Questions tagged [airport-design]
Questions about the planning and design of airports: both the manoeuvring area itself, and the services and passenger facilities.
137
questions
78
votes
4
answers
16k
views
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?
- 71k
65
votes
1
answer
11k
views
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 ...
- 28.1k
50
votes
13
answers
15k
views
Is there any combination of two airports that are connected via taxiways?
Are there any 2 (or more) airports that are ground-connected so that e.g. aircraft can taxi between them? Would that be even possible from a definition point of view, having a common area with two ...
- 3,839
40
votes
9
answers
17k
views
Why don't short runways use ramps for takeoff?
Say you had a runway for light aircraft, but only 700 meters or so of runway. Wouldn't it help to end the runway with a ramp that is ~40 meters above ground and slightly facing the sky at a gradient ...
- 511
40
votes
4
answers
22k
views
Why do farmers register their fields as airports?
(this seems to be primarily a US phenomenon)
So in the vicinity of my parents' place (in a rural area in Indiana), there are several registered airports within several miles' radius. I remember when ...
- 501
39
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Do any airports have runways or taxiways that cross active rail lines at grade?
Gibraltar has a runway which crosses an active road at grade (which, due to the peninsula’s geography and the resulting constraints on the airport’s location, happens to be the main road connecting ...
- 28.1k
39
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Why can't some airports handle heavy aircraft while others do it easily (same runway length)?
As I've seen in this video, they operate flights from Bournemouth airport all the way to Barbados on a Boeing 787-8. As Bournemouth runway length is 2,271 m (7,451 ft), it can handle aircraft such as ...
- 1,202
34
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Why are Oscar, India, and X-Ray (O, I, and X) not used as taxiway identifiers?
An old CAR "Licensing of Aerodromes" document indicated that taxiways may not be designated by O, I, or X.
Is this still in effect today? Why were (or are) those not used as taxiway identifiers?
My ...
- 8,761
34
votes
1
answer
7k
views
What is the purpose of a walled area in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport?
Looking at a satellite map to the East of Heathrow Airport, there is a small passenger jet parked in a walled off area. Looking at the aerodrome chart the entire area is listed as Bealine Base, which ...
- 443
33
votes
4
answers
9k
views
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/...
- 16.4k
29
votes
3
answers
11k
views
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 ...
- 1,697
29
votes
3
answers
23k
views
How flat does a runway need to be?
I always assumed that big runways are flat (or more specifically straight: they might have a slight slope in either direction), but while watching some crosswind landing footage shot at Birmingham ...
- 393
28
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Why do airports in the UK have so few runways?
Almost all of the major airports in the United Kingdom are single-runway (or functionally-single-runway) installations, with only two of the very busiest (Heathrow and Manchester) having as many as ...
- 28.1k
28
votes
6
answers
6k
views
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 ...
- 281
27
votes
10
answers
16k
views
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 ...
- 921
27
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Is there any technical reason that prevents installation of a jet blast deflector at Princess Juliana airport?
A jet blast deflector (JBD) or blast fence is a safety device that redirects the high energy exhaust from a jet engine to prevent property damage and injury.
Regarding the incident on July 13, 2017 ...
- 8,070
27
votes
2
answers
21k
views
How much force does a 747 land with?
I've been told before that the runways for large commercial aircraft have to be built to withstand a large amount of force. But I'm wondering exactly how much it is? When a 747 touches down, how ...
- 24k
26
votes
1
answer
5k
views
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.
- 729
26
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What's the reason for this frog finger shaped parking lots at Köln/Bonn airport (CGN)?
Most aprons of international airports are vast areas paved with asphalt or concrete. However, I noticed this structures in the south of Köln/Bonn airport (CGN) (Google maps link):
Does anyone know ...
- 7,227
25
votes
3
answers
20k
views
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 ...
- 353
24
votes
3
answers
12k
views
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 ...
- 351
23
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How do passengers board the planes on this airport?
I found a quite "rare" layout on Munich airport. It has jetbridges but I don't see any terminal. Look:
How do passengers make it to this point of the airport? By underground?
- 11.4k
23
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Is it possible to drive into Gibraltar Airport's runway?
The runway of Gibraltar Airport crosses an active 4 lane highway
Example Video.
My question is are there any security measures which prevent normal traffic from entering the airport through the ...
- 11.5k
19
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What do these white on red words indicate on a London Heathrow taxiway chart?
What do the words in white block capital letters over a red background denote on this aerodrome chart of LHR?
