FAA Airport Design Group Classification

FAA Aircraft Design Group Classification Used in Airport

Geometric Design.
Design Group Wingspan (ft) Example Aircraft
I < 49 Cessna 152-210, Beechcraft A36
II 49 - 78 Saab 2000, EMB-120, Saab 340,
Canadair RJ-100
III 79 - 117 Boeing 737, MD-80, Airbus A-320
IV 118 - 170 Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Airbus
A-300
V 171 - 213 Boeing 747, Boeing 777, MD-11,
Airbus A-340
VI 214 - 262 A3XX-200 or VLCA (planned)

Virginia Tech 2 of 18
 Sample Use of FAA Design Criteria

FAA design group criteria is useful to size runways, taxiways,

apron areas, and protection areas around the landing area.

Critical Engines
for foreign object
Shoulder damage

Shoulder

61 m 31 m

Shoulder

Shoulder

VLCA on Design Group VI Runway VLCA on Design Group VI Taxiway

Virginia Tech 3 of 18
 ICAO Airport Design Group Classification

Design Group Wingspan (m)
A < 15
B 15 to < 24
C 24 to < 36
D 36 to < 52
E 52 to < 65
Gear Width
Example Aircraft
(m)
< 4.5 All single engine aircraft,
Some business jets
4.5 to < 6 Commuter aircraft, Large
Business jets
(EMB-120, Saab 2000, Saab
340, etc.)
6 to < 9 Medium range transports
(B727, B737, MD-80, A320)
9 to < 14 Heavy transports
(B757, B767, A300)
9 to < 14 Heavy transport aircraft
(Boeing 747, L-1011, MD-11,
DC-10)

Virginia Tech 4 of 18
 ATC Approach Speed Classification

Approach Speed
Group Example Aircraft
(knots)
A < 91 All single engine aircraft, Beech-
craft Baron 58,
B 91-120 Business jets and commuter aircraft
(Beech 1900, Saab 2000, Saab 340,
Embraer 120)
C 121-140 Med. and Short Range Transports
(Boeing 727, B737, MD-80, A320,
F100, B757, etc.)
D 141-165 Heavy transports
(Boeing 747, L-1011, MD-11, DC-
10, A340, A300)
E > 166 BAC Concorde and military aircraft

Virginia Tech 5 of 18
 Aircraft Wake Vortex Classification

Group Takeoff Gross Example Aircraft

Weight (lb)
Small < 41,000 All single engine aircraft, light twins,
most business jets and commuter air-
craft
Large 41,000-255,000 Large turboprop commuters, short and
medium range transport aircraft (MD-
80, B737, B727, A320, F100, etc.)
Heavy > 255,000 Boeing 757, Boeing 747, Douglas
DC-10, MD-11, Airbus A-300, Airbus
A-340, Lockheed L-1011

Virginia Tech 6 of 18
 The Wake Vortex Phenomena

Resulting from the generation of lift around a three dimensional

wing
Wake vortex tangential speeds can reach up to 70 m/s (beyond
the FAR Part 25 certification criteria of commercial aircraft)

60-70 m/s

Vortex Wake

Virginia Tech 7 of 18
 Typical VLCA Aircraft Specifications

Parameter Remarks
Passenger Capacity 650 passengers in a three-class layout plus crew
Desired Range 13,000 Kilometers with 1.50 hour reserve
Speed Mach 0.85 at 11.0 km
Runway Length Use of conventional runways (i.e., 3,300 m at MTOW
and Sea Level ISA)

Virginia Tech 8 of 18
 VLCA Aircraft

Boeing 747-400
VLCA

24.87 m

14 o

75.67 m

Four 311.8 kN Turbofan Engines Payload = 650 passengers

MTOW = 5,400 kN Design Range = 13,000 Km.
S = 700 m2
AR = 9.5

12 o

81.5 m.
78.57 m

Virginia Tech 9 of 18
 Wake Vortex Equations

4mg
= --------------
V b
where, is the vortex circulation (in m2/s), mg is the gross weight of the wake
generating aircraft (N.), is the air density (kg/m3), V is the true airspeed (m/s),
and b is the aircraft wingspan (m).

y2
---------

Vt = --------- 1 e 4 t
2y
where, V t is the tangential velocity right or left from vortex core (m./sec.), y is
the spanwise coordinate measured from the vortex core location, is the vortex
decay value which has been found to be dependent upon the strength of the
circulation, and t is the time behind the wake generating aircraft (in seconds).

Virginia Tech 10 of 18
 Tangential Velocity Profiles

7
Clean aircraft
6 Speed = 150 knots
Sea Level ISA
5

4
VLCA (4,400 kN)
3

2
Vortex Cores
1 Lockheed C5A (2,060 kN)

0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Lateral Distance from Center of Fuselage (m.)

Virginia Tech 11 of 18
 Projected Separation Criteria

24.0
Small (Learjet 23)
Medium (DC9)
20.0
Large (B757)
Heavy (747)
16.0
VLCA

12.0

8.0

4.0
0.0 750.0 1500.0 2250.0 3000.0 3750.0 4500.0 5250.0

Leading Aircraft Weight (kN)

Virginia Tech 12 of 18
 Small Aircraft
Single-Engine GA Twin-Engine GA

Cessna 172 (Skyhawk)

Beechcraft 58TC (Baron)

Beechcraft A36 (Bonanza)

Cessna 421C (Golden Eagle)

Virginia Tech 13 of 18
 Corporate Aircraft
Raytheon-Beechcraft King Air B300

Cessna Citation II

Gulfstream G V

Virginia Tech 14 of 18
 Commuter Aircraft

Embraer 120 (Brasilia)

Bombardier DHC-8 (Dash 8)

Saab 230B

Bombardier Regional Jet

Virginia Tech 15 of 18
 Short-Haul Transport Aircraft

Fokker F100

Airbus A-320

Boeing 737-300

McDonnell-
Douglas MD 82

Virginia Tech 16 of 18
 Medium-Haul Transport Aircraft

Beoing B727-200

Boeing 757-200

Airbus A300-600R

Virginia Tech 17 of 18
 Long-Haul Transport Aircraft

Airbus A340-200

McDonnell-Douglas MD-11

Boeing 777-200

Boeing 747-400

Virginia Tech 18 of 18