The most dangerous landing strips in the world. Airfield runway

The idea to write this review came to me after repeatedly contemplating the airfields of airports around the world while traveling, taking photographs and simply observing numerous take-offs and landings of various aircraft.

What would seem so interesting? Far, near, here is a concrete road...

In reality, everything did not look so simple and I had absolutely no answers to most of the relatively simple questions regarding the structure of the airfield, and therefore I had, as usual, to delve into the documents, which turned out to be unexpectedly interesting, and in some places almost artistic.

Documentation on airport takeoff and landing equipment begins with a fairly detailed and very entertaining description of the problems experienced by flight crews when carrying out the entire range of operations associated with takeoffs, landings, taxiing and other air-ground operations. I was always aware of the complexity of flying aircraft, but the true depth of this intense work was beyond me. Now, I hope my understanding has expanded somewhat, and I invite you to take an excursion into the world of airport lights and symbols in order to gain even greater respect for aviators.

I'll start with a few quotes from ICAO documents. The documents of this organization are captivating because, despite their high technicality and, one might say, scrupulous detail, they are written in a very lively language using vivid, almost poetic metaphors.

Here are a couple of them:

“People are creatures living in a world of two dimensions. From the moment we gain the ability to crawl, we use visual cues and an innate sense of balance to move along the surface of the earth. This long and gradual cognitive process continues after we begin to use various types of mechanical transport on land or water, and by this time we have accumulated many years of experience to guide us. As soon as we get into the air, we are faced with a third-dimensional problem, which means that all our life experience in solving two-dimensional problems is no longer enough.”

“If we take a long-body aircraft as an example, the pilot must control one of the largest, heaviest, and least efficient tricycles ever made when taxiing. The nearest point on the ground in the direction of travel that the pilot can see from at least 6 m above the ground is more than 12 m away. The steerable nose gear is located several meters behind his seat in the cockpit (which creates additional problems when driving along a curve), and the wheels of the main struts are no less than 27 m behind. Naturally, there is no “direct drive” to these wheels, and therefore it is necessary to use the thrust of jet engines, which are obviously ineffective at low translational speeds. Because many modern jet aircraft (regardless of size) have swept wings, the pilot often cannot see the wingtips from the cockpit.”

Impressive, at least to me.

Armed with inspired remarks from ICAO, I’ll move on to the main part of my story

I'll start with runways and taxiways, namely what is painted on them and what useful information can be gleaned from it.

In films, and in everyday life, many of us have seen a red and white stocking fluttering in the wind or drooping lifelessly in complete calm on a small support located not far from the airfield runway.

Aerodrome windsock.

Aviators call this simple device a “sorcerer,” but its full and correct name is a windsock, and every airfield must be equipped with at least one such device.

Its purpose is simple - to indicate to pilots the direction of the surface wind, as well as to give an approximate idea of ​​its speed, but the practical use of even such a simple thing requires compliance with several rules.

Firstly, the windsock is placed in such a way that it is clearly visible both from the flying aircraft and from the airfield itself. The trick to its location is that it should not be affected by all sorts of air currents from nearby objects and structures. In short, to prevent the windsock from always pointing in the direction of the draft from the nearest gateway.

Secondly, the size and color of the “sorcerer” also matter. Despite the fact that the windsock looks tiny in the landscape of the airfield, in fact it is not small at all. Its length reaches more than three meters, and its diameter at the base is almost a meter. As for the color of the “sorcerer,” it is chosen taking into account the background of the airfield, so that it is clearly visible from a height of at least 300 meters. One color is preferred, preferably white or orange, but if increased contrast is needed, two colors are used, preferring a combination of orange and white, red and white, or black and white, and the colors are arranged in the form of five alternating stripes so that the first and last are darker color.

Thirdly, the location of the windsock is indicated by a strip 1.2 meters wide, drawn in the form of a fairly large circle with a diameter of 15 meters, which must also contrast with the windsock itself. At night, the “sorcerer” is provided with personal lighting.

Having seen enough of the play of the wind, let us now turn directly to the runways and taxiways. There is a lot of interesting and educational stuff in this area.

Let's start with the fact that the lanes and paths are marked. Markings are different numbers, signs, stripes, edgings. Nothing tricky, but for a careful observer, and even more so for pilots, the markings contain a lot of very valuable information.

On runways, the markings are white, and if the runways themselves have fairly light surfaces, for example, faded from the bright southern sun, then they are also outlined with black paint in order to increase visibility. The paint is selected in such a way as to minimize the risk of deterioration in the adhesion of the wheels to the runway, and for night flights, special reflective materials are included in the paint.

Now let's see what kind of information can be obtained by looking at the runway markings.

Each strip with artificial turf has a personal designation, which is a two-digit number, and if the airport is equipped with several parallel strips, then a letter is added to the number. The number itself is the magnetic landing course of the aircraft, rounded to the nearest ten. If after rounding the result is a number less than ten, for example, 8, then a zero is written in front of it and the number becomes two-digit, in our case 08.

Roughly speaking, if the landing course is equal to 120 degrees, then the runway on one side will be designated 12, and on the other, accordingly, 30, that is, the difference will be 180 degrees. As a result, the strip will receive the full designation Runway 12/30 or, in our country, Runway 12/30. A natural question arises: why does the strip have two names on both sides? But because planes can land and take off in both directions depending on the wind direction in the area of ​​the airport.

As for the letters included in the runway markings, they are used when there are several parallel stripes in the air harbor. The letters are standard - L(eft), C(enter), R(ight) and in case of multiband are used in the following order:

Two parallel stripes - L, R;

Three parallel stripes - L, C, R;

Four parallel stripes - L, R, L, R;

Five parallel stripes - L, C, R, L, R or L, R, L, C, R;

Six parallel stripes - L, C, R, L, C, R.

There is one nuance in the letter marking of stripes if there are more than three of them and all of these stripes are parallel. This order, for example, can be seen at the Dallas airport (USA). In this case, the magnetic azimuth of one part of the stripes is rounded to the nearest smaller value, and the other part to the nearest larger value.

Dallas airport runways.

Information about landing on a particular runway is also present on the radio during the exchange of landing data between the aircraft crew and the dispatch service, which allows, for example, to orientate yourself if necessary, to take a colorful photo of a landing or taking off aircraft.

