Aircraft Runway Length Estimation

(Part 1)

Dr. Antonio A. Trani

Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering

Virginia Tech

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 Organization of this Section

• Understanding basic aircraft weights and its limits

• General Equations of Motion to Understand Runway Length
Curves and Tables
• General Federal Aviation Regulation Criteria to Develop
Runway Length Requirements at Airports
• General Methods to Estimate Runway Length at Airports

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Understanding Aircraft Weights and
its Limits

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 Aircraft Mass Definitions

• There are several important aircraft operational characteristics to

know about the aircraft mass
• Aircraft mass expenditures are significant and thus need to be
accounted for in the air vehicle runway length analysis.
- OEW = operating empty weight (or mass) is the weight (or
mass) of the aircraft without fuel and payload (just
the pilots and empty seats)
- MTOW = maximum takeoff operating weight (or mass) -
structurally the maximum demonstrated mass at
takeoff for safe flight
- MALW = maximum allowable landing weight (or mass) is
the maximum demonstrated landing weight (or
mass) to keep the landing gear intact at maximum
sink rate (vertical speed)

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 Aircraft Mass Definitions (II)

- MSPW = maximum structural payload weight (or mass) is

the maximum demonstrated payload to be carried
without stressing the aircraft fuselage
- MZFW = maximum zero fuel weight (or mass) is the sum of
the OEW and the MSPW
- MTW = maximum taxi weight (or mass) of the maximum
demonstrated weight (or mass) for ground
maneuvering. Usually slightly more than MTOW
All aircraft operating weight limits are established during the
certification of the vehicle (FAR part 25 - for transport aircraft or
FAR 23 for smaller aircraft)

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 Operational Definitions

DTW = desired takeoff weight (or mass) is the weight of the aircraft
considering fuel (includes reserve), payload and OEW to complete
a given stage length (trip distance)

DTW = PYL + OEW + FW

where:

PYL is the payload carried (passengers and cargo)

OEW is the operating empty weight

FW is the fuel weight to be carried (usually includes reserve fuel)

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 Runway Length Estimation Procedures

Factors influencing runway length performance

• Performance requirements imposed by FAR regulations (such as
FAR 25, 23, 121, 91, etc.)
• Environmental characteristics (temperature and pressure) of the
airport in question
• Operating limits on aircraft weight
Methods to calculate runway length
• AC 150/5325-4 (tables and graphs)
• Use of aircraft manufacturer data (such as Boeing data)
• Declared distance concept (AC 150/5300-13 Appendix 14)

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 General Equations of Motion to
Understand Runway Length Curves
and Tables

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Introductory Remarks on Aircraft Performance

Air vehicles are significant different than their ground vehicle

counterparts in three aspects:
• Aircraft require a prepared surface to lift-off and fly which
affects the overall capability of the vehicle to carry useful
payload
• Aircraft move in a dynamic atmospheric environment where
changes in temperature, density, and speed of sound are drastic
and cannot be neglected
• Aircraft mass expenditures are significant and thus need to be
accounted for in the air vehicle performance analysis. For
example, a Boeing 747-400 can takeoff at near 390 metric tons
and yet land at its destination at 220 metric tons thus making the
fuel expenditure a significant factor in how the vehicle performs
along the flight path

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International Standard Atmosphere (1962)

Characteristics of the International Standard Atmosphere.

