Aircraft Classifications Dr. Antonio A. Trani Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering Virginia Tech Virginia Tech 1 of 18 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 Gear Width Design Group Wingspan (m) Example Aircraft (m) A < 15 < 4.5 All single engine aircraft, Some business jets B 15 to < 24 4.5 to < 6 Commuter aircraft, Large Business jets (EMB-120, Saab 2000, Saab 340, etc.) C 24 to < 36 6 to < 9 Medium range transports (B727, B737, MD-80, A320) D 36 to < 52 9 to < 14 Heavy transports (B757, B767, A300) E 52 to < 65 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 14o 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 12o 78.5781.5 m.m Virginia Tech 9 of 18 Wake Vortex Equations 4mg G = -------------- pr Vb where, G is the vortex circulation (in m2/s), mg is the gross weight of the wake generating aircraft (N.), r is the air density (kg/m3), V is the true airspeed (m/s), and b is the aircraft wingspan (m). –y2 G --------- V = --------- 1 –e 4et t 2py 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, e 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.