By the way, despite the fact that the alphanumeric symbols look relatively small in the photographs, their actual dimensions are 9 meters long and 3 meters wide.

We seem to have sorted out the numbers and letters, and now let’s move on to dashes, stripes and rectangles, which, despite their inconspicuousness, can also convey something interesting.

For example, runway threshold markings. What exactly is this? And this is a set of longitudinal strips of the same size, placed symmetrically from the center line of the strip and located at a distance of six meters from its end. It would seem that everything is clear, but the number of these stripes will indicate the width of the runway. The general dependence of the number of zebra stripes on the runway width is as follows:

4 lanes - runway width 18 meters;

6 lanes - runway width 23 meters;

8 lanes - runway width 30 meters;

12 lanes - runway width 45 meters;

16 lanes - runway width 60 meters.

Thus, the pilot, looking at the threshold of the runway, instantly gets an idea of ​​​​its width and suitability for landing for the manned type of aircraft. The width of the runway is very important when landing an aircraft, since the movement of a heavy machine in the transverse direction can be very critical with large crosswinds, various excursions of the aircraft relative to the center line of the runway caused by errors or associated physical conditions, for example, uneven runways or weather conditions.

There are some peculiarities when drawing these signs, but in general the given values ​​are standard and are used at all airfields with artificial turf (asphalt, concrete, asphalt-concrete).

An attentive observer will certainly notice that the number of runway threshold stripes is sometimes slightly different from those shown in the table. So, say, the zebra runway 14R/32L of Domodedovo Airport contains 16 stripes, which actually corresponds to its current width of 60 meters, and Runway 06/24 of Vnukovo Airport uses markings consisting of 14 stripes, which is not formally reflected in the ICAO table. The same discrepancy can be seen on runway 01/19 of the same Vnukovo airport. The explanation is that the number of stripes corresponds to the true width of the runway, enclosed between the outer markers of its edges, which makes it possible to quite accurately understand within what exact limits a change in the position of a landing aircraft is permissible.

Runways Domodedovo, Vnukovo with end markers.

The next interesting element in the design of the runway is the landing point marker. Anyone who looked at photographs of airports on Yandex or Google certainly noted black marks from aircraft tires, neatly concentrated in approximately the same places near the beginning of each runway. What helps pilots achieve such remarkable precision in controlling an airplane when landing? But this very marker helps. It works like this.

The target landing point marker itself is a pair of clearly visible stripes applied parallel to the runway, the size of which and the interval between them are determined by several factors.

Firstly, the distance between the aiming point and the end of the strip depends on the length of the runway. The longer the runway, the farther from its beginning the aiming marker is located. For example, if the length of the strip does not exceed 800 meters, then the aiming point lies at a distance of 150 meters from the end, while for a strip over 2400 meters long it increases to 400.

Secondly, the width of the runway affects the size of the marker blocks. For large runways, their length reaches 10 meters, and the interval is up to 22.5.

In general, everything is thought out in such a way that the aiming point is truly noticeable and suitable for full orientation when landing.

The aiming point for landing is organically complemented by the marking of the landing zone. It is in the landing zone that those same black tracks from airplane tires that I mentioned earlier are located. The zone itself consists of paired rectangles located symmetrically with respect to the center line of the runway. Such markings, as well as aiming points, are applied in both directions of aircraft landing, and its length and the number of paired marks used also depend on the length of the runway. On short strips up to 900 meters, one pair of signs is used, and on strips longer than 2400 meters there may be six pairs or more.

Aiming point and landing zone markings.

The runway edge markings, which indicate the outer edges of the runway, complete the parade of runway graphics.

Now, let’s allow ourselves to leave the runway area and head towards the most interesting intricacy of taxiways, aprons and other places where vibrant aviation life takes place. These silent participants in air traffic deserve special attention despite their auxiliary purpose. Taxiways, aprons and airport sites are a fairly extensive, interesting and diverse area of ​​knowledge.

It is interesting primarily because everything that is located around the runways is a kind of binding of straight runway booms, and all the hidden life of the airport is in full swing on these working surfaces. Runways skim off the cream in the form of luxurious takeoffs and soft landings, while taxiways and aprons routinely receiving, sending cargo and passengers rarely end up in beautiful advertising brochures.

We have a short introductory walk through this part of the airfield, during which we will look at some of what is hidden from the eyes of ordinary passengers clinging to the windows.

I'll start with the general requirements for taxiways.

Any airport is created in such a way as to ensure maximum throughput while maintaining proper efficiency of airport operations. To achieve this same efficiency, it is necessary to ensure the right balance between the needs of runways, cargo and passenger terminals, parking and aircraft maintenance areas. All these functional elements are combined using a balanced taxiway system, which ultimately allows for optimal operation of the air harbor.

These simple and understandable theses lead to certain methods of taxiway design, which are to ensure an unimpeded, continuous flow of aircraft ground movement with maximum speed and minimal acceleration and deceleration. Efficiency thus also contributes to safety.

In other words, taxiways should move as many aircraft on and off the runway as possible without significant delays. This means that it is important for a landing ship to leave the landing strip as soon as possible, and for a ship taking off, it is necessary to occupy the runway immediately before the takeoff run.

It seems like nothing complicated, but if you take into account the size of modern airports, the number of takeoff and landing operations, the volume of cargo transported and the intensity of passenger flows, you can imagine how complex an engineering task it is to create this very transport “connection”.

In order to build such a powerful system, it must be carefully planned. Let's see how experienced designers do this. First of all, they take on the task of drawing up a route map of the taxiways. The map is created in such a way as to connect the various elements of the airfield along the shortest distances, thus reducing taxi time and costs. Taxiing should not only be short, but also have the simplest possible configuration in order to avoid pilot errors and reduce the cost of developing complex structures. In general, designers like to use straight paths and large turning radii in order to maximize the speed of aircraft when taxiing and thereby increase the efficiency of airfield use.

But what they definitely don’t like is intersections of runways and taxiways, as was done, for example, at Vnukovo, since such intersections not only reduce overall safety, but also increase delays in aircraft movement, nullifying efforts to achieve a high density of flight operations. Designers also do not like “oncoming traffic”, since movement on counter courses sometimes leads to dangerous convergence of aircraft. In its pure form, oncoming traffic is rare, since taxiway routes are laid with maximum use of one-way segments.

