3. Airport Engineering
Airport Engineering encompasses the planning, design, and
construction of terminals, runways, and navigation aids to
provide for passenger and freight service.
Airport engineers design and construct airports. They must
account for the impacts and demands of aircraft in their
design of airport facilities.
These engineers must use the analysis of predominant wind
direction to determine runway orientation, determine the size
of runway border and safety areas, different wing tip to
wing tip clearances for all gates and must designate the
clear zones in the entire port.
4. What is an AIRPORT?
• An airport is a facility where passengers connect
from ground transportation to air transportation.
It is a location where aircraft such as airplanes,
helicopters take off and land.
Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an
airport.
An airport should have runway for takeoffs and
landings, buildings such as hangars and terminal
buildings.
5. Definition
AIRFIELD is an area where an
aircraft can land and take off,
which may or may not be
equipped with any
navigational aids or markings.
Many grass strips are also
designated as airfields.
6. What are Aerodromes?
A defined area on land or water (including any buildings,
installations and equipment) intended to be used either
wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface
movement of aircraft.
7. Air transportation
One system of transportation which tries to improve
the accessibility to inaccessible areas
Provides continuous connectivity over water and
land
Provide relief during emergencies and better
compared to others some times
Saves productive time, spent in journey
Increases the demand of specialized skill work force
8. Air transportation
Helps tourism, generates foreign reserves
Requires heavy funds during provision and maintenance
Highly dependent on weather conditions compared to
other modes
Requires highly sophisticated machinery
Adds to outward flow of foreign exchange
Purchase of equipment, airbuses etc.
Safety provisions are not adequate.
Providing a support system during the flight is complicate
Specific demarcation of flight paths and territories is
essential
9. Development of Air Transport
1903 – first successful flight by Wilbur and Orville
Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1909 – Louis Bleriot crossed English channel to
England
1911 – Post was carried by air in India from
Allahabad to Naini (pilot: Henri Pequet) crossing
Ganga
1912 – Flight between Delhi and Karachi
1914 – Air passenger transport began in Germany
10. Development of Air Transport
1918 – first international service between France
and Spain
1919 – London – Paris flight
1919 – International Commission on Air Navigation
(ICAN) was established
1919 – 6 European airlines formed in Hague the
International Air Traffic Association (IATA) to control
the movement of air traffic and have a coordinated
approach
11. 1928 – Havana Convention on civil aviation
1929 – Warsaw convention on civil aviation
1944 – international civil aviation convention
1944 – Chicago convention, establishing provisional
ICAO (international civil aviation organization)
1945 – International Air Transport Association
(IATA) established in meeting at Havana, Cuba
1947 – ICAO was established as a body of United
Nations
12. 27, July 1949 – worlds first jet airliner made its
journey from hatfield airport
1954 – Boeing Dash 80 type prototype, B707 first
flight
1969 – concorde first flight
2006 – Airbus A328 made first flight (one of the
biggest passenger air craft i.e., 800 persons)
13. Air Transport in India
1911 – post was carried by air in India from
Allahabad to Naini
1912 – flight between Delhi and Karachi
1927 – Civil Aviation Department was established
1929 – Regular air service between Delhi and
Karachi
1932 – Tata airways ltd was setup
1933 – Indian trans-continental airways ltd was
formed
14. 1938 – 153 aircrafts were registered
1946 – Air transport licensing board was
established
1947 – Tata changed its name to Air India Ltd
1948 – Air India International ltd was established
by government
1953 – Air Transport Corporation bill was made,
provision for establishing two corporations, one for
the domestic services and other for the international
services.
15. 1972 - The International Airport Authority of India
(IAAI) was setup
to coordinate the international aviation from different
locations of the country
1981 -Vayudoot service was started. It merged into
Indian Airlines in 1993
1985 - Air taxi policy
1994 -Airport Authority of India (AAI) was formed
by merging International Airport Authority of India
(IAAI) and National Airports Authority (NAA).
16. Airport Authority of India
Controls overall air navigation in india
Constituted by an act of parliament and it came
into being on 1st April, 1995
Formed by merging NAA (National Airport
Authority) and IAAI (International Airport Authority
of India)
17. Functions of AAI
Control and management of the Indian airspace
extending beyond the territory limits
Design, development and operation of domestic and
international airports
Construction and management of facilities
Development of cargo ports and facilities
Provision of passenger facilities and information
systems
Expansion and strengthening of operating area
Provision of visual aids
Provision of communication and navigational aids (ex:
Radar systems)
20. Its essential parts are as given below:
I Engine
2 Propeller
3 Fuselage
4 Wings
5 Three controls
6 Flaps
7 Tricycle under-carriage
21. Engine
The main purpose of an aircraft engine is to provide a force
for propelling the aircraft through the air.
