Airport ABC has a single runway available to service both arrivals and departures. The annual demand in the year ending 2007 was 220,000 operations. The aircraft mix is estimated to consist of 21 percent small, single-engine aircraft, 20 percent small, multiengine aircraft, 55 percent large, commercial aircraft, and 4 percent heavy aircraft. Air carrier operations dominate at the airport, and very few touch-and-go operations occur. The airport consultant is preparing a master plan update and wishes to know if preliminary data would support the need for a second runway which, if constructed can be separated by not more than 2,400 feet from the current runway because of land constraints. The planning level concept of a master plan normally requires a simple analysis to determine aircraft activity and delay. To do so it is necessary to determine the ASV and average delay to aircraft for the single runway.

Step 1:

Determine the runway configuration that most closely approximates the airport (Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport) today. To find your airport’s runway configuration, go to AirNav.com, select the “airport” tab, and enter your airport’s two- or three-letter ID. You will find a wealth of information about the airport, including an official diagram on the right-hand side of the Web page. Once you find this, turn to AC 5060-5, page 8, Figure 2-1, where you will find 19 possible runway configurations plus a number of possible variations. In the case of the sample, Configuration 1, a single runway is the correct choice for the current layout. Your airport will most likely be different. Also note the table to the right of each runway diagram in the AC. This table contains Mix Index, Capacity, and Service Volume information respectively; data you will use later in this module and course.

Step 2:

Determine the current mix index. Recall from your reading (AC 5060-5, Para. 1-3 a. and h.) that the mix index (MI) is the percentage of large and heavy aircraft using the airport, where the value of heavy aircraft is three times the value of a large aircraft. Small aircraft have no bearing on the MI. The formula is:
MI = (C) + 3(D) x 100
Where large aircraft (C) = 55 and heavy aircraft (D) = 4 (see above). Thus, MI = 55 + 3(4) = 67.

Step 3:

Determine the ASV for the existing runway configuration. Using AC 5060-5, Figure 2-1; find the ASV for runway configuration 1. Find the MI range where the MI (from Step 2) of 67 falls (it’s 51 to 80) and read across to find the hourly capacity for both VFR and IFR, and the ASV, which is 205,000 for Configuration 1.

Step 4:

Calculate the ratio of annual demand to ASV. Remember, when demand exceeds capacity, represented by a number greater than 1.0, delays occur. At some point, excess delay will require a solution, such as a second runway. The ratios of annual demand to annual service volume are then computed using the formula in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1

Delay = Demand/ASV
Where
Single Runway (Conf. 1)= Demand/ASV = 220,000/205,000 = 1.07

From the equation, we see that ratio of demand over ASV for a single runway with 220,000 operations is 1.07. All things being equal, ABC Airport needs a second runway because current demand is exceeding 1.0. Where do you think your airport falls?

Step 5:

Determine average delay per aircraft, which is obtained from Figure 2-2 in the AC (see page 12). Since ABC Airport is predominantly an air carrier airport, using the upper half of the graph yields the average annual delay per aircraft. These values for a single runway are between 4 and 6 minutes per operation. Your airport is also predominantly air carrier.

The order-of-magnitude relationship between the average annual delay per aircraft and the ASV depicted was derived from historical traffic records and a range of assumptions on likely operating conditions, as itemized above. Typically, the upper portion of the shaded band on this figure is representative of airports primarily serving air carrier operations. Airports serving primarily general aviation operations may typically fall anywhere within the entire shaded band. The dotted curve is the average of the upper and lower limits of the band indicated.

The Problem:

Determine the ASV, demand/ASV ratio, and average delay for current for the airport you selected in Activity 5.3 (Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport).

You must first determine some information about your airport.

1. What is the current demand (operations on an annual basis)?
2. What is the airport configuration?

Solution for solving 1 and 2 above:

Step 1: Determine current demand. From Activity 5.3, you know the current demand.
Step 2: Evaluate the available data and determine ASV and average annual delay for both current operations.
Step 3: Prepare a 2 page report explaining the process. Include background information about the airport and runway layout, what the ASV and average annual delay is, and the methodology you used in making the evaluation.