You can also note the provision of security, the relevance of which has recently increased sharply. Taxiway routes are constructed so that they do not pass through areas where people have free access to aircraft. In addition, during the design, the possibility of committing sabotage or armed aggression is specifically assessed and special measures are taken, the description of which is beyond the scope of this material. It can be noted that all sections of the taxi system must be visually accessible from the airport control tower. If some areas are shaded by buildings or structures, they are equipped with video surveillance systems, including night vision devices.

If you look at the diagram of a particular airport, you will notice that the taxiways are not just adjacent to the beginning of the runways, but seem to frame these main airport routes.

Runway with adjacent exit taxiways.

These adjacent tracks are called input and output RDs. Their purpose is to send the aircraft for takeoff and quickly remove the landed aircraft from the runway. There should be enough ingress and egress taxiways to meet the requirements for handling aircraft taking off and landing during peak hours.

Yes, yes, there are rush hours at airports too, and they can be planned, determined by the flight schedule, or they can also be emergency, for example, when planes en masse leave for alternate airfields during bad weather or for other important reasons.

The principles of planning exit taxiways are especially interesting. The fact is that they serve to minimize the time the runway is used by aircraft landing. In other words, sit down, quickly leave the runway, the airport should proceed to the next operation without delay.

And here there is one interesting nuance. The exit taxiway can be located either at a right angle or at an acute angle to the runway. It would seem that what a difference it makes. And the difference is quite significant. The first type of track implies that, before leaving the runway, the aircraft reduced speed to the minimum possible and slowly made a 90-degree turn, heading towards the terminal or parking lot. Smooth, relatively safe, but long...

The second type of taxiway, located at an acute angle, allows you to leave the lane at a higher speed, completing the braking already on the taxiway. This type is called “high-speed exit taxiways”. It allows you to increase runway capacity not only during landings, but also during takeoffs. Those who have had the opportunity to observe the operation of airports for a long time have noticed that takeoffs can be carried out both from the end of the runway and from the middle, using high-speed taxiways to take off.

We can also add that the construction of expressways is more expensive than direct ones, and designers usually balance between cost and efficiency, which is generally a common thing.

But what is actually difficult is a forecast for the intensity of use of the airport in the future, since alterations, expansion and modifications of existing schemes are almost more expensive than the initial construction. It is essential that it is necessary to take into account not only the development of the airport, but also the direction of development of civil aviation itself, that is, imagine what aircraft will be like in, say, ten years, how their weight, size and characteristics will change, how much global trends in routes and navigation will change . In general, a whole cocktail of technical and political predictions.

You can write long and richly about taxiways, but I won’t do this because I was going to be relatively brief, however, I will especially dwell on one more type of taxiways since they often attract the attention of photographers, directors, and even seem very curious to ordinary passengers. These are taxiways located on bridges.

The layout of the airfield, its geographical location, size or length of infrastructure sometimes requires the laying of taxiways over bridges located over roads, railways, water spaces or sea communications. The construction of such taxiways has its own tricks. For example, every motorist knows that bridges and overpasses are fraught with a whole range of dangers during heavy rain, periods of snow and ice, poor visibility or gusty winds. At airfields, everything happens exactly the same, only the problems are aggravated by the enormous weight of aircraft, the need to provide access to large equipment in case of emergency, as well as the influence of powerful jet streams from aircraft engines on vehicles moving under these bridges. Nobody wants to receive a gigantic blow from a deflated pebble into the windshield of their car.

Without going into deep technical details, I will note that bridges are built with a special degree of strength due to the passage of the heaviest ships accepted by the airport. In addition, these bridges are equipped with side restraints, which will allow, in the event of an accident, to keep the aircraft on the bridge and prevent it from collapsing on the heads of astonished drivers. The impact of the jet stream is neutralized by special barrier structures made of perforated material, which reduce the impact to an acceptable level. After passing the barrier, the speed of the jet vortex decreases to approximately 15 m/s, which corresponds to a strong wind on the Beaufort scale. Not calm, of course, but not a hurricane either.

The taxiway passes over the bridge.

Continuing the tour of the airport airfield, one cannot fail to mention such elements as waiting areas and aprons. Without them, there will be small gaps in our knowledge, and this is a little sad, because why then was all this written up?

Why were waiting areas and so-called workarounds invented?

The fact is that departure permissions are usually given in the order of aircraft readiness for takeoff. At small airfields with low flight density, which is approximately 50-70 takeoffs and landings per day, there is usually no need to make changes to the flight sequence. However, at large airports with high traffic frequencies such a need arises. These airports have fairly large aprons and it is sometimes difficult to ensure that aircraft taxi from the apron so that they approach the end of the runway in the sequence required by air traffic control services. Holding bays and bypasses provide flexibility in managing the sequence of departures and, accordingly, increase airport capacity. At the same time, both the commercial task of generating profit from the operation of the port is effectively solved, and the degree of comfort for air transport passengers is increased.

The simplest example that can be given is the delay of a plane's departure due to unforeseen circumstances. Using the platform makes it possible not to delay aircraft following behind.

In addition to the holding areas themselves, such types of taxiways as twin taxiways and twin runway entrances are actively used. Twin taxiways are, in fact, bypass taxiways that allow aircraft to move in parallel, and twin entrances are a bifurcation of the taxiway when entering the runway. As an example of a paired entrance, we can cite the infrastructure of lane 32L of Domodedovo Airport.

Twin entrance to runway 32L of Domodedovo airport.

As for the color graphics of taxiways, their markings are painted in yellow, unlike white for runways.

Now let's move on to the airport aprons. In general, airport aprons are a rather fascinating section, since it is apron operations that directly affect passengers and cargo, and often aprons are the face of an air transport hub.

To clarify, I will say that an apron is a designated area designed to accommodate aircraft for boarding and disembarking passengers, loading and unloading mail or cargo, refueling, parking or maintenance. Aircraft parking areas are also located on the aprons.

This is a general definition. In fact, there are several types of platforms.

The first and most important view is the passenger terminal apron. In the area of ​​this apron, boarding is carried out, aircraft are refueled and maintained, cargo and passenger luggage are loaded and unloaded. Aircraft parking is organized on these same aprons.

The next type is cargo platforms. They are designed for aircraft carrying only cargo and mail. They usually try to separate cargo and passenger aprons because they use different types of apron and airport terminal equipment.

Cargo aircraft parked.

