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FAA Aircraft Categorisation

How wide does an airport runway need to be ? The answer depends on which international standards you choose to follow.

The USA's Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) is a world-recognised body which defines standards for airport planning and design.

Australian airports generally follow the International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO) recommendations, which are often, but not always, less stringent than the FAA recommendations.

Americans tend to care more about losing a few hundred people in an air accident than do other countries. And really, the US got its big kick in aviation when the first jet, the UK manufactured Comet, proved to crash rather too often (because they hadn't yet learned about metal fatigue caused by cabin pressurisation cycling).

The Australian standards are described on another page.

These facts can help you make a judgement on the truth of BAL's answers on whether a 737 could operate at Bankstown, on the present 30 meter wide 11C/29C runway:

The FAA provides the following categorisations of aircraft.

  1. Categorisation by Stall Speed (which determines the basis of landing or approach speed):

    Table 1 - Aircraft Approach Category

    Aircraft Category 1.3 Times the Stall Speed in Knots Maximum Speed (Circling Approaches) Typical Aircraft in This Category
    A less than 91 knots 90 knots small single engine
    B 91 to 120 knots 120 knots small multi engine
    C 121 to 140 knots 140 knots airline jet
    D 141 to 165 knots 164 knots large jet/military jet
    E above 166 knots   special military
    source: FAA, 1976, United States standards for Terminal Instrument Procedures, 3d ed, FAA Handbook 8260.3B)

    By contrast with this 5 part categorisation, the ICAO and Australian standards use a 4 part number code that is based on the Aeroplane Reference Field Length (ARFL). From a physics point of view, the length of runway needed will depend on the speed (velocity) and mass of the aircraft during take-off and landing operations. The landing approach speed will usually be a good representation of this, so that the FAA aircraft category should give similar results to the ICAO/Australian standard.

    Flexibility in Australia practice allows the US standard to be used for any aircraft manufactured in the US.

  2. Categorisation by Wingspan

    A further grouping by aircraft size is made according to the wingspan of the aircraft. This is called the Aircraft Design Group (ADG), and determines the width requirements of runways and taxiways:

    Table 2 - Aircraft Design Group (WingSpan Classification)

    Group WingSpan Runway Width
    I up to but not including 15 m (49 ft) 100 ft (30 m)
    II 15 m (49 ft) up to but not including 24 m (79 ft) 100 ft (30 m)
    III 24 m (79 ft) up to but not including 36 m (118 ft) 100 ft (30 m)
    IV 36 m (118 ft) up to but not including 52 m (171 ft) 150 ft (45 m)
    V 52 m (171 ft) up to but not including 65 m (214 ft) 150 ft (45 m)
    VI 65 m (214 ft) up to but not including 80 m (262 ft) 200 ft (60 m)
  3. Particular aircraft are described by a combined speed/size Airport Reference Code using the above two tables. A representative sample is given here:

    Table 3 - Representative Aircraft Type (by FAA Airport Reference Code)

    Make/Model Airport Reference Code Approx Approach Speed (knots) WingSpan (feet) Max Takeoff Weight (Pounds (metric tons))
    Cessna 150 A-I 55 32.7 1,600 (0.7 t)
    Beech-King Air B100 B-I 111 45.8 11,800 (5.3)
    Gates Learjet 54-56 C-I 128 43.7 21,500 (9.8 t)
    Dornier LTA A-II 74 58.4 15,100 (6.8 t)
    DHC-8, Dash-8 300 A-III 90 90 41,100 (18.6 t)
    Fairchild F-27 B-III 109 95.2 42,000 (19 t)
    Boeing 727-200 C-III 138 108 209,500 (95 t)
    Boeing 737-400 C-III 138 94.8 150,000 (68 t)
    Boeing 767-300 C-IV 130 156.1 350,000 (158 t)
    Boeing 747-200 D-V 152 195.7 833,000 (377 t)
    (source: FAA, 1991c, Airport Design, Advisory Circular, AC150/5300-13, change 1)

    From these last two tables, it can be concluded that Boeing 727's, and 737's are category III aircraft and require only a 30 meter runway according to USA standards. They are in the same group as Dash-8's which BAL has admitted use Bankstown airport already.

    Also, note that this table tends to show the heaviest model of a particular aircraft. Most 737's are, for example, under 63 tons MTOW and the 737-100 is below 47 tons

  4. First Published 1997, Last Revised

    Last Change: vdeck mod

    Visitor since Sat 21-Feb-2004.