Arlington Municipal Airport Development Plan Arlington Airport Development Plan | Page 124

Justification for any runway extension to meet the needs of business or air cargo jets would require
regular use on the order of 500 annual itinerant operations. This is the minimum threshold required to
obtain FAA grant funding assistance. The existing length of Runway 16-34 does not fully provide for all
jet activity. Furthermore, the existing ALP indicates a
future runway length of 6,780 feet. As previously dis-
Justification for any runway ex-
cussed, there are incompatibilities beyond each end of
tension to meet the needs of busi-
Runway 16-34 that will have to be considered when
ness or air cargo jets would re-
analyzing a future extension in either direction, espe-
quire regular use on the order of
cially related to the RPZs as previously discussed.
Analysis in the next chapter will examine potential
500 annual itinerant operations.
runway extensions that could be achieved at Arlington
Municipal Airport to better accommodate the needs of larger aircraft using a variety of updated FAA
standards.
Runway Width
Runway width design standards are primarily based on the critical aircraft, but can also be influenced
by the visibility minimums of published instrument approach procedures. For Runway 16-34, RDC C-II
design criteria stipulate a runway width of 100 feet. Its current runway width of 100 feet meets this
standard.
FAA design standards call for a runway width of 100 feet to serve aircraft up to RDC C-III with a maxi-
mum certificated takeoff weight of 150,000 pounds or less, as long as the approach visibility minimums
to the runway are not lower than ¾-mile. The precision ILS approach serving Runway 34 currently al-
lows for visibility minimums down to ½-mile. In the event that the Airport transitions to RDC C-III, then
Runway 16-34 would need to be widened to 150 feet in order to meet FAA standards for runway
width.
Runway Strength
An important feature of airfield pavement is its ability to withstand repeated use by aircraft. The FAA
reports the pavement strength for Runway 16-34 at 60,000 pounds single wheel loading (SWL). This
strength rating refers to the configuration of the aircraft landing gear. SWL indicates an aircraft with a
single wheel on each landing gear.
The strength rating of a runway does not preclude aircraft weighing more than the published strength
rating from using the runway. All federally obligated airports must remain open to the public, and it is
typically up to the pilot of the aircraft to determine if a runway can support their aircraft safely. An
airport sponsor cannot restrict an aircraft from using the runway simply because its weight exceeds the
published strength rating. On the other hand, the airport sponsor has an obligation to properly main-
tain the runway and protect the useful life of the runway, typically for 20 years.
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