Passenger and cargo aprons are usually complemented by remote parking areas where aircraft can be stationed for long periods of time. As a rule, they are used for minor technical work or inspections of ships. Although these sites are called remote, they are located as close as possible to the main aprons so as to minimize loading and unloading time, as well as ensure the proper level of safety.

General aviation aprons are identified as a separate type. They are designed to serve business and personal aviation and do not overlap with common areas.

In addition to those listed, there are service aprons, pre-garden aprons, transit aprons, and mooring aprons. Their purpose follows from their names. We can only add that the presence of such aprons significantly increases the airport’s capabilities in terms of volume and quality of aircraft service.

Let's go back a little and take a closer look at passenger platforms. It turns out that there are several basic concepts for their construction, which is reflected in the architecture of the terminal part of different airports around the world. It is this architecture that we observe when looking at the airfield from the airport complex while waiting for departure.

Concept N1. Simple.

It is really simple and is used at low traffic volume airports. Aircraft in this scheme are located in parking lots with their bow part towards the airport terminal or with their bow part away from it and taxi using their own thrust.

The main concern of designers is to provide sufficient distance to the terminal façade to reduce the impact of jets from aircraft engines. Sometimes, however, they make do with jet-deflecting barriers.

Simple airport concept.

Concept N2. Linear.

This is the next level of complexity and a kind of development of a simple concept of architecture.

It differs mainly in that the planes are located at an angle to the front line of the airport terminal, which allows arriving planes to taxi to the parking lot faster. Problems that arise with pushing aircraft out for takeoff are mitigated by the use of special tractors with experienced personnel.

Airport linear concept.

Concept N3. Landing galleries.

Quite common architecture nowadays, sometimes called peninsular. Its essence is that one or more galleries extend from the terminal building, in which there are exits leading to docked aircraft. Airplanes can be positioned either at an angle to the gallery or perpendicularly, with the bow to the terminal. Sometimes there is parallel parking of aircraft to the galleries. The most important thing for designers is to provide sufficient space between the galleries for safe maneuvering of aircraft and to group the galleries according to the size of the aircraft accepted by the airport.

Landing gallery concept.

Concept N4. Ostrovnaya.

As the name suggests, in this case it is implied that there is a structure separate from the airport terminal, surrounded by aircraft parking areas at the boarding gates. Typically, passenger access from the airport terminal to the island structure is provided through underground or overground passages, but sometimes access is provided over the surface.

The shapes of the island vary. These can be round, oval, square or rectangular buildings. Aircraft dock parallel or radially.

Island concept.

Concept N5. Open platform.

The essence of the concept is that aircraft are located at remote sites while passengers, luggage and cargo are delivered to parking areas by road transport. For transportation, special gallery buses and cargo trolleys are used. Despite some inconveniences for passengers, this scheme also has its advantages, such as the proximity of the aprons to the runway, shortened pre-launch taxiing cycles, flexibility in operation and ease of expanding areas.

Open apron concept.

Having examined the aprons, we will return to the airport task and pay attention to the features of boarding passengers directly onto the plane. As you know, the crew and travelers get on board using gangways, a kind of bridge between the deck and the ground.

Passengers love telescopic bridges most of all, and it’s clear why. In winter, when flying to hot countries, you can walk straight from the building to the plane in shorts, and when arriving, get back to the airport without paying attention to the vagaries of the weather in the form of rain, snow and other meteorological surprises. In aviation terms, this is called “direct boarding,” which means people board without the use of steps or wasting energy.

Telescopic ladders come in two types - stationary and mobile. The fixed stairway protrudes from the terminal building and can be moved only slightly towards the aircraft with a small adjustment in height between the aircraft deck and the terminal floor. A movable telescopic ladder is more complex. One end of this ladder is hinged to the terminal building, and the other end is on a two-wheeled trolley with a motor. The ramp rotates towards the aircraft and extends until it touches the aircraft door. The end that interfaces with the aircraft can be raised or lowered significantly, making it possible to serve aircraft with different deck heights using this passenger stairway.

Teletrap.

In addition to telescopic units, airports also use their simpler counterparts - movable gangways. These old workers can be towed to the aircraft, or they can move independently using gasoline or electric traction and driver labor. Here passengers will have to use the steps and stand for a while in the wind or rain. True, some moving ramps are equipped with a canopy to protect them from bad weather, but they will still be dropped off from the bus onto an open platform and nothing can be done about it. By the way, the cost of parking at boarding bridges is significantly higher than at remote platforms, and many companies save money by reducing the level of comfort for their passengers.

Open gangway and canopy gangway.

It must be said that there are also special types of mobile ladders, which are special vehicles, the cabin of which is hydraulically raised level with the aircraft deck. This technique is called autolifts and is used for all kinds of catering operations on board an aircraft, as well as for unloading sick passengers.

Autolift.

Finally, I would like to note the possibility of using the stairways of the aircraft themselves, if the aircraft is equipped with them. In this case, the crew independently lowers the ramp, and passengers leave the plane along it.

Airplane interior staircase.

As we have already seen, the airport airfield is a complex conglomerate of road infrastructure with multiple intersections, parallel and corner paths. It is logical to assume that for the safe organization of coordinated movement of aircraft and road transport, it is necessary to equip this infrastructure with road signs that allow pilots and drivers to freely navigate the expanses of the airfield.

Indeed, such signs exist and serve to convey constant or variable graphic information to traffic participants. The signs are placed as close to the surface as possible to avoid getting caught by propellers or jet engine nacelles. Another requirement is that aerodrome signs must be frangible and, even if they are touched, they will not interfere with the movement of the aircraft.

There are two types of signs - mandatory and indicative. Mandatory signs are made in red with white lettering. Each mandatory sign implies that further movement of an aircraft or vehicle is prohibited unless permission has been received from the airfield control tower.

Mandatory signs include runway designation signs, category I, II or III holding position signs, runway holding position signs and along the route, as well as a “No Entry” sign.

Mandatory airport signs.

Directional signs use yellow canvas and black font color. Their purpose follows from the name itself. As a rule, signs are used to provide information about the direction of movement, the location of certain objects, exit points from the runway and take-off points from intersections.

Airfield directional signs.

And now a little digression about how you can confuse taxiways and runways even if you have signs, markings and flight experience.

It was in the glorious city of Oslo...

Oslo Airport.

