Brize Norton Runway Melting
There is tarmac, and there is tarmac. They all broadly consist of selected stones stuck together with a binding agent. There are lots of different recipes for the binder.
You select your brew according to the conditions you expect it to mostly work in. For particularly sunny weather the insolation will make the tarmac hot, damn hot, so, in, say , DXB you need a brew that stays firm when hot. It probably won't cool down too much overnight.
In the UK it is not commonly hot and sunny very often, so you need a brew that is still flexible enoughwhen cool to cold and is resistant to lots of rain. It will not be as durable if it gets hot.
N
You select your brew according to the conditions you expect it to mostly work in. For particularly sunny weather the insolation will make the tarmac hot, damn hot, so, in, say , DXB you need a brew that stays firm when hot. It probably won't cool down too much overnight.
In the UK it is not commonly hot and sunny very often, so you need a brew that is still flexible enoughwhen cool to cold and is resistant to lots of rain. It will not be as durable if it gets hot.
N
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So really you want a mid mix or dual runways one hard and one soft, or as mentioned concrete.
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There is tarmac, and there is tarmac. They all broadly consist of selected stones stuck together with a binding agent. There are lots of different recipes for the binder.
You select your brew according to the conditions you expect it to mostly work in. For particularly sunny weather the insolation will make the tarmac hot, damn hot, so, in, say , DXB you need a brew that stays firm when hot. It probably won't cool down too much overnight.
In the UK it is not commonly hot and sunny very often, so you need a brew that is still flexible enough when cool to cold and is resistant to lots of rain. It will not be as durable if it gets hot.
N
You select your brew according to the conditions you expect it to mostly work in. For particularly sunny weather the insolation will make the tarmac hot, damn hot, so, in, say , DXB you need a brew that stays firm when hot. It probably won't cool down too much overnight.
In the UK it is not commonly hot and sunny very often, so you need a brew that is still flexible enough when cool to cold and is resistant to lots of rain. It will not be as durable if it gets hot.
N
Other factors are things like age (the bitumen content oxidises with age and goes harder/more brittle/less melty) and the substructure of the runway and the nature of ground. The latter affect the ability of the runway to transfer solar heat from the blacktop into the ground. If you are building a new runway you can plan for such things. If you have one that is about 80 years old, and built in a hurry, probably, they areexpensive to change
N
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… or build airfields with parallel taxiways that could provide wartime redundancy, etc. But we never did that sort of thing, even under the threat of Soviet attacks. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”
My understanding was that all the Clutch bases were designed with that intention; 1 runway and 2 parallel taxiways.
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I should have said "UK" of course. Sadly our WW2 layouts didn't often lend themselves to such avant garde ideas.
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As a frequent flyer in and out of Brize every 6 weeks for the last 23 years, en route to and from the Falklands. I know for a fact this is not the first time this has happened!
So what lesson’s learned from the past?…….. Nothing 😼!
In a few months time the hot sticky stuff will be covered in snow and ice, and it will be closed again because no one ever expected snow and ice to happen in winter due to the global warming we have now…
So what lesson’s learned from the past?…….. Nothing 😼!
In a few months time the hot sticky stuff will be covered in snow and ice, and it will be closed again because no one ever expected snow and ice to happen in winter due to the global warming we have now…
I understand ops were normal at CY today even with UK record high temperature. PCN 75/F/A/W/T obviously better asphalt than PCN 81/F/B/W/T in the ambient conditions 
All down to the subgrade??? Or perhaps the weight of the regular users (aircraft not aircrew)?
All down to the subgrade??? Or perhaps the weight of the regular users (aircraft not aircrew)?
As a frequent flyer in and out of Brize every 6 weeks for the last 23 years, en route to and from the Falklands. I know for a fact this is not the first time this has happened!
So what lesson’s learned from the past?…….. Nothing 😼!
In a few months time the hot sticky stuff will be covered in snow and ice, and it will be closed again because no one ever expected snow and ice to happen in winter due to the global warming we have now…
So what lesson’s learned from the past?…….. Nothing 😼!
In a few months time the hot sticky stuff will be covered in snow and ice, and it will be closed again because no one ever expected snow and ice to happen in winter due to the global warming we have now…
As a small example: my Met Office was ordered to charge Leeds Fire Service for Warnings [hitherto free] of snow, ice, and severe wind conditions. Leeds refused to pay. Of course I asked why, and a rather senior officer explained off the record: " a shiny new appliance is good politics. A set of replacement tyres makes nobody happy"