Aircraft can be classified according to their propulsion as
follows
(I) Piston engine
(ii) Turbo jet
(iii) Turbo fan or Turbo prop
(iv) Rocket
(I) Piston engine : It is powered by gasoline fed reciprocating
engine and is driven by propeller or airscrew.
23. (ii) Turbo prop
It is similar to the turbo jet engine except that a propeller is provided in it.
Main difference is in the design of turbines. The turbine in turbo prop extracts enough power to drive both the
compressor and the propeller. Only a small amount of power is left as a jet thrust.
(iv) Ram jet:
It is an engine with no moving parts. It must be operated at comparatively high speed if it has to function at all.
It cannot operate statically unless a continuous source of air is flown past the engine. Its principle of working is
very simple. Air enters the air intake. By shaping the tube with a diverging-converging configuration, as shown in
the Figure, the air velocity is decreased in combustion chamber with a consequent increase in the pressure. Fuel
flow and combustion are continuous. A spark plug is used for starting only. The heated air expends and rushes
out of the exhaust nozzle at high velocity creating the thrust. The advantages of ram jet are the simplicity of
design and high speeds. But it requires the assistance of other types of power plants to reach the operating
speed and has a very high specific fuel consumption.
(v) Rocket engine
The rocket produces its thrust in the same manner as the ram jet except for one outstanding difference. All the
engines described previously have definite ceilings, depending upon when they run out of oxygen necessary to
support the combustion. But for rocket engines, there is no limit on altitude since oxygen in the atmosphere is not
relied upon for the combustion. The engine carries its own supply of oxygen placing it in the category of non-
atmospheric engines. which had flown faster than the speed of sound was powered by liquid-fuel rocket engine.
24. Operative altitude of aircraft depends up on
Type of engine
Propulsive power available to aircraft
Piston engines – low altitudes
Turbo jet or turbo propulsions – low to high altitudes
Ram jets – used in missiles at middle altitudes
Where other type of movements are less
Rocket jets – outside atmosphere
25. Propeller
This is provided in the conventional piston engine aircrafts as well as in turbo prop
engines.
When engine and propeller are in front, the machine is described as a tractor
types
Sometimes, but not very often, the engine and airscrew are behind the wing and
this is known as a pusher installation.
Fuselage - It forms the main body of the aircraft and provides for the power plant,
fuel, cockpit, passenger, cargo etc.
Wings - The purpose of an aircraft wing is to support the machine in the air when the
engine has given it the necessary forward speed.
Vertical Lift on the Cambered Aerofoil
Various Parts of a Wing
26. Three Controls
The movement of aircraft about
the X axis is called lateral or
rolling movement.
The movements about Y and Z
axes are called pitching and
yawing movements respectively.
To control these movements, the
airplane is provided with three
principal controls, viz., (i) elevator
(ii) rudder and (iii) aileron.
The first two controls which are
provided at the tail end of the
fuselage are also known as
empennage. Each control can be
operated by the pilot from his
cabin.
30. (i) Elevator
It consists of two flaps capable of moving up and down through an
angle of 50 to 60. They are hinged to a fixed horizontal surface (called
a tailplane or stabilizer) placed at the extreme rear of the fusilage. It
controls the pitching or up and down movements of the aircraft.
(ii) Rudder
It Consists of a streamlined flap hinged to a vertical fine provided at the
tail end of the fuselage. It can be moved right or left of the vertical axis
through an angle of about 300 It is utilised for the turning or yawing
movement of the aircraft.
(iii) Aileron
It is a hinged flap which is fixed in the trailing edge of the wing near
the wing tip, as shown n Figure 3.19. It is so rigged that when aileron in
one wing is pulled up that in other is pulled down. The effect of pulling
the aieron c1own is to increase the camber and angle of incidence of
the wing. This results in an increased lift under the wing. Pulling an
aileron up reduces the lift on the plane.
Flaps
These are somewhat similar to ailerons and are used for increasing the
lift on acrofoils, Like the other three controls,
31. Tricycle Under-Carriage
It is a structure to support the
aircraft while it is in contact with
the ground, It has two principal
functions to perform as listed below
(i) To absorb landing shocks while
an aircraft lands,
(ii) To enable the aircraft to
maneuver on ground
32. Wheel configuration defines how the weight will be
transferred to the bottom
More the no of wheels, lesser the stress, hence less
thickness enough.