Winter, February 2010. The Airbus A320 of Aeroflot Airlines began moving from the airport terminal towards the runway for departure to Moscow. The flight was during the day, the weather was good, or as they say in aviation, the weather conditions were simple. Taxiing was carried out by a commander with extensive experience and a total flight time of over 9,000 thousand hours. In addition to the commander and co-pilot, there was an observer pilot in an additional seat in the cockpit.

The takeoff was planned from runway 01L and the commander decided to carry it out not from the beginning of the runway, but somewhat closer - from taxiway A3, perpendicularly adjacent directly to the runway. The decision was due to the fact that the flight was delayed by 25 minutes, and the commander decided to gain time by reducing the taxi interval. The distances of the continued and aborted takeoff with the remaining runway length (2740 m) made it possible to make a successful takeoff from the point chosen by the commander.

The crew informed the dispatcher about the decision and, having received permission to take off from taxiway A3, the plane moved towards the executive takeoff.

As I already said, it was winter outside and the taxiway markings were covered with a small layer of snow. The center line was poorly visible and it was difficult for the crew to maintain the specified taxiing direction despite the low speed of about 20 knots.

Permission to take off was received just when the plane approached taxiway A3 and, accordingly, the crew continued to move without stopping during the preliminary and executive starts.

At this moment, the crew of the aircraft, having made the mistaken decision that they had already reached the runway, taxied onto taxiway M running along Runway 01L and began a takeoff run, which ended with a successful lift-off from the surface at a speed of 143 knots. The crew learned that the takeoff was made from the taxiway from the controller already in the air, and asked the controller twice to make sure that the information from the ground was correct.

Subsequently, the commander of the ship, the co-pilot and the observer pilot explained this error by the fact that taxiway M was cleared of snow much better than the runway and the adjacent taxiway, which led to the conclusion that the runway had been successfully reached and it was possible to proceed for takeoff. It is interesting that the aircraft crew did not pay attention to the banners indicating the taxiway and runway, as well as the yellow color of the taxiway center line.

A similar incident at the same airport occurred a little earlier with a Boeing-737 aircraft of a Turkish airline, but then the dispatcher managed to notice the erroneous actions of the crew and gave the command to abort the takeoff.

I gave this illustration to make it clearer how difficult it is for even trained and experienced crews to work when performing routine taxiing and takeoff operations.

At this point, we will complete the day's tour of the airfield and wait until nighttime in order to contemplate the most beautiful picture of the night illumination of the airfield, and at the same time understand what certain chains of aviation lights mean.

View of the airfield at night.

Scientifically, these same lights are called lighting equipment, which is necessary for illuminating the runway and its sections, approaches to the runway, indicating taxiways, as well as for providing aircraft crews with complete visual information when taking off, landing and taxiing aircraft.

Airport lights come in low and high intensity. In the specialized literature they are designated as LMI (Low Intensity Lights) and HVI (High Intensity Lights).

The difference between OMI and OVI is the luminous intensity of the lights used in the systems. Low intensity corresponds to a light intensity of less than 10,000 kDa (lamps up to 100 W), and high intensity corresponds to a light intensity of more than 10,000 kDa (150/200 W lamps).

In addition, there is a certain procedure for turning on airport lights. Briefly, the rules are as follows.

The lighting system is turned on:

For night flights - 15 minutes before sunset or estimated time of aircraft arrival;

In the daytime - with visibility of 2000 m or less;

In other cases - at the request of the air traffic control authority or the aircraft crew.

The system turns off:

With sunrise;

In the daytime - with visibility more than 2000 m;

In the absence of flights or a break in aircraft arrivals (departures) for more than 15 minutes.

The general airport lighting system consists of several subsystems of lights, grouped according to certain characteristics. Let's look at the contents of each subsystem.

Approach lights subsystem. This group of white lights is designed to indicate to the aircraft crew the direction to the center line of the runway in conditions of limited visibility.

The landing pilot sees these lights as a light trail, accurately indicating the true position of the runway. The chain of lights is located from 300 to 900 meters before the start of the strip, depending on its ICAO category.

In addition to the center line, the subsystem includes skylights located perpendicular to the runway center line lights. Light horizons are necessary to create an artificial horizon line, allowing the pilot to judge the roll of the aircraft in relation to the natural horizon of the earth's surface. These lights also emit white light.

There can be several light horizons. In this case, the horizons are located 150 meters from each other strictly perpendicular to the center line of the runway. It is interesting that if additional horizons are included in the system, then the straight lines drawn through their external lights should converge at a calculated point at a distance of 300 meters beyond the runway threshold, indicating the approximate point of contact of the runway with the wheels of the aircraft.

I will add that the approach subsystem is equipped with side rows of red lights, which are installed to the right and left of the center line of the approach lights, forming a clear orientation contour.

Runway approach lights.

The next subsystem is runway edge lights, which are located along the entire length of the strip in two parallel rows at the same distance from the center line and no further than three meters from the edge of the declared runway width. The color used is white, except for the section of lights at the end of the runway where the color of the lights changes to yellow. In addition, the side lights between the start of the runway and the displaced threshold are red. For information - a displaced runway threshold, a runway threshold that does not coincide with its physical beginning.

We go further to the runway entrance lights, which are located in a chain at the runway threshold and serve to indicate the beginning of the runway. The entrance lights use green and are directed directly in the direction of the approaching aircraft.

Entry lights are logically complemented by runway end lights. They are installed at the end of the runway, perpendicular to its axis no further than three meters from the end of the runway on the outer side of it. There must be at least six of these lights. They use red color directed towards the runway.

Between the entrance and boundary lights there are several groups of lights that finalize the runway at night and in poor visibility.

These are the stripe center line lights, the landing zone lights and the landing sign lights. Center line lights indicate the center line of the runway. The color scheme of the center line lights is as follows: from the beginning of the runway to the section located 900 meters before its end, white is used; in the section 900–300 m from the end of the runway, the center line lights emit red and white light alternately, and in the last 300 meters meters, the lights emit only red light in the direction of the aircraft moving along the runway.

Touchdown zone lights serve to designate the landing zone on a runway to facilitate landing in poor visibility conditions. The lights are installed in two rows parallel to the runway axis in a section of 900 m from the runway threshold using white light emission.

Landing sign lights are placed in two groups, at least three lights in each group, on both sides of the runway on a line perpendicular to its axis, at a distance of approximately 300 m from the runway threshold. The color of the radiation is white.

