The Meaning of "Up to ..."
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The Meaning of "Up to ..."
In the notes for Manchester Airport there is a note regarding the turning pads, which mentions that they are suitable for aircraft "up to a ....." And the aircraft are A380 for one runway and the B767 for the other. What exactly does it mean when it states that it is suitable for aircraft "up to" a given type? Does it mean the wing span? Weight? Gear Spacing?
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In the notes for Manchester Airport there is a note regarding the turning pads, which mentions that they are suitable for aircraft "up to a ....." And the aircraft are A380 for one runway and the B767 for the other. What exactly does it mean when it states that it is suitable for aircraft "up to" a given type? Does it mean the wing span? Weight? Gear Spacing?
So "up to A380" would mean aircraft with code letters A to F (span < 80 m and gear < 16 m), whereas "up to 767" would be codes A to D only (span < 52 m and gear < 14 m).
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If I remember correctly from an aerodrome design manual that I've glanced over, a margin of 4,5 m on each side of the main gear is required to certify a taxiway. So, for example a Code E airplane has a maximum wheel base of 12 meters, thus requiring a taxi way that is 12 + 4.5 + 4.5 = 21 meters wide.
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So why didn't they just mention the aircraft code rather than a specific type? Of course I know how big my aircraft is in relation to the 767 but is that a requirement for pilots? Just seems strange way to present the limitation.
If I remember correctly from an aerodrome design manual that I've glanced over, a margin of 4,5 m on each side of the main gear is required to certify a taxiway. So, for example a Code E airplane has a maximum wheel base of 12 meters, thus requiring a taxi way that is 12 + 4.5 + 4.5 = 21 meters wide.
For Code E aircraft (gear width < 14 m), the recommended taxiway width would therefore be 23 m.
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So why didn't they just mention the aircraft code rather than a specific type?
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Might be. I see a lot of airports refer to aircraft limitations by wing span rather than code. But I wonder if that is because code includes wing span and wheel spacing and the airport is only interested in span limits?
The only reason I can think for using actual wingspan is if an airport needs to make a finer demarcation than the code letter allows - for example code D (FAA Group IV) covers a huge range of spans from 36 m (118') to 52 m (171').