AIRPORT ENGINEERING

Lecture 5

Aircraft characteristics
Introduction
 Airplane, engine-driven vehicle that can fly through
the air supported by the action of air against its wings
 Airplanes are heavier than air, in contrast to vehicles
such as balloons/airships, which are lighter than air
 Airplanes have rigid wings; movable parts of the
wings and tail, which make it possible to guide
 Airplanes range from ultra light aircraft weighing no
more than 46 kg (100 lb) to 550 metric tons.
 Land planes (operate from ground), seaplanes (on
water), amphibians (can operate on both land and sea)

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Introduction

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Aircraft Characteristics
 Types and Number of Engines
 Aircraft Dimensions
 Turning and Circling Radius
 Aircraft Speed
 Maximum Structural takeoff weight
 Wingspan and total length
 Wheel track/wheel base
 Payload - revenue generating load (passengers and
cargo)

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Aircraft Characteristics – cont’d
 Gear/wheel configuration
 Aircraft Capacity
 Operating Range
 Noise

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Aircraft Characteristics (Size)
 Fuselage length (from nose to tail)
 Gear tread (distance between main gears)
 Height (at tail)
 Tail width
 Wheel base (distance between nose gear and main
gear)
 Wing span

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Aircraft Characteristics

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Airport Engineering – Aircraft Characteristics 8
Gear Location for Typical Aircraft

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Aircraft Dimensions

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Type of Engine and Propulsion
 Engines provide movement to the aircraft (slow/fast
and low/high altitude)
 Types of engines (details can be taken from books or
internet)
 Piston engine
 Jet engine Students need to study details of these
 Rocket engine engines by yourself

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Weight and Wheel Configuration
 Total Weight of the Aircraft
 Wheel configuration
 Number of gears
 Number of wheels in each gear
 Distribution of load on to pavement surface

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Typical Aircraft Wheel Configurations

Tricycle landing gear with Twin wheel single axle Twin-tandem landing
single tires landing gear gear

Twin-tridem landing gear

Double twin-tandem landing gear

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Comparison of Aircraft Landing Gear

F-15
C-141
305 psi
180 psi
39,000 lbs
155,000 lbs

B-727 B-707
167 psi 180 psi
82,000 lbs 157,000 lbs

B-747
200 psi
B-777 208,000 lbs
215 psi
301,000 lbs DC-10
177 psi
222,000 lbs

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Gear Configuration of A-380

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Aircraft Weights – cont’d
 Weight: one major factor that governs the runway length
 OEW: operating empty weight (or mass) is the weight (or
mass) of the aircraft without fuel and payload (includes pilots,
crew and empty seats without payload). Depends upon seating
configuration.
 PYL: Payload (passengers & cargo) – revenue producing load
 ZFW: zero fuel weight - above which all additional weight
must be fuel.

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Aircraft Weights
 MTOW: maximum takeoff operating weight (or mass) –
structurally the maximum demonstrated mass at takeoff
for safe flight (excludes run-up fuel and includes OEW,
fuel & Payload). Longer trips requires more fuel with
less payload.
MTOW = OEW + PLY + Trip Fuel + Reserve Fuel
= ZFW + Trip Fuel + Reserve Fuel
 MSLW: maximum structural landing weight (or mass) is
the maximum demonstrated landing weight (or mass) to
keep the landing gear intact at maximum sink rate
(vertical speed)
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Additional Aircraft Weight Components
 MSPW: maximum structural payload weight is the
maximum demonstrated payload to be carried without
stressing the aircraft fuselage (ZFW – OEW)
 MTW: maximum taxi weight (or maximum ramp weight)
for ground maneuvering. Usually slightly more than
MTOW (includes run-up fuel).
 DTW: desired takeoff weight is the weight of the aircraft
considering fuel (plus reserve), payload and OEW to
complete a given stage length:
DTW = PYL + OEW + Trip Fuel + Reserve Fuel

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Percent Weight Distribution

Aircraft Type OEW Payload Trip Fuel Fuel Reserve

Short Range 66 24 6 4
Med. Range 59 16 21 4
Long Range 44 10 42 6

Maximum gross take-off weight

Fuel Trip fuel

Operating empty Payload
reserve 6-42%
weight 44-66% 16-24%
4-6%

Maximum structural landing weight

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Aircraft Weights Data

Weights (kg) DC-10 A300-600 A300B-B2

Max. Ramp Weight 196,400 165,900 137,900

Max. Landing Weight 164,880 138,000 127,500

Max. Take-off Weight 195,050 165,000 150,000

Operating Weight Empty 108,940 87,100 87,800

Max. Zero Fuel Weight 151,950 130,000 122,000

Max. Structural Payload 43,000 42,900 34,200

Useable Fuel Capacity (Liters) 82,380 62,000 58,000

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Minimum Turning Radius
 Nose gear steered during
turning makes an angle
with the axis of main gear
(max. angle of rotation is
50-60 deg.)
 Point of intersection is
called Point of Rotation
 Line joining point of
rotation and the farthest
wing tip is known as the
minimum turning radius

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Radius Requirements for the Aircraft
 To determine aircraft position on the apron adjacent
to the terminal building and establishing the path for
the aircraft movement.
 Maximum radius is critical with regards the clearance
to adjacent buildings/aircraft.
 Minimum turning radii to reduce excessive tire wear
and shearing the pavement surface.
 New aircraft has the capability to swivel the main
gears for sharp turns.

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Minimum Circling Radius
 Minimum radius in air to make a smooth turn and
depends upon:
 Type of aircraft
 Air traffic volume
 Weather condition

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Aircraft Speed
 Ground speed
 Speed of aircraft relative to ground.
 Airspeed
 Speed of aircraft relative to medium (i.e., air)
 If groundspeed is 600 km/h and opposite speed of wind is 100
km/h: airspeed is 700 km/h
 Mach Number
 Ratio between the aircraft's speed and the speed of sound.
 Speed of sound at -25oC is 1,138 km/h, 0oC is 1,194 km/h and
at 30oC is 1,263 km/h.

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Aircraft Speed – cont’d
 Knot
 1 minute of arc of earth = nautical mile ~ 1.852 km
 Total nautical miles (equator) = 21,600 (40,003 km)
 1 knot = nautical mile/hour ~ 1.852 km/h.

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Capacity
 Number of passengers and amount of cargo
 Depends upon:
 Size of aircraft
 Propulsive power of aircraft

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Noise
 For airports near developed areas
 Major source of noise is the engine
 Noise is more severe during take-off than during
landing
 Engine noise have reduced due to technological
advancements

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QUESTIONS ???