When considering taxiways, we have already talked about high-speed exits from the runway. The ones that are located at an acute angle to the runway and allow the ship to leave it at increased maneuvering speeds. For such taxiways, special lights are provided that begin at a distance of approximately 300 meters from the junction of the runway and taxiway.

Lights indicating a high-speed taxiway are yellow, while the center line of the taxiway is green. The chain of these lights begins near the center line of the runway and then leads to the high-speed taxiway. An interesting nuance in the use of this group of lights can be noted - the lights of the high-speed output indicator do not turn on if any lamp or other element of the indication circuit fails, preventing the display of the full circuit of lights. Everything is clear here without extended comments. The speed of the ship is high and a faulty circuit can lead to serious accidents. In addition, to avoid confusion in navigation, these lights are specially screened so that they are visible only from a given direction.

As for the taxiways themselves, they have their own color indication scheme to indicate the longitudinal boundaries and center line of the taxiway. Side taxi lights emit blue light, while centerline lights emit green light.

Taxiway and exit lights.

Another subsystem of airfield lights is associated with warnings for pilots, informing about the need to stop or completely prohibit movement. These include:

Stop lights designed to prohibit the movement of vessels at taxiway intersections, taxiway junctions with runways, or taxi-holding areas. These lights completely replace daytime signs with high intensity lights in low visibility conditions. The brake lights are unidirectional, red.

Warning lights inform the pilot of the nearest taxiway intersection. They are installed perpendicular to the taxiway and emit a yellow color.

Obstacle lights indicate various obstacles and have a red light color.

Airfield light signs are used to guide aircraft crews when moving around the airfield. These can be special traffic lights that emit red when traffic is prohibited and green when it is allowed, as well as yellow indicator arrows.

Concluding the consideration of airfield light indication, I will briefly mention such a group as glide path lights. For an ordinary observer, full observation of the lights of this subsystem is practically inaccessible since they are designed for pilots to carry out visual control of the landing glide path.

Strictly speaking, glide path lights are groups of light sources grouped in such a way that the pilot can judge the position of the aircraft relative to the estimated glide path during landing.

Each glide path light emits white light at the top and red light at the bottom. The distribution angles of the light beams, in combination with the installation of the lights themselves, are positioned so that the pilot, when landing, sees all the glide path lights red when the aircraft is below the normal glide path, and all lights white when the aircraft is above the normal glide path.

If the aircraft is on a normal glide path, the near horizon lights will be white and the far horizon lights will be red.

Runway glide path lights (left).

This concludes my review. I hope I was able to convey to the reader some idea of ​​the complexity and elegance of building airport infrastructure, as well as how much pilots need to know and be able to do successfully in different parts of the globe.

For comparison private jet and the runway, there are many more factors to know and take into account than just the type of aircraft.

How aircraft type, elevation angle and weather conditions determine suitability private jet runway length?

Aircraft manufacturers make many complex calculations to determine the recommended runway length for each private jet, and the physical size of the airliner is just one of a number of factors that are considered by experts. When it comes to private aircraft and runway length, designers must take into account the altitude at which the air harbor is located, the weight of the aircraft, as well as geographical and natural conditions, such as air temperature.

What aviation factors dictate the required runway length?

Aircraft type is the biggest factor in determining whether the runway is long enough for takeoff and landing. private jet? Rule of thumb: the larger the liner, the longer the stripe should be.

However, there are other factors that also need to be considered when it comes to aircraft suitability for runway length. These include:

• Maximum take-off weight of the aircraft;
• Aircraft engine thrust;
• How quickly the plane reaches takeoff speed.

How do altitude and angle of climb affect a private jet and runway length?

If the runway is at sea level and the length of the runway is 1.5 km, then this is enough for takeoff and landing of turboprop aircraft, light, medium and heavy jets. Every 500-600 meters of altitude above sea level, 300 meters must be added to the strip. There are several planes that have straight wings, such as Citation V/Ultra/Encore And Falcon 50- a one and a half kilometer strip is enough for them. The general rule for turboprop airliners is that they require 850 meters of runway at sea level.

What does “density altitude” mean and why is it important for pilots to know the angle of climb and airport altitude?

Density altitude, or the density of air at a certain altitude, is what pilots use to determine aircraft performance when it comes to taking off and landing at high altitude airports. Three factors that can determine air density include:

• Temperature;
• Height above sea level;
• Humidity.

Since air is less dense at high altitudes and in hot climates, private plane will support a smaller volume of air, so to take off it will need a higher ground speed, and therefore a longer runway. All these factors must be taken into account, since the performance of airliners at airports closer to sea level is not at all identical to those observed on a hot and humid day in air harbors at high altitudes. Reducing air density can reduce engine power as well as reduce aerodynamic lift and drag.

How's the weight private jet affects the airliner and runway length?

The weight and balance of a boat are important for safe and efficient piloting. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the maximum allowable weight of an aircraft is based on the surface area of ​​the wing and how much vertical thrust will be generated. The heavier the plane, the longer the runway it will need to take off. The weight of the aircraft can also affect the stall speed on the wing before the aircraft climbs or descends. Pilots and crew should be aware of adding too much weight, for example as baggage, as it may adversely affect climb and performance.

Shoshina Olga

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Runway strip(abbr. runway) - part of the airfield, included as a working area in the airstrip. The runway is a specially prepared and equipped strip of the earth's surface with artificial pavement ( runway, artificial runway) or unpaved surface ( GVPP, unpaved runway) designed to support the takeoff and landing of aircraft.

Designation and dimensions

Runways are numbered according to the magnetic course on which they are located. The course value is rounded to tens and divided by 10. For example, at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport, the runway has a magnetic course of 72°. Accordingly, its designation is Runway 07. It should be noted that any strip is “directed” simultaneously in two directions, the difference between which is 180°. Therefore, the opposite course is 252°. Thus, the strip in Tolmachevo will have the designation Runway 07/25.

At larger airports, 2 or more runways are built. Often they are located in parallel - that is, on the same course. In such cases, a letter is added to the numerical designation - L (left), C (central) and R (right). For example, at Chicago Midway Airport, three runways are located on the same course - 133°/313°. Accordingly, they have the following designations: Runway 13L/31R, Runway 13C/31C and Runway 13R/31L. However, at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, all 4 runways have the same heading, and are designated 8L/8R/9L/9R to avoid confusion.