Different wheel combinations available based on size
of aircraft.
Single tandem, duel tandem and multi axle tandems
are used based on the size and weight of air craft.
33. Aircraft characteristics
Type of propulsion
Size of aircraft
Min turning radius
Min circling radius
Speed of aircraft
Aircraft weight and wheel configuration
Capacity
Jet blast
Fuel spillage
Noise
38. Cont..
Wing span decides
Width of taxi way
Clearance between two parallel traffic ways
Size of apron and hanger
Width of hanger gate
39. Cont..
Length of aircraft decides
Widening of taxi way on curves
Sizes of apron and hanger
Height of aircraft or empennage height
It decides the height of hanger gate
The gear tread and wheel base
Min turning radius of the aircraft.
40. Min turning radius
Min turning radius
While making a turn, the nose gear is steered and hence it makes an angle with
the axis of main gear called angle of rotation.
The point of intersection of axis of main gear and line through axis of steered
nose gear is called point of rotation.
A line is drawn through the axis of nose gear when it is at
its max angle of rotation.
Theoretically max angle of rotation is 900
It will causes the skidding
Because it is producing excessive wear.
Max angle of nose gear limited 500 to 600 for turbo jet.
42. Min circling radius
Min radius required in space depends
Type of aircraft
Traffic volume
Weather conditions
Diff. radii for diff. types of aircraft
Small gear aviation aircraft under VFR condition
=1.6 Km
43. Bigger aircraft, say two piston engine under VFR
condition =3.2 Km
Piston engine aircraft under IFR =13 Km
Jet engine aircraft under IFR =80 Km
44. weight
Pavement thickness, design, materials etc., depend
on the weight and wheel distribution of aircraft.
Different types of weights
Maximum gross take-off weight
Total amount of weight when it is taking off from runway
Maximum standard landing weight
Fuel consumed during transport will be deducted from take-
off weight
Operating empty weight
Operating at zero pay load
45. Weight and wheel distribution
Pay load
Load for which revenues are generated (passengers +
freight)
Zero-fuel weight
Air craft reaching destination and fuel is getting empty
Note: (maximum is taken considering biggest aircraft allowed at airport
46. Weight of Aircraft & wheel configuration
Wt of Aircraft directly influence the length of
runway and structural requirements, i.e. the thickness
of runway, taxiway, apron and hangers.
47. Speed of Aircraft
It is split into two ways
Cruising speed or ground speed: It is the speed of air
craft with respect to the ground when the aircraft
flying in air at its max speed.
Air speed: It is the speed of aircraft relative to the
wind.
48. Aircraft Capacity
The number of passengers, baggage, cargo and fuel that can
he accommodated in the aircrafts depends upon the capacity
of aircraft.
the capacity of aircraft using an airport have an important
effect on the capacity of runway systems as well as that of the
passenger processing terminal facilities.
49. Jet blast
High velocity Aircraft it will eject the hot exhaust gases.
The velocity of jet blast may be high as 300kmph
Due to this passenger may feel inconvenience.
To avoid this problems several jet blast deflectors are
available.
50. Fuel spillage
It is very diff to avoid the fuel spillages at loading
aprons and hanger.
Bitumen pavement are affected by the fuel spillage.
But it should bring within min limit.
So that constant supervision is required at fuel inlets,
engines and main landing gear.
51. Noise
Noise generated by Aircraft create problem.
Layout and capacity depend on it.
It should be min as per as possible.
It is regulated by FAA (Federation Aviation Agency).
52. Airport Planning
Airport planning is mainly concerned with three
aspects:
1. Adequate access to the metropolitan area
2. Securing sufficient airspace for access to air
3. Sufficient land for carrying out ground
operations
53. Master Planning
It refers to the planner’s idealized concept of the
form and structure of ultimate development of an
airport. Federal Administration Aviation (FAA)
suggests 4 phases.
1. Airport Requirements-existing/anticipated
facilities.
2. Site Selection – availability of utilities, land costs
3. Airport Plans-Plans of layout, land use, terminal
area, airport access
4. Financial Plan-Schedules, estimates, economic &
financial feasibility analysis.
54. Regional Planning
Aims at the formation of an effective network of airports
on national basis.
It avoids creation of separate airports by individual
jurisdiction. If airports located in close vicinity & not
properly coordinated, total capacity & efficacy gets
reduced.
