount of distanceand time during takeoff, airplanes should be pointed intothe wind. By landing into the wind the ground speed isminimized. This allows the pilot more time to make theadjustments necessary for a smooth touchdown. Groundspeed is a combination of airspeed (the speed provided by the propulsion system's thrust minus some drag) pluswind speed. Therefore if an airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing with a wind that has a speed of 20mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 120 mph (100 mph + 20 mph = 120 mph).Conversely, if the airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing into the wind with a windspeed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 80 mph (100 mph - 20 mph =80 mph). This is helpful to the pilot as the pilot attempts to stall the airplane just above therunway for a smooth landing.

In early aviation times, the takeoff procedure consisted of people moving the airplane to the downwind side of thefield and pointing it into the wind. Early aircraft weredesigned to fly, not move about the ground, so the landinggear of many airplanes were merely skids, not wheels.

After the airplane was checked out to see if everything wasready, the pilot switched on the fuel and the magneto. A helper would turn the propeller by hand while others held

onto the airplane to keep it from moving. When the engine started and the helper who"propped" the plane was out of the way, the airplane was released, bounced awkwardly alongthe field and eventually took off. Since the wind speed and direction varied, a large fieldallowed the airplane to always takeoff and land into the wind. Not until after the 1930s wereairplanes equipped for self-propelled taxiing (move slowly along the ground) and quite a few airports were still large fields.

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Many airports around the country still have the word "Field" in their name. Merrill Field (MRI)in Anchorage, AK, Love Field (DAL) in Dallas, TX and Woodrum Field (ROA) in Roanoke, VA are three airports still referred to as fields.

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3. Airports Today Aircraft and airports have evolved and continue to evolve. In the 1950s airplanes began to havea variety of uses for transportation and business. Airplanes were equipped with steerable tailwheels instead of tail skids so they could operate more easily on the ground. As airplanes gotlarger and heavier it became necessary for airports to have hard surface runways instead of thegrass or gravel fields because such fields could not support the weight of heavier airplanes. (A Boeing 747 can weigh more than 800,000 pounds at takeoff.) Airports eventually began tooffer more services for airplane operators and their increasing number of passengers. A modern large airport today has thousands of workers, accommodates tens of thousands of

passengers, and loads or unloads hundreds of thousands of pounds of baggage and cargo daily.

There are many types of airports that exist today as part of the United States' air transportationsystem. These airports range from a single grass airstrip in an agricultural or rural area to thelarge airports serving major cities. There are seven basic types of airports:1. Rural airstrip2. Private airstrip3. Military airports4. Small community airport5. Regional community airport6. Regional airport7. Major city airport

What separates one from the other depends upon thetypes of services it provides, the size aircraft it serves,the length of the runways with its complementary terminal facilities, and its proximity to a densely populated area.

Not all airports are located near towns and cities.Driving through agricultural regions, a single narrow strip of grass or pavement along the highway couldindicate that there is an aerial operation based there.

These are referred to as rural airstrips. There are several private communities in the UnitedStates with a small, common airstrip where homes with attached hangars allow owners to taxifrom their hangar to a shared runway. An interesting note: in Alaska any public road can beused as a runway, however in the state of New York it is illegal to make an emergency landingon any highway.

Military airstrips or airports areusually restricted to military aircraftusage from flight testing to military

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training routes. These airports aredesigned to handle rotorcraft or fixed wing aircraft. Most of the runways of military airportscan accommodate heavy, wide-body aircraft and have a runway length of 8,000 to 13,000 feet.

Many small communities have single airstripairports where private and small businessairplanes are based. These small community

airports support general aviation flying. Mostof these smaller airports do not have operatingcontrol towers. Often these regionalcommunity airports offer facilities for trainingstudent pilots. A few of these smaller airportsnear remote towns and cities have limitedairline service. These services usually consist of small, propeller airplanes or small, regional jetsthat seat no more than 20 passengers. Theairline service from a small community airportcan provide service to a major city airport and a

regional airport, and also to a regionalcommunity airport.

The regional community airports typically are larger than the small community airports, haveairport control towers, and have facilities for operation in instrument conditions when visibility is poor. Commuter airlines using slightly larger jets (like 727s) provide service from theseairports to other regional community airports, regional airports, and to major city airports.

