Questions tagged [airport-design]
Questions about the planning and design of airports: both the manoeuvring area itself, and the services and passenger facilities.
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Why is there such a long displaced threshold on 22R at JFK/KJFK?
This video seems to raise a whole bunch of questions, but here's one I have:
Why such a long displaced landing threshold on 22R at JFK/KJFK? (Scroll down to the 4L/22R section for details.)
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Jeppesen airport codes for holding positions - catstops
what would be the meaning of the jeppesen catstop codes for holding positions(AM_TaxiwayHoldingPosition):
{-32767, -32765, 2, 1} ?
Seems that they are used completly different, for example on LTFM (...
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Why don't short runways use (downhill) ramps for takeoff?
This is a followup on question: Why don't short runways use ramps for takeoff?
There are multiple answers to that question that answer why an uphill ramp at the end of the runway does not make ...
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Why do some airports have more than 2 runways, when LHR can get by with 2?
I was looking at aerial imagery of various airports and noticed how some have a large number of runways (4-6), while others have a small number.
Specifically, I noticed that Heathrow (LHR) only has 2 ...
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Under what circumstances are passengers boarded onto buses at gates A10 and A4 at Heathrow Terminal 5?
In Why doesn't Heathrow T5 have stand 504? it was suggested that gates A4 and A10 are so-called "bus-gates" where passengers board a bus to get to the aircraft.
Under what circumstances ...
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When and why was AGGH's runway 06/24 shortened?
AGGH has one runway, 06/24.
When looking at an aerial photo of said runway, I noticed something interesting:
(Image by Graeme Bartlett at Wikimedia Commons.)
My interest was piqued by seeing what ...
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Why does Schiphol Airport have such a long taxi?
I recently flew into Schiphol and experienced a very long taxi time (about 20 minutes) from landing to pulling into the pier at the terminal. Given that the flight was only 90 minutes from closing air ...
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Why do passenger embark on the left side of an aircraft?
I speak of passenger aircraft that can be found on large airports.
The left side is used by passengers (and the crew) to embark/disembark (see the position of jet bridges) and the other side to embark/...
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Why is the runway at Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport so long and wide?
According to Wikipedia, the runway at the Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport is tied for longest in the world (at 5000 meters/16,000 feet), in addition to being the widest (at 105 meters/344 feet).
It's not ...
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How is a new airport certified or approved to operate by international organizations?
I just read the news of a new airport in construction in Mexico (Mexico City). They seem to be starting operations in a few months.
In this case, researching a bit, it seems domestic and a Venezuelan ...
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Is there a specific name for an airport gate at ground level?
At a two level airport most gates are located on the upper level with loading bridges or jetways. Is there a specific name for gates located on the lower level (ground) for like use of turbo prop ...
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Taxiway alignment on scissor intersecting runways
I came across this announcement on the first flight on Dublin Airport's new runway and was struck by something in the photo I had not seen before.
The traditionally parallel taxiway makes a dogleg at ...
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Do private airports have to have the same runway and taxiway dimension and separation requirements as public airports?
I'm new to this site. I joined today after searching for hours to find answers to this question with no luck.
I am a part of a group of pilots and aviation enthusiasts working on a new aviation ...
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Why doesn't Heathrow T5 have stand 504?
On the North side of Terminal 5A are four stands, 501, 502, 503, and 505. Why is there no 504?
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Why does KBOS have such a short runway?
Runway 15L/33R at Boston Logan is only 2500 ft, which is barely long enough for a Cessna, let alone an airliner. I’m wondering if anyone knows why this runway was built or what purpose it serves. I ...
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How are light gun signals handled at remotely controlled airports?
In a comment @randomhead mentioned:
Remote towers are already in use at several sites in multiple countries. Off the top of my head and without even googling, there's Leesburg airport in Virginia
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Why was the second runway at Sea-Tac Airport built so close to the first?
The second runway (the eastern 16L/34R) was built 800ft. to the east of the original runway 16C.