In radio exchanges between pilots and air traffic controllers, the runways are called, for example, “Runway zero two” or “Runway one three center.”

The sizes of runways can be very different, from very small - 300 m long and 10 m wide, to huge ones - 5 km long and 80 meters wide. The smallest ones are used for small, sport aviation. The largest runways are built at large international airports and aircraft factories.

The coating used for stripes is also different. There are dirt, gravel, asphalt and concrete strips.

Runway lighting

The main task of runway lighting equipment is to ensure the safe landing and take-off of aircraft in the dark and at twilight, as well as in conditions of limited visibility.

see also

The main characteristics of the runway (runway) are:

Suitability for use, i.e. technical ability to service a certain category of aircraft; -course, i.e. strip axis course according to magnetic or navigation course; -exceeding the threshold, i.e. the height of the threshold of the strip relative to sea level, as well as the elevation of the earth's surface; - length, running distance; -width; - covering, for example soil, gravel or hard (asphalt, concrete); -strength limit, i.e. ability to withstand operational loads, for example when touching the landing gear or when taxiing; -slopes that impede free operation, for example increasing the braking distance or acceleration distance. -type of lighting, for example, without lighting for private use or equipment equipped with glide path, landing, centerline, etc. lights; -equipment with special means, for example, a local weather station and automatic transmission of weather information on radio frequency.

More detailed information about the technical characteristics of the runway can be found in the relevant documentation, for example, airfield diagrams of the Aeronautical Information Center, instructions for airfield flights, etc. Using these diagrams and the descriptive part, you can obtain information on all of the above issues, including takeoff and landing courses bands, magnetic declinations, as well as operating radio frequencies and the location of the airfield in question.

The main factor in choosing a runway for landing or takeoff is wind direction. The weather report always indicates the meteorological wind course, and this indicator determines the take-off navigation course, and therefore the active runway.

Active band (working band)- is a runway used for takeoffs and (or) landings of aircraft at a given time. The speed at which the required lift is produced is the speed of the aircraft relative to the air mass. In a headwind, takeoff speed is the sum of the aircraft's speed relative to the ground and the wind speed. Therefore, it is advantageous to take a takeoff run against the wind, since in this case the air speed relative to the aircraft will be greater than the speed of the aircraft relative to the ground. And the separation will happen earlier. When taking off against the wind, the aircraft is better controlled than when there is no wind, since already at the very beginning of the takeoff it is blown by a counter air flow. In this case, the condition for creating lift is the result of the interaction of the characteristics of the wing, determined by its cross-section, and the speed of the aircraft with the characteristics of the oncoming air flow. Thus, take-off parameters can be adjusted by changing the wing geometry using flaps depending on take-off conditions, such as taking off in a calm environment or from a short runway.

When taking off into the wind, the take-off run length increases due to the fact that the airspeed of the aircraft in this case is equal to the difference between the ground speed and the wind speed. At the beginning of the takeoff, the plane does not listen well to the rudders, since the oncoming flow begins only some time after the start of the takeoff (when the speed of the aircraft on the ground becomes equal to or greater than the wind speed). In addition, a tailwind weakens the effect of the propeller jet blowing across the rudders until the aircraft's speed increases sufficiently. This circumstance, and mainly the increase in the take-off run, makes take-off downwind unsuitable and sometimes even dangerous. Therefore, takeoff must be carried out against the wind, especially if the wind is strong. When landing with a tailwind, the landing distance lengthens, the lift force decreases and the risk of the aircraft stalling increases, which requires an increase in landing speed.

Meteorological wind direction is the angle between the north direction of the true/magnetic meridian and the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Navigational wind direction- this is the angle between the direction taken as the origin and the direction in which the wind is blowing.
Depending on the meteorological direction of the wind, the pilot determines the course with the most favorable conditions for takeoff or landing.

Consequently, when performing takeoff and landing procedures, a course is selected - closer to the “against the wind” position.

With the correct choice of takeoff and landing course "against the wind", the values ​​of the meteorological wind course turn out to be opposite to the navigation flight course. For ease of remembering, you can follow the old shipping rule “wind into the compass - current out of the compass”. Thus, having the same value, it is assumed that an airplane flying on a heading of, say, 100 degrees has a headwind heading at 100 degrees. Which is equivalent to saying that the plane has a heading “to”, but the wind has a heading “from”.

The features of taking into account wind direction and speed can be found in the sections “Weather conditions and their analysis” and “Wind”.

LET'S LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE OF USING A RUNWAY AT THE SEVERKA AIRDROME:

If at the time of departure the airfield is not served by a dispatcher or flight director, then familiarization with weather information is an independent task of the PIC. The most popular is information transmitted in the METAR code. They can be obtained from the following sources:

A) available resources on the Internet; b) function of the FSInn program;

Since the Severka airfield does not have its own weather station, the values ​​of the nearest weather station located at the Domodedovo airfield (ICAO code - UUDD) are taken into account. As an example, let's take the code discussed in the tutorial:

UUDD 201030Z 26004MPS 050V110 7000 -SN BKN014 OVC100 M04/M06 Q0997 64550193 14550193 TEMPO 1000 SHSN SCT010CB,

which states that the wind is 26004MPS, i.e. the wind heading 260 blows at a speed of 4 meters per second. This airfield has two runways, one of which is paved. Almost always aircraft maintenance occurs using this particular band. Runway headings are 230 and 050. This means that when taking off using this runway in one direction, the aircraft flies at heading 230 before the first turn, and in the opposite direction at heading 050. The landing course is determined in the same way - according to the vector direction of the aircraft.

Thus, when carrying out the takeoff and landing procedure “against the wind”, the following active (working) stripes are determined:

For winds of 140 ... 320 degrees, the working runway is 230, i.e. takeoff and landing heading 230 - for winds 320 ... 360 ... 0 ... 140 degrees working runway 050, i.e. takeoff and landing heading 050

For simplicity and clarity, a wind indicator (wind cone, weather vane), sometimes called a “sock” due to its external similarity, is installed at the airfield, which helps to compare the calculated wind course with the actual one at the airfield. It is easy to remember that the takeoff and landing course is in the opposite direction of the “sock” inflated by the wind, or, more simply, the departure “from the sock”.