Regional airports are supported by severalcommunities. Working together these communitiescan have an airport with instrument facilities, a control

tower, and airline service. These airports providepassenger and cargo service on a regular basis andsupport the larger passenger aircraft. The Kingston,NC area airport is the Kingston Regional Jetport atStallings Field, (ISO), and the Tri-cities RegionalTN/VA (TRI) airport is operated by the cities of Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport TN.

Airports can be privately owned or owned by counties,cities, or groups of cities. Some airports are owned by counties or small cities with the costs, profits, and

rewards being shared by the citizens of the county or city. Fulton County-Brown Field (FTY)near Atlanta is a busy airport with all the services offered at major city airports. It has a controltower and instrument landing facilities. Many of these smaller city airports have two or morerunways and facilities for making instrument approaches when the weather causes ceilings and visibilities below authorized minimums.

Airport "size" is usually judged by the number of operations (takeoffs and landings) made eachday. In the United States Chicago-O'Hare International (ORD), Hartsfield (ATL) in Atlanta,and Dallas-Ft. Worth International (DFW) are usually the three largest airports as measured by operations. These major city airports handle most national and international flights and

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support mainly the much larger airliners such as 737s, 747s and 777s. Characteristics of thesemajor city airports include separate terminals for national and international flights, two ormore long runways capable of handling the larger jet airliners, and fully functioning airportcontrol towers with instrument landing capabilities.

In the United States, the primary means of travel between large cities at least 1,000 miles apartis by air. Airliners transport large numbers of passengers and vast quantities of luggage and

freight over great distances in relatively short time frames. The smaller general aviation aircraftprovide passenger and cargo service to the less-populated communities. Overall, airports bring business and industry to every community they support. All airports regardless of their size,provide access to the air transportation network.





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4. Airport Identification A few of the larger airports are commonly referred to by their airport identifiers. In Los Angeles people fly out of L-A-X, that is, Los Angeles International Airport. In New York City,the largest airport is often referred to as J-F-K instead of John F. Kennedy International Airport. In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, people fly in and out of D-F-W.

All airports have an airport identifier. The identifier is actually four letters or a combination of letters and numbers. Since the first letter of all continental United States airports is "K", it isust omitted from the remaining identification letters. For airline luggage tags all identifiers for

all countries have only three letters. If you have flown into any of the destination airports listed below you might recognize the three-letter luggage tag.

SFO - San Francisco InternationalDEN - Denver InternationalMCI - Kansas City InternationalSTL - Lambert-St. Louis InternationalCLE - Cleveland-Hopkins InternationalDCA - Ronald Reagan Washington NationalFFA - First Flight (Kill Devil Hills, NC)

A. Bar codes contain four characters signifying the final destination.

B. Carrier initials(Speedy Flight) and asix-character bag

number are followed by athree-character abbreviation for the finaldestination (FWA = Fort Wayne, Indiana).

C. Final flight listed first,carrier initials, flight numbers, and date for all parts of the journey show

a mini-itinerary. Destinations for initial flights are listed insmaller type (DTW =





Detroit, Michigan).





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5. Airport Layout Aviation is controlled by an agency of the United States' government known as the Federal Aviation Administration or the FAA. This agency mandates identification standards for airportlayout that is meant to assist pilots in easily recognizing runways from the air and to taxi safely from the runway to the gate. From runway numbers and painted stripes to airport and runway lights and signs, the FAA regulates the National Airspace System.

In navigation and surveying, all measurement of direction is performed by using the numbers of a

compass. A compass is a 360° circle where 0/360° isNorth, 90° is East, 180° is South, and 270° is West.Runways are laid out according to the numbers on acompass. A runway's compass direction is indicated by a large number painted at the end of each runway.Preceding that number are 8 white stripes. Followingthat number by 500 feet is the "touchdown zone" whichis identified by 6 white stripes. A runway's number isnot written in degrees, but is given a shorthand format.For example, a runway with a marking of "14" isactually close to (if not a direct heading of) 140 degrees.This is a southeast compass heading. A runway with amarking of "31" has a compass heading of 310 degrees,that is, a northwest direction. For simplicity, the FAA

rounds off the precise heading to the nearest tens. For example, runway 7 might have a preciseheading of 68 degrees, but is rounded off to 70 degrees.