Temperature (oK) Density (kg/m3) Speed of Sound (m/s)
Geopotential Altitude (m.)
T ρ a

0 288.2 1.225 340.3

1000 281.7 1.112 336.4

2000 275.2 1.007 332.5

3000 268.7 0.909 328.6

4000 262.2 0.819 324.6

5000 255.7 0.736 320.5

6000 249.2 0.660 316.4

7000 242.7 0.589 312.3

8000 236.2 0.525 308.1

9000 229.7 0.466 303.8

10000 223.2 0.413 299.5

11000 216.7 0.364 295.1

12000 216.7 0.311 295.1

13000 216.7 0.266 295.1

14000 216.7 0.227 295.1

15000 216.7 0.194 295.1

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Important Aircraft Speed Terms to Know

Indicated Airspeed (IAS) - is the speed registered in the cockpit

instrument
True Airspeed (TAS) - is the actual speed of the vehicle with
respect of the mass of air surrounding the aircraft (accounts for
compressibility effects)
Calibrated Airspeed (CAS) - similar to IAS but corrected for
instrument position errors (airflow problems outside the vehicle).
Ground speed (GS) - TAS corrected for wind

Stalling Speed ( V stall ) - minimum speed for safe flight

Mach Number - ratio of the aircraft speed to the speed of sound, a

(note a varies with altitude)

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 Compressibility Effects

A mathematical expression to estimate true airspeed (in terms of

true Mach number) from CAS follows:

ρ
2 3.5 0.286

5 -----0  1 + 0.2  ------------

V CAS 
M true = - – 1 + 1 –1
661.5
(2.1)
ρ

where: M true is the true mach number, V CAS is the calibrated airspeed in
knots (CAS = IAS) in our analysis, ρ 0 is the atmospheric density at
sea level, ρ is the density at the altitude the aircraft is flying, and the
constants 0.2 and 661.5 account for the specific heat of the air and
the speed of sound at sea level (in knots), respectively.
Defining true mach number (M true) as the ratio of the true aircraft
speed (V TAS) and the speed of sound (a) at the flight level in question
we have,
V TAS = aM true (2.2)

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 Example Computation

Boeing 737-300 (a medium size jet transport) flies at 250 knots

(IAS) at an altitude of 5.0 km. in a standard atmosphere. What is
TAS?
A quick glance at the ISA Table reveals that air density at 5.0 km. is
about 0.736 kg/m3 thus yielding a true mach number of 0.51 (using
Equation 2.1). Since the speed of sound at that altitude is 320.5 m/s
(see Table) then the true airspeed of the aircraft is 163.5 m/s or 315
knots.
Note that in this case there is a difference of 65 knots between IAS
and TAS. As the aircraft climbs the value of TAS increases even if
IAS remains constant. Since TAS is responsible for the travel time
of the vehicle it is important to learn how to estimate TAS for any
feasible flight condition.

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 Aircraft Runway Length Performance
Estimation

Critical issue in airport engineering and planning (the wrong

runway length is costly to the operator and perhaps unsafe)

TE
D

φ
Ff
mg

Figure 2.1 Forces Acting in the Aircraft During Takeoff.

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 Nomenclature

T - thrust force (also called tractive effort) provided by the vehicle

powerplant

L - lifting force provided by the wing-body of the vehicle

D - drag force to the vehicle body, nacelle(s), landing gears, etc.,

F f - friction force due to rolling resistance

The functional form of these forces has been derived from

dimensional analysis (review your math course notes) and from
extensive knowledge of fluid mechanics (wind tunnels and water
tank experiments)

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 Functional Forms of the Forces

The functional form of these forces is as follows:

1
L = --- ρV 2 SC L (2.3)
2
1
D = --- ρV 2 SC D (2.4)
2
T = f (V, ρ) (2.5)

F f = ( mg cos φ – L ) f roll (2.6)

V is the vehicle speed (TAS), ρ is the air density (kg/m3), S is the

aircraft gross wing area, C L is the lift coefficient (nondimensional),
C D is the drag coefficient (nondimensional), f roll is the rolling
friction coefficient (nondimensional), and φ is the angle comprised
between the runway and the horizontal plane

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 Notes on Various Parameters

1) C L and C D are specific to each airframe-flap configuration

2) f roll is usually a function of runway surface conditions and

aircraft speed
T (N) f roll Bias-Ply Tire
Sea Level

Radial Tire
High Elevation

V (m/s) V (m/sec) V (m/s)

V (m/sec)

Figure 2.2 Typical Variations of T and f roll with Aircraft Speed.

