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Aircraft Classifications

Dr. Antonio A. TraniAssociate Professor

Department of Civil Engineering

Virginia Tech

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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)

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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.

61 m

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

Shoulder

Shoulder

31 m

Critical Enginesfor foreign objectdamage

Shoulder

Shoulder

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ICAO Airport Design Group Classification

Design Group Wingspan (m) Gear Width

(m)Example Aircraft

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)

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ATC Approach Speed Classification

GroupApproach Speed

(knots)Example Aircraft

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

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Aircraft Wake Vortex Classification

Group Takeoff Gross Weight (lb)

Example Aircraft

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

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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)

Vortex Wake

60-70 m/s

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Typical VLCA Aircraft Specifications

Parameter Remarks

Passenger Capacity 650 passengers in a three-class layout plus crewDesired Range 13,000 Kilometers with 1.50 hour reserve

Speed Mach 0.85 at 11.0 kmRunway Length Use of conventional runways (i.e., 3,300 m at MTOW

and Sea Level ISA)

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VLCA Aircraft

78.57 m 81.5 m.

12o

Four 311.8 kN Turbofan Engines

AR = 9.5 S = 700 m2

Payload = 650 passengersDesign Range = 13,000 Km.MTOW = 5,400 kN

75.67 m

Boeing 747-400VLCA

24.87 m

14o

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Wake Vortex Equations

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

where, is the tangential velocity right or left from vortex core (m./sec.), 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 is the time behind the wake generating aircraft (in seconds).

Γ 4mgπρV b--------------=

Γ mgρ V

b

VtΓ

2πy--------- 1 e

y– 2

4εt---------

–=

V t yε

t

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Tangential Velocity Profiles

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Lateral Distance from Center of Fuselage (m.)

Lockheed C5A (2,060 kN)

Clean aircraftSpeed = 150 knotsSea Level ISA

VLCA (4,400 kN)

Vortex Cores

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Projected Separation Criteria

4.0

8.0

12.0

16.0

20.0

24.0

0.0 750.0 1500.0 2250.0 3000.0 3750.0 4500.0 5250.0

Leading Aircraft Weight (kN)

VLCA

Heavy (747)

Large (B757)

Medium (DC9)

Small (Learjet 23)

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Small Aircraft

Single-Engine GA Twin-Engine GA

Cessna 172 (Skyhawk)Beechcraft 58TC (Baron)

Beechcraft A36 (Bonanza)Cessna 421C (Golden Eagle)

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Corporate AircraftRaytheon-Beechcraft King Air B300

Cessna Citation II

Gulfstream G V

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Commuter Aircraft

Embraer 120

Bombardier DHC-8 (Dash 8)

Saab 230B

Bombardier Regional Jet

(Brasilia)

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Short-Haul Transport Aircraft

Fokker F100

Airbus A-320

Boeing 737-300

McDonnell-Douglas MD 82

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Medium-Haul Transport Aircraft

Beoing B727-200

Boeing 757-200

Airbus A300-600R

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Long-Haul Transport Aircraft

McDonnell-Douglas MD-11

Boeing 777-200

Boeing 747-400

Airbus A340-200