Each runway has a different number on each end. Look at the diagram below. One end of therunway is facing due west while the other end of the runway is facing due east. The compassdirection for due west is 270 degrees ("27"). The compass direction for due east is 90 degrees("9"). All runways follow this directional layout. This runway would be referred to as "Runway 9-27" because of its east-west orientation.





The FAA includes over 20 different runway layouts in their advisory materials. There are 4 basicrunway configurations with the rest being variations of the original patterns. The basic runwayconfigurations are the following:

A) single runway This is the simplest of the 4 basic configurations. It is one runway optimally positioned for prevailingwinds, noise, land use and other determining factors. During VFR (visual flight rules) conditions, thisone runway should accommodate up to 99 light aircraft operations per hour. While under IFR(instrument flight rules) conditions, it would accommodate between 42 to 53 operations per hour

depending on the mix of traffic and navigational aids available at that airport.

B) parallel runways There are 4 types of parallel runways. These are named according to how closely they are placed next toeach other. Operations per hour will vary depending on the total number of runways and the mix of aircraft. In IFR conditions for predominantly light aircraft, the number of operations would rangebetween 64 to 128 per hour.





C) open-V runwaysTwo runways that diverge from different directions but do NOT intersect form a shape that looks like an

"open-V" are called open-V runways. This configuration is useful when there is little to no wind as itallows for both runways to be used at the same time. When the winds become strong in one direction,then only one runway will be used. When takeoffs and landings are made away from the two closerends, the number of operations per hour significantly increases. When takeoffs and landings are madetoward the two closer ends, the number of operations per hour can be reduced by 50%.





D) intersecting runways Two or more runways that cross each other are classified as intersecting runways. This type of configuration is used when there are relatively strong prevailing winds from more than one direction

during the year. When the winds are strong from one direction, operations will be limited to only onerunway. With relatively light winds, both runways can be used simultaneously. The greatest capacity foroperations is accomplished when the intersection is close to the takeoff end and the landing threshold asshown below (with the configuration on the left).





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6. Influences on Airport Layout When runways are built, their layout is influenced by many factors:

Federal Aviation Regulations environmental concerns noise level impacts terrain and soil considerations natural and man-made obstructions annual weather patterns the size and performance characteristics of the airplanes that will use the runways

These are all factors in runway and airport planning. Many issues are studied before finaldecisions on airport location and runway layout are determined.

Impact Report Maps for Ames Research Center, 1999

Cultural and Historic Wetlands and Habitat





Environmental impact requirements for airports were first established with the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act of 1969 and in 1970 with the Airport and Airway Development Act.These acts ensure that due consideration is given to the effects on the quality of the

environment and the surrounding communities in regard to airport expansion, use anddevelopment. Before building a new facility or expanding an existing facility, an impact study or feasibility study must be done. These studies include a critical assessment of all impactissues from soil to air quality.

Controlling water pollution from airports has been well-mastered by planners. Airports can bemajor contributors to water pollution if suitable treatment facilities are not provided for the various types of airport wastes. These wastes include the following: domestic sewage, industrialwastes such as oil and fuel spills and high temperature water degradation that stems from theheat of various power plants in nearly constant use at an airport.

One of the most severe problems is that of aircraft noise in and around an airport. Laying outrunways so that air traffic patterns occur minimally over heavily populated areas is a practicenow widely employed during runway expansion and when building new airports. Controllingthe land use around an airport also helps reduce the interference of aircraft noise with thepublic. Noise abatement procedures during takeoff and landing make for quieter airportoperations. Such procedures consist of a faster takeoff speed quickly followed by slowing theengine once airborne over a populated area, then returning the engines to full speed andresuming normal flight operations. This lessens the amount of engine noise over the populatedarea without adversely affecting the flight. Improvements in engine design have also been asuccessful factor in reducing aircraft noise.