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 Estimating Runway Acceleration

Using Newton's second law and summing forces in the horizontal

direction of motion ( x ),
ma x = T ( V , ρ ) – D – ( mg cos φ – L ) f roll – m g sin φ (2.7)

linear variations of T (tractive effort or thrust) and f roll can be

assumed to be linear with respect to airspeed for the range of speed
values encountered in practice. For small angles this equation can
be expressed as,
ma x = T ( V , ρ ) – D – ( mg – L ) f roll (2.8)

ma x = T ( V , ρ ) – --- ρ V2 sc D –  mg – --- ρ V2 SC L f roll

1 1
 
(2.9)
2 2
1 1
a x = ---- ( T ( V , ρ ) + --- ρ V 2 S ( C L f roll – C D ) – mg f roll (2.10)
m 2

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 Remarks About Equation 2.10

• The acceleration capability of the aircraft decreases as speed is

gained during the takeoff roll due to a reduction in the thrust
produced by the engines
• If Eq. 2.10 is integrated twice between an initial speed, V 0 and
the lift-off speed, V lo the distance traversed during the takeoff
roll can be found
• Usually this requires a computer simulation since many
parameters such as T and f roll vary with speed (time varying)
making the coefficient of the differential equation of motion
time dependent.

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 Aerodynamic Coefficients

• The flap setting affects C D and C L and hence affects acceleration

and runway length required for a takeoff. Typical variations of
C D with flap angle are shown below

CD CL
Constant Angle of Attack Constant Angle of Attack

5 10 15 20 25 5 10 15 20 25
Flap Angle (degrees) Flap Angle (degrees)

Figure 2.3 Typical Variations of CD and CL with Aircraft Wing Flap

Angle.

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 What is the Flap Angle?

• Angle formed between the flap chord and the wing chord
• Flaps are used to increase lift (but they increase drag too!) during
takeoff and landing maneuvers
• Flaps reduce the stalling speed of the aircraft

Wing cross section

(cruise condition)

Wing cross section Flap angle

(landing and takeoff)

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Remarks About Aerodynamic Coefficients

• An increase in flap angle increases both C L and C D . However,

these increments are not linear and consequently are more
difficult to interpret
• Increasing the flap angle ( δ f ) increases C L and thus reduces the
lift-off speed required for takeoff due to an increase in the lifting
force generated (See Equation 2.3 and replace V1 by V).
• Increments in flap angle increases the value of C D more rapidly
which tends to reduce more drastically the acceleration of the
aircraft on the runway thus increasing the runway length
necessary to reach the lift off speed

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 Remarks

• The mass of the aircraft affects its acceleration (according to

Newton’s second law).
- Larger takeoff masses produce corresponding increments in the
runway length requirement.
• The density of the air, ρ decreases with altitude
- Lower thrust generation capability at high airfield elevations
- The runway length increases as the field elevation increases
- The density also affects the second and third terms in Equation 2.10
(less drag at higher altitude)

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Aircraft Operational Practices (Takeoff)

• At small flap settings (i.e., 5 or 10 degrees) the takeoff runway

length is increased due to small gains in C L (little increase in the
lifting force). Useful for high-hot takeoff conditions.
• At medium flap angle settings (15-25 degrees) the gains in lift
usually override those of the drag force. These are the flap
settings typically used for takeoff except under extremely
abnormal airport environments such as high elevation, hot
temperature airport conditions and high aircraft weights or a
combination of both. Note that the maximum allowable takeoff
weight (MTOW) increases as the takeoff flap setting is reduced.
• At large flap angles (> 25 degrees) C D is excessive and the
airplane requires unreasonable large takeoff runway lengths.
These flap settings are only used for landing since pilots want to
land at the lowest speed possible thus reducing runway length.

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Application of Equations of Motion to Takeoff
Runway Length Requirements

• Equation 2.9 describes the