RUNWAY ORIENTATION

ASSIGNMENT

SAJID NADEEM 12002001004

FATIMA HAFEEZ - 12002001007
November 25, 2012

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RUNWAY ORIENTATION
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a runway is a
"defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of
aircraft".
The orientation of the runway is an important consideration in airport planning and
design. The correct runway orientation maximizes the possible use of the runway
throughout the year accounting for a wide variety of wind conditions.FAA and ICAO
regulations establish rules about runway orientation and their expected coverage
Runway Location Considerations.FAA mandates identification standards for airport
layout that is meant to assist pilots in easily recognizing runways.
Ideally, all aircraft operations on a runway should be conducted against the wind.
Unfortunately, wind conditions vary from hour to hour thus requiring a careful
examination of prevailing wind conditions at the airport site.The challenge for the
designer is to accommodate all of the aircraft using the facility in a reliable and
reasonable manner.
In navigation, all measurement of direction is performed by using the numbers of a
compass. A compass is a 360 circle where 0/360 is North, 90 is East, 180 is South,
and 270 is West, as shown in figure.

Runways are laid out according to the numbers on a compass. 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. Following that number by 500 feet is the "touchdown
zone" which is identified by 6 white stripes.

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A runway's number is not written in degrees, but is given a shorthand format. For
example, a runway with a marking of "14" is actually 140 degrees. A runway with a
marking of "31" has a compass heading of 310 degrees. For simplicity, the FAA rounds
off the precise heading to the nearest tens. For example, runway 7 might have a precise
heading 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 the runway is facing due west while the other end of the runway is facing due east.
The compass direction 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.

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

A) Single runway
This is the simplest of the 4 basic configurations. It is one runway optimally positioned
for prevailing winds, noise, land use and other determining factors. During VFR (visual
flight rules) conditions, this one 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.

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B) Parallel runways
There are 4 types of parallel runways. These are named according to how closely they
are placed next to each 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 range between 64 to 128 per hour.

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If there is more than one runway pointing in the same direction (parallel runways), each
runway is identified by appending Left (L), Center (C) and Right (R) to the number
for example, Runways Two Left (02L), Two Center (02C), and Two Right (02R).

C) Open-V runways
Two 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 it allows 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 closer ends, the number of
operations per hour significantly increases. When takeoffs and landings are made
toward the two closer ends, the number of operations per hour can be reduced by 50%.

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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 one runway. With relatively light winds, both runways
can be used simultaneously.
The greatest capacity for operations is accomplished when the intersection is close to the
takeoff end and the landing threshold as shown below (with the configuration on the
left).

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The capacity for the number of operations varies greatly with this runway configuration.
It really depends on the location of the intersection and the manner in which the
runways are operated (IFR, VFR,). This type of configuration also has the potential to
use a greater amount of land area than parallel runway configurations.

Factors Affecting Runway Orientation :

The direction of the runway controls the layout of the other airport facilities, such as
passenger terminals, taxiways/apron configurations, circulation roads, and parking
facilities
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
Terrain and soil considerations
Natural and man-made obstructions
These are all factors in runway and airport planning. Many issues are studied before
final decisions on airport location and runway layout are determined.

Wind Rose Analysis

According to FAA standards, runways should be oriented so that aircraft can takeoff
and/or land at least 95 percent of the time without exceeding the allowable crosswinds
(Wright 1998). An approach often used in determining the runway orientation is called
the wind rose method. The method uses a wind rose template to arrange velocity,
direction, and frequency of wind occurrences within a certain period of time (normally
10 years or more).
On the wind rose a transparent runway template is placed to represent the proposed
runway that accommodates the size and operating characteristics of aircraft. The
template is rotated around the center of the wind rose in order to search for an optimal
runway orientation. At each rotating angle, the total percentage of allowable crosswinds
in the wind rose that are covered by the template is calculated, and a best angle that can
give the maximum percentage of coverage is determined.

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Runway Lightning
Airports also use standardized lighting and ground markings to provide direction and
identification to all air and ground crews. To assist pilots in differentiating at night
between airport runways and freeways, airports have rotating beacon lights. These
beacons usually flash green and white lights to indicate a civilian airport. They are
visible from the air long before the entire airport is recognizable. To help pilots at night
quickly identify the beginning of a runway, green threshold lights line the runway's
edge. Red lights mark the ends of runways and indicate obstructions. Blue lights run
alongside taxiways while runways have white or yellow lights marking their edges
ICAO guidance requires that Runway lighting shall not be operated if a runway is not in
use for landing, take-off or taxiing purposes, unless such operation is required for
runway inspection or maintenance purposes. ATC are required to use whatever means
are available to them to ensure that they are aware of any lighting system.

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Runway Markings

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REFERENCES
FAA.(1989). Airport design. FAA Advisory Circular AC 150/5300-13, Federal Aviation
Administration, Washington, D.C.
Wright, P.H. and Ashford, N. (1998). Transportation Engineering: Planning and Design,
4th Ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York.