Regional plan provides the following
Approximate locations of airports in national map
Classification of airports
Location of air strips
Routes of air travel
55. Data required for Regional Planning
Population
Topographical and Geographical Features
Existing Airports in the vicinity
Air traffic characteristics
Development of New Airport
1. Traffic forecast
2. Determination of the capacity of existing airport
3. Improvement of airport capacity
4. Planning of a new airport
56. Traffic Forecast
Following data is to be collected for traffic forecast
Area to be served
Origin & destination of the residents and non-residents
of the area
Population growth in the area
Economic character of the area
Income level per capita
Types of business activities and labour employed
Trends in existing local & national air traffic volume
Population growth & economic standards of adjacent
areas
57. Determination of capacity of existing Airport
Suitability of approaches for the type of airports
Capacity of runways & taxiways to handle the peak
hour traffic
Adequacy of terminal building for handling passengers
and cargo
Adequacy of aprons & serving facilities
58. Improvement of Airport Capacity
Runway extension, new or parallel runway and
high speed exit taxiways.
Rearranging or increasing the size of terminal
building and/or loading apron.
Improving the traffic control devices.
59. Data required before Site Selection
Peak hourly volume of air traffic to be handled.
The present & future, types of aircrafts which may use
the airport.
Facilities to be provided for the passengers, baggage
and cargo, for landing and take-off and servicing of
aircrafts should be determined.
60. Airport Site Selection
1. Regional plan
2. Airport use
3. Proximity to other airports
4. Ground accessibility
5. Topography
6. Obstructions
7. Visibility
8. Wind
9. Noise Nuisance
10. Grading, drainage and soil characteristics
11. Future development
12. Availability of utilities from town
13. Economic considerations
61. 1. Regional plan
The site should fit for regional plan
Forming it an integral part of the national network
of airport.
62. 2. Airport use
Selection is depend on type use whether for civilian
or for military operations.
In emergency civilian airports also used for military
purpose.
63. 3. Proximity to other airports
The site should be considerable from the exiting
airports.
So that landing in one airport does not interfere with
the other airport.
Min spacing have been suggested:
For airports serving small aviation aircraft under VFR
condition =3.2 Km
64. For aircraft serving bigger aircraft, say two piston
engine under VFR condition =6.4 Km
For aircraft operating piston engine aircraft under
IFR =25.6 Km
For aircraft operating Jet engine aircraft under IFR
=160 Km
65. 4. Ground accessibility
Site should be selected that it is readily accessible to
the users.
Passenger time is more concerned rather than the
actual time in air travel.
The time required to reach an airport not exceeds 30
minutes.
It should be located adjacent to the main highway.
66. 5. Topography
Includes like ground contours, trees, streams.
Raised ground usually considered for airport.
Reasons:
Less obstructions in approach zones
Natural drainage
More uniform wind
Better visibility
67. 6. obstructions
For landing or take off, long clearance areas are
provided on either side of runway known as approach
areas.
These structures are controlled by zoning laws.
68. 7. visibility
The site should be free from visibility reducing
conditions like fog, smoke.
69. 8. wind
Runway is oriented by wind data.
Wind data i.e. direction, duration and intensity
collected over a min 5 yrs.
70. 8. Noise nuisance
Noise depends on type of propulsion and gross wt of
aircraft.
The problem is more with jet engine.
So that area should away from residential and
industrial area.
71. 10. Grading, drainage and soil
characteristics
Grading and drainage play an important role in
the construction and maintenance of airport.
Previous materials i.e. gravel, sand soils are suitable
for aircraft construction.
72. 11. Future development
Air traffic volume will continue to increase in future,
More no. of runways provided.
More no. of facilities for processing of passengers,
baggage and cargo.
Zoning laws implemented to prevent growth of
undesirable structures with in the area.
73. 12. Availability of utilities from town
Airport has to be provided with facilities like :
water supply
sewer
telephone
electricity
74. 13. Economic considerations
The estimate should be prepared for various site
that includes land cost, clearing and grading of
land, drainage, removal of hazards, paving, turfing,
lighting, construction of buildings, access roads and
automobile parking areas.
Select from one of from above which is economical
for us.
75. Surveys for site selection
1. Traffic survey
2. Meteorological survey
3. Topographical survey
4. Soil survey
5. Drainage survey
6. Material survey
76. Drawings to be prepared
1. Topographical plan
2. Obstruction plan
3. Drainage plan
4. Airport master plan
77. Future air traffic needs
1. Annual passenger volume
2. Annual volume of aircrafts
3. Peak-day and peak-hour volume of passengers
and aircrafts
4. Air cargo
5. Air mail
6. General aviation