Airports attract business and people, but airports are noisy. Businesses and people do not likeairport noise. There are very few airports in the world where no noise complaints have beenrecorded. Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) records the time and track of every arriving and departing aircraft. If a complaint is received DFW personnel can identify theaircraft that was the cause. There is an organization called the San Francisco AirportRoundtable that keeps tabs on noise and other concerns at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

One of NASA's aeronautics research goalsis to reduce the perceived levels of noise

Noise and Safety Site Pollution





from future aircraft by a factor of 2 within10 years and a factor of 4 within 25 years

Noise in the vicinity of airports generatedfrom aircraft operations has an adverseimpact on a community's quality of life. Atthe very least, aircraft noise is distracting

and it can be unhealthy. Noise is generatedfrom the propulsion system by the rotatingmachinery, the combustion process, the jetflow from the nozzle as well as by theaircraft from airflow over wing flaps andaround the landing gear. Noise is measuredas sound pressure levels in decibels (dB).Noise impact on communities is a functionof both the noise (dB) from a single aircraftoperation and the number of aircraftoperations. Therefore, as operations

increase, overall community noise impactincreases. NASA's objective is to loweraircraft source noise such that there is asubstantial reduction in community noiseimpact even as the number of aircraftoperations increase.

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) makesthe regulations (CFR, Part 36) but airportoperators are primarily responsible forplanning and implementing action

designed to reduce the effect of noise onresidents of the surrounding area. Suchactions include optimal site location, improvements in airport design, and noise abatementprocedures. Noise abatement procedures can include designated arrival and/or departurepaths and procedures. Land acquisition and restrictions on airport use should not unjustly discriminate against any user or impede the federal interest in safety and management of theair navigation system.

Over the last 10 years aircraft have been required to become less noisy. This change wasaccomplished with the design of quieter engines and in some cases "hush kits" were installedon some older aircraft. The change came in three stages where the aircraft noise level in

decibels was reduced to less objectionable and less dangerous levels. As of the first of January 2000 Stage 3, the final stage, was implemented.

The noise level of Stage 3 aircraft is comparable to a busy urban street and is much quieterthan the Stage 2 aircraft noise level which is similar to an amplified rock music concert.

To find noise restrictions for individual airports check out the Boeing Corporation web site:

http://www.boeing.com/assocproducts/noise/airports.html

NASA ResearchA new approach to noise reduction is the active noise control

effort. The primary principle of active noise control is to sensethe noise disturbances in the engine and cancel them before theyleave the engine. In effect, negative noise is made to cancel outthe engine's sound waves so that no noise is heard. This is amultidisciplinary effort involving duct acoustics, controls, andactuator/sensor design.

NASA Glenn has a unique facility for this testing. The ActiveNoise Control Fan is a 4-ft-diameter low-speed fan designedspecifically for active noise control testing. To date, severalconcepts have shown successful cancellation of selected acousticmodes. Because noise is the sum of all possible acoustic modes,the effort is still in its infancy, but it has potentially high payoffs.Active noise control will contribute to the 6 db noise reduction

goal of the AST program.





given airport the prevailing winds blow in from the west 65% of the year, while 30% of the yearthe wind blows in from the east, and the remaining 5% coming from the northwest. It would be best then to orient the runway W (27) and E (9). That would mean that approximately 95% of the year airplanes would be landing and taking off into the wind. In most of Texas andOklahoma the runways are generally N-S runways because the winds are usually from eitherthe North or South. In parts of the Eastern United States there are many airports with NE-SW and NW-SE runways because the winds are more likely to change between those two

directions.





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7. Terminal Configuration

Although there are many types of terminal configurations currently in use at airports across theUnited States, the five basic types are given below with a brief description of each.

Simple terminalThis configuration consists of one building holding a common ticketing and waitingarea with several exits leading to a small aircraft parking apron for boarding. This isused at mainly small aircraft airports and some older large airports.

Linear terminal/ Curvilinear terminalThis is simply an extension of the simple terminalconcept providing more gates and more room withinthe terminal for ticketing and passenger processing.

Pier finger terminalThis terminal configuration evolved during the 1950s when gate concourseswere added to the simple terminal building designs. A concourse is actually defined as an open space where paths meet. Passengers are usually processedat the simple terminal location and then routed down a "pier" where aircraftare parked in the "finger" slots or gates for boarding.