The PIC, taxiing from the taxiway onto the runway, is guided by auxiliary signs that help him orient himself regarding the course in accordance with which the runway is operating. As a rule, operating lane indicators are installed immediately before the intersection of the pre-launch markings, from which clearance is requested and at which the controller transmits control information on take-off conditions. The signs are marked with numbers indicating the direction to the executive start, i.e. the place from which the aircraft begins to take off.

In cases where ATC services are provided at the aerodrome, the active (working) runway is reported upon the launch request. In this case, the dialogue between the captain and the dispatcher takes the following form:

Part of the material was provided by Yurikon.1968
Published by Lys (discussion) 13:46, March 28, 2014 (MSK)

Fear of air travel is quite common. Passengers who try to combat it by studying air travel statistics know that most accidents occur during takeoff and landing.

Princess Juliana Airport, St Martin's Island

However, there are airports where not only the most cold-blooded passengers, but also highly professional pilots are afraid to land and take off.

Paro, Bhutan

The runway is located between five-thousand-meter Himalayan peaks. The airport is considered one of the most difficult to land. To accomplish it, pilots have to make turns between the mountains, which is only possible during daylight hours.

Matekane Airstrip, Lesotho

The 400-meter-long strip ends with a 600-meter-high cliff. It is a rare aircraft that manages to accelerate to climb without reaching the end of the runway. According to the idea of ​​the airport designers, aircraft must free fall to reach the required flight altitude.

Juancho Irausquin, Saba Island

The airport's runway is the shortest in the world - less than 400 meters long. Landing here is not for the faint-hearted: the pilot must steer the ship straight onto the rock, and at the last moment before landing, make a sharp turn to the right in order to find himself on a hill, washed on three sides by the ocean. Three types of aircraft are allowed to land at the airport, and jets are not one of them.

Princess Juliana Airport, St Martin's Island

The main airport of the Caribbean islands. When landing, planes fly directly over the heads (at an altitude of 10–20 meters) of vacationers on Maho Beach, since the runway is located close to it. During takeoff, the pilot is forced to U-shaped turn so as not to crash into the rock where the strip ends.

Tenzing and Hillary Airport, Lukla, Nepal

The airport, where the pilot has no room for error, was renamed in 2008 in honor of the first conquerors of Everest: Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. After prolonged maneuvering among the rocks, the ship must be sharply pointed down to avoid a collision with the rock that ends the short, 537-meter-long runway. By the way, the strip begins immediately after the cliff and is located on a slope. Takeoffs and landings are carried out at the airport exclusively according to visual flight rules, without the use of modern navigation systems.

Madeira Airport, Portugal

Madeira's main airport was once even scarier than it is now. However, it was reconstructed after the 1977 disaster that killed 131 passengers. Today, two runways located on the rock are 1.8 kilometers long. However, a significant part of the canvas is an overpass supported by 180 pillars with a diameter of 3 meters and a height of up to 50 meters. Due to the mountains and sea, the airport found itself in a zone of increased turbulence.

Barra, Scotland

The operation of the airport located on the beach is periodically interrupted naturally - during high tides, which erode the runway on the sand. Landings (almost splashdowns) at night are also impossible here.

Gibraltar International Airport

The airport belongs to Great Britain. Pilots landing here need good control of the brakes so as not to drown the plane in the strait that ends the runway. In addition, you need to monitor the movement of cars following the road crossing the lane.

Wellington, New Zealand

The extremely busy airport has only one runway, and even that one is relatively short - just over 1.8 kilometers. This circumstance, as well as the need to maneuver among the hills, makes landing of large aircraft impossible. As for small ships, the life of their pilots is overshadowed by incredibly strong air currents.

Alexandros Papadiamantis, Skiathos island, Greece

Landing at Skiathos Airport is far from ideal and can provide a thrill for even the most cold-blooded pilots. The relatively short (1.6 kilometres) and narrow runway ends in the ocean. There are vacationers on the coast. Therefore, pilots need the will and ability to press hard on the brakes. Takeoff tickles your nerves no less.

Congonhas, Brazil

Located a few kilometers from the center of Sao Paulo, the airport is a boon for passengers, but not for pilots who have to maneuver between high-rise buildings. There are also problems with the surface of the runway - it is often slippery due to rain. So, in 2007, for this reason, a plane crashed during landing; as a result of the crash, 187 passengers died in the cabin and 12 on the ground.

Gustav III Airport, Saint Barthelemy Island, French Overseas Community

Located on an island in the Caribbean Sea, the airport has a runway that is only 650 meters long. It is also very narrow, so any time you land close to the slopes, the plane runs the risk of falling into the ocean.

Narsarsuaq, Greenland

The beautiful landscapes outside the window do not give pilots a reason to relax - the area is famous for its increased turbulence, which is why only well-trained pilots who know the area are allowed to fly here.

Toncontin International Airport, Honduras

Landing of large aircraft has been prohibited here since 2008. The reason for the veto was an accident, as a result of which the plane left the runway and crashed into an embankment, crushing several cars. 65 people were injured, 5 died.

Courchevel Airport, French Alps

Only certified pilots are allowed to land a plane on the 525-meter runway, which has a slope of 18.5%, located among the mountains.

Quito Mariscal Sucre, Ecuador

Located in the center of the densely populated capital of Ecuador. Pilots have to land the plane on a bumpy, fog-shrouded runway in the mountains.

Kai Tak, Hong Kong (now closed)

Accommodating aircraft from 1925 to 1998, the airport provided landings over a busy port and densely populated areas. In these conditions and with strong changeable winds, the pilots had to turn the ship 47° at an altitude of 200 meters before landing.

Ice Runway, Antarctica

The runway on Ross Island is built here every year, and the airport has been operating since December. The main difficulty is weather conditions. For landing to be possible, the plane must be able to withstand the ice. Therefore, pilots and dispatchers carefully monitor the air temperature and the melting of ice and snow. The permissible immersion of the ship in ice during landing is approximately 25 centimeters.

Photo: Ywchow, Scott Wylie (CC-BY), MartinPUTZ (CC-BY-SA), Konstantin von Wedelstaedt (GNU FDL), Peter Forster (CC-BY-SA), Indrik myneur (CC-BY), Photo courtesy of Tom Claytor - www.claytor.com , Andrew Cooper (CC-BY), Fyodor Borisov (CC-BY-SA), Mariordo (CC-BY-SA), iStock (x2), Timo Breidenstein (GNU FDL)