- 1,221
18
votes
7
answers
6k
views
How to build a 2 mile long runway on a 1 mile square island?
On Puzzling.SE I found this question:
You have a 1 mile long x 1 mile wide private island that you wish to
turn into a resort. A plane requires a 2-miles long runway to take
off. What do you do?...
- 3,932
18
votes
5
answers
25k
views
Why are most runways made of asphalt and not concrete?
From the little I know about vehicles in cities, nowadays concrete is preferred to asphalt for road construction as, while initially more expensive, concrete is supposed to be cheaper to maintain.
...
- 949
18
votes
1
answer
3k
views
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 ...
- 1,097
18
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Why does the Las Vegas Airport have three control towers?
Why does the Las Vegas Airport have three control towers? I just noticed, and I find it a little weird. There should only be one... Does anybody know details on how this came about? And how they work ...
- 2,160
17
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Why so much ground time at Frankfurt Airport?
Disclaimer: Total layman here.
I frequently fly into and out of Frankfurt Airport (FRA) with regional jets (flight time advertised as 45 minutes) and one thing that everyone is always annoyed about ...
- 273
16
votes
2
answers
3k
views
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
...
- 1,063
16
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How are unpaved strips created and maintained?
I'm under the impression that some large craft are rated for "unpaved strips", which appear to be either some sort of gravel or perhaps dirt. The 727, and this runway, being a good example of this:
...
- 24k
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
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 ...
- 251
14
votes
2
answers
5k
views
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 ...
- 161
14
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Are taxiways numbered in a predictable order?
When taxiing at an airport without a full-blown airport diagram (most commonly, a non-towered airport), how does a pilot know whether taxiway A (Alpha) is on one end of a runway, or the other? Or, in ...
- 589
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
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, ...
- 4,692
13
votes
4
answers
9k
views
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 ...
- 235
13
votes
1
answer
788
views
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 ...
user14897
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why aren't airports built identically (like aircraft)?
Considering the delays and mishaps in super-projects (e.g. the new airport in Berlin), wouldn't it be rational to standardize airports in the same ways aircraft are: Building them all according to the ...
- 7,365
12
votes
1
answer
3k
views
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 ...
- 1,348
12
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Why does Beijing's new Daxing airport have so few gates?
There is a lot of press about the Daxing airport, touting that it will be one of the largest in the world in terms of passenger capacity. The images of the terminal build are indeed beautiful.
But ...
- 241
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are zero visibility landings a possibility for the future of commercial aviation?
Airports usually close or slow down activities in fog conditions, e.g. this seems to be a significant problem in winter at Delhi airport.
Large commercial aircraft would be able to land with no ...
- 71k
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
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 ...
- 28.1k
11
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What regulations or procedures address runway-taxiway interference for aircraft with large wingspan?
Are there cases of airports where a large wingspan aircraft on a taxiway can interfere with another aircraft on the runway?
Or do the airport design parameters take care that the largest wingspan ...
- 8,436
11
votes
2
answers
657
views
Why would the runway separation for parallel triple simultaneous precision approaches be dependent on airport elevation?
Based on FAA advisory circular AC 150/5300-13A, Airport Design, when operating triple simultaneous precision instrument approaches the parallel runway separation could be reduced from 5000 feet to ...
- 5,288
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What factors are considered when a runway is planned?
What environmental factors are considered when a new runway construction is planned (e.g. winds, weather, sun direction, etc.)?
- 9,912
10
votes
1
answer
766
views
How will aiport operations at KOAK be affected when taxiway W is promoted to a runway?
For the record, my question is not about mistakenly using a taxiway as a runway.
I've noticed recent changes to the sectional and TAC VFR maps around Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK/...
- 1,819
10
votes
1
answer
682
views
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, ...
user22445
9
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the maximum slope for taxiing aircraft?
Every airport I have encountered has flat runways and taxiways.
Of course this is not exactly true, as some other questions picked up, and it is also possible that I just happened to visit mostly ...
- 4,202
8
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Why are most runways laid out in a generally East-West direction?
Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the runway's heading in decadegrees. From what I have read, most airport runways are aligned along an East-...
- 879
8
votes
4
answers
14k
views
Why is Denver International Airport runway 16R/34L rarely used?
From watching planes land at DIA on Flightradar24, none seem to ever land on 16R (longest runway in the US at a length of 16,000 ft), but instead land on a runway 4,000 ft shorter such as runway 16L (...
- 9,289