Pier satellite terminal/ Remote satellite terminalThis configuration involves a single terminal where all theticketing and passenger processing takes place. Connectedto this are numerous concourses that lead to one or moresatellite structures. At the end of each concourse theaircraft are parked in a cluster. This increases the distancea passenger must walk to get from one terminal to another

or one gate to another. People-mover systems areemployed in these settings to reduce these walkingdistances. These systems can be high speed escalators,monorails or electric-powered carts. This design concept lends itself to a compact centralterminal, but is difficult to expand without disrupting airport operations.

Mobile lounge or transporter terminal (remote aircraft parking concept)This concept is currently in use at Dulles International Airport and TampaInternational Airport. In this concept passengers are transported to and





from the building to the parked airplane. The mobile lounge can also beused as holding rooms for waiting passengers at gate positions. Airplanes are parked at gatesplaced along parallel rows. Several sets of parallel parking rows can be created as increasedtraffic deems such expansion necessary. This design has excellent expansion capabilities andcan maintain the pace with increased airport usage. With this concept, aircraft can be parkedremotely from the terminal buildings thus increasing the amount of aircraft enplaning anddeplaning passengers. Airplane taxiing time to and from the runway is decreased as well as the

amount of aircraft engine noise around the terminal.





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8. Airports Tomorrow In the future, designing new airports or re-designing existing airports will be a challenge. Notonly will there be increased concern for efficient intermodality (getting passengers into,through and out of the airport by an integrated use of transportation systems), a new look interminal configurations might be part of a future design. Use of underground, intra-airporttransportation systems like those found in Denver and Atlanta will probably increase. Airportdesign of the future will be greatly influenced by new aircraft, new land-based and air-basedmonitoring systems, land availability as well as growth and shifts in population density.

Aviation futurists predict that both larger jetlinersand VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraftwill fly us to our future destinations. Large jetliners with the passenger capacity of over 600will require a tremendous amount of thrust and liftforces. This will result in larger engines per jetlineror an increased number of engines per jetliner,and a longer wingspan. What effect will this haveon runways? Runways will need to be longer asthese future jetliners will need greater starting and

stopping distances. Ground controllers will alsoneed to allow for wider passing zones betweenairplanes moving along the ground. Taxiways may have to be widened. Increased usage of VTOLaircraft as well as VTOL aircraft with passengerloads between 30 and 60 will create a whole new

look at your local airport. VTOL aircraft do not require runways, merely an unobstructed pathto a circular pad. Current airports might add an entirely new terminal to accommodate theseaircraft or communities might develop VTOL only airports for the "short-hoppers" that is,





flights less than 1,000 miles in distance.

As NASA continues its research and development of new aviation tools for ground-basedoperations and air-based monitoring, the National Airspace System will experience fewer than before non-weather related delays. Despite the increase in air traffic, these new aviation toolswill lower the incidence of runway incursions and air-bound delays by more efficiently trackingand routing aircraft.

As communities continue to grow and spread out around theirairports, expansion for theseairports will become nearly impossible. This will limit theairport's capacity and can limit thetype of aircraft that could use theairport. For example, if an airporthas no additional land available tolengthen a runway for use by the

extra large jetliners predicted forfuture use, then that airport will not be able to service those routes. Thiswould limit the amount of passengers that could be served atthat airport despite the fact that thesurrounding population hascontinued to increase. If that airport

is not allowed to expand, then an additional airport site will need to be found, perhaps leavingthe older airports to accommodate the smaller aircraft and/or converting to VTOL aircraft withthe newer, larger airports accommodating the extra large jetliners.

Population growth in some areas along with shifts in population to other areas will alsoinfluence an airport's design and location. As major metropolitan areas have little vacant landon which to expand an existing airport or to accommodate an increase in population, smallercities are experiencing new and rapid growth. As these smaller cities continue to grow, their





need for expanded air transportation will result in the establishment of a new airport orexpansion of the existing one. The current conversion of closed military airfields can alsoprovide air traffic relief for such growth spurts and population shifts.





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9. Closing The airport is a complex hub of transportation. Itservices passengers, baggage and cargo whilemonitoring air and ground vehicles. The first onehundred years of flight have witnessed atremendous amount of change in aircraft and theairports that support and service them. The airportis a zone for transitioning passengers and cargofrom the land-based transportation network to the

air-based transportation system. Airport designinfluences airport capacity, safety and efficiency of operations on the ground and in the air.


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