Almost immediately it was criticised as being unusable for simultaneous operations unless using VFR ...
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Why are Gatwick's runways too close together?
Gatwick Airport has two runways (08L/26R and 08R/26L), but they are only 200 metres apart - too close (by just ten metres) to allow simultaneous operations on both runways. As a result, usually only ...
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Why are only two of the five water-facing runway ends at KBOS equipped with EMAS beds?
KBOS has eight major runway ends:1 04L, 04R, 09, 15R, 22L, 22R, 27, and 33L.
As KBOS is primarily situated on (and occupies the vast majority of) a peninsula made by dumping lots of sand and dirt into ...
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Are there specific surface requirements prior to an ILS Category 2 runway approach threshold to ensure the accuracy of the Radio Altimeter derived DH?
ILS Category 2 approaches use a Radio Altimeter (RA) derived DH (Decision Height). An RA measures the aircraft height directly above the surface immediately below the aircraft. Any sloping terrain, ...
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Do the spaces between runways and taxiways need to be grass/scrubs?
I travel often for work and have often wondered why you don’t see more variation in the vegetation in between the runways and taxiways. It is almost always short grass (Or in desert areas scrub). It ...
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Where is KBOS runway 15R's localiser array?
Of the eight major-runway directions at KBOS, five (4R, 15R, 22L, 27, and 33L) are equipped with ILS (ILS-III for 4R and 33L, ILS-I for the rest). Four of these (4R, 22L, 27, and 33L) have a ...
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Do any subterranean runways exist for airplanes?
Are there any examples of runways that are under the cover of some terrain such as a runway built into the side of a mountain as a tunnel, perhaps with an entrance and an exit on both sides to ...
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What would be a minimum ICAO Aerodrome Reference Code for C-130?
I was wondering, mostly of military planes are not mentioned by ICAO on its papers (for sure, it is dedicated to civil aviation), but it's common to see military cargo planes operating on Civil ...
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Does the angled parking scheme of London City (LCY) increase the number of aircraft that can be parked in the small apron?
While going through some articles and videos, I chanced upon a video on LCY and was surprised to see that, unlike in Dortmund, LCY has aircraft parked diagonally. Does this increase the number of bays ...
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Why don’t airports use jetways as an airlock to avoid having to repressurize the plane for every flight?
Seems like it could save money perhaps. Has this been considered in the past?
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What is the difference between the red and black box identifiers on UK airport charts?
On UK airport charts like the one below for Manchester (EGCC), what is the difference between an identifier with white lettering on a red square and one with yellow lettering on a black square with a ...
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Why is Heraklion airport a 'captains only' airport?
I was recently watching "EasyJet: Inside The Cockpit" and it said pilots need 4 shoulder stripes to land at Heraklion International Airport, “Nikos Kazantzakis” (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR), but it didn't ...
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Are there any "captains-only" airports in the U.S.?
Some airports in the world only allow captains to take off or land the aircraft, due to airport design or environmental conditions (obstacles, high winds).
Examples include:
Funchal (Madeira, ...
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Why is London City getting a virtual tower?
(Source)
London City is not a remote-low-traffic airport. Staffing a remote airport is like having lighthouse keepers. That I understand.
And yet the tower will be closed, and moved off-airport to ...
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Why do control towers have tilted glass panels?
Almost all control towers I've seen have tilted glass panels:
Amsterdam-Schiphol tower (EHAM), source.
What is the reason behind this choice?
How is the tilt angle determined?
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What are these protuberances on the north edge of runway 10/28 at Mataveri?
The single runway (10/28) at Mataveri International Airport (IPC/SCIP) on Rapa Nui1 has (at least according to Google Maps) a few paved protuberances emanating from partway down its northern edge ...
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Are there any airports with multi-level taxiways?
There are many airports where roads (and pedestrian walkways) are routed underneath taxiways, runways, etc. But are there any airports where airplane taxiways go under/over each other?
I can't imagine ...
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Why do some AFBs have planes parked at 45 degrees to others?
I'm assuming this is just a matter of available space but it seems you could get 4 across all aligned but maybe there is another reason. The image is from McGuire AFB but I've seen this on other AFBs.
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How to estimate runway length for airport master planning?
I use the manufacturer aiport planning manuals. But they are incomplete (unless for Boeing). Airbus and Embraer for example, only present range X weight charts for MTOW.
Is there a free (or affordable)...
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Why are most helipads in São Paulo blue coated and identified by a "P"?
ICAO Annex 14, Vol II and FAA (AC 5390-2C) standards establishes 'H' and there is no mention to coating TLOF or FATO.
Brazilian National Regulation (RBAC 155 - ANAC) does not provide any guideline for ...
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Why do airports remove/realign runways?
When looking at Google Earth, I often find myself looking for airports. I often notice that no matter what size airport, over time many of them have abandoned old runways and built new runways in ...
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Why do so few non-US runways have EMAS beds?
As occurrences of an aircraft running off the end of the runway and hitting things tend to leave both the aircraft and whatever it hits rather the worse for wear, much effort over the years has gone ...
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Why isn't there more green space on the apron? [closed]
I feel like it's a waste of concrete or asphalt. Can't they just leave some areas that don't get taxied on as grass? If taxiways are designed with green spaces in between them, why can't we see much ...
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Why is ARP (Airfield Reference Point) needed?
An airport reference point is the centre point of an airport, located at the geometric centre of all the usable runways. The ARP is computed as a weighted average of the end of runway coordinates.
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What are those structures at Taif Regional Airport in Saudi Arabia?
I was looking at airports in Saudi Arabia and noticed a strange one. At Taif Regional Airport near Mecca there are a bunch of taxiways all seemingly randomly intersecting at different angles, each ...
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Do these red stop signs apply to aircraft or only to vehicles?
I mean; do planes also see these signs on their way to runway? Or just cars and other vehicles encounter this stop sign on their service road or interconnection roads that are assigned to them?
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Can anyone explain what are the apron taxiway and aircraft holding taxiway with an illustration, please? [closed]
Note: There are 3 types of taxiway
1) Apron taxiway
2) Aircraft holding taxiway
3) Rapid exit taxiway
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Why would an ILS installation need a “reflecting surface” around the glideslope antenna?
According to the NTSB, the installation of a glideslope serving runway 11 at KHTS (Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia) was delayed for over twelve years by the lack of suitable terrain for ...
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"Gross" and "net" planned runway length for the Haifa airport
My city's mayor was just boasting on how she'd gotten an approval for an airport runway of length "2100 m gross, 1900 m net length", and that this would be enough to connect the city - Haifa - to hubs ...
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Why do airports have directional runways instead of a large area to operate in any direction?
Instead of a few runways in a few directions, why not have a large square block of asphalt so that planes can take off and land in any direction? Where and on what direction planes land and take off ...
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Why do airliners park with the nose facing the terminal?
A few other questions have touched on why we don't board airliners from the front and back at the same time. My question is why is it that we choose to board at the front, rather than park the ...
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Where to find the parking coordinates of the aircraft in the Apron?
Is it possible to find out the coordinates of where the aircraft park in an the Apron? I mean some sort of list for each terminal or aeronautical chart.
I was thinking about the AIP (Aeronautical ...
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What does "1%" mean in ICAO Annex 14 § 3.9.9 (longitudinal slope changes)?
— 1 per cent per 30 m (minimum radius of curvature of 3 000 m) where the code letter is C, D, E or F; and
— 1 per cent per 25 m (minimum radius of curvature of 2 500 m) where the code letter is A or ...
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How to find runway Centerline spacing on airport diagrams?
I know that airport diagrams show the exact position of airport runways in DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds) and therefore could use trigonometry to find how far apart runway centerlines are from ...
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