Arlington Municipal Airport Development Plan Arlington Airport Development Plan | Page 215
ROTORCRAFT TOUCH‐DOWN AND LIFT‐OFF FACILITY (TLOF)
An exclusive use rotorcraft TLOF facility is proposed on the west side of the Airport. A taxiway extend‐
ing west from Taxiway G would allow rotorcraft the opportunity to taxi or hover‐taxi in order to gain
access to the facility. As previously discussed, Arlington Municipal Airport accommodates a significant
number of rotorcraft (helicopter and tiltrotor) operations. The majority of these operations involve
flight testing and training associated with Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland. The TLOF facility would
be designed to specifically handle this type of activity in order to better segregate rotorcraft and fixed‐
wing aircraft operations.
A TLOF facility is dimensioned according to rotor diameter of the design rotorcraft. The design of the
TLOF can be either square/rectangular or circular. A square/rectangular shape provides pilots with
better alignment cues than a circular shape; however, a circular shape may be more recognizable in an
urban environment.
Table 5C provides the standards for the distance between the centerline of an approach to a runway
and the centerline of an approach to a TLOF for simultaneous, same direction, visual flight rules (VFR)
operations. At Arlington Municipal Airport, the location of the future TLOF facility should range from
500 feet to 700 feet from Runway 16‐34, depending on the specifications of the most demanding ro‐
torcraft expected to utilize the facility on a regular basis.
TABLE 5C
Separation Distances for TLOF Facilities
Aircraft Size
Small Rotorcraft
(7,000 pounds or less)
Small Airplane
300 feet
(12,500 pounds or less)
Large Airplane
(12,500 to 300,000
500 feet
pounds)
Heavy Airplane
700 feet
(over 300,000 pounds)
Source: FAA AC 150/5390‐2C, Heliport Design
Medium Rotorcraft
(7,001 ‐ 12,500 pounds) Large Rotorcraft
(over 12,500 pounds)
500 feet 700 feet
500 feet 700 feet
700 feet 700 feet
AIRPORT SUPPORT FACILITIES
The Development Concept calls for the construction of a dedicated maintenance facility on the west
side of the Airport. The proposed location is set back from the runway and taxiway system in order to
allow developable property to accommodate aircraft‐access facilities. The proposed perimeter access
road would provide vehicle access to the maintenance facility. Adequate space is available adjacent to
the proposed facility to provide additional outside storage of airport‐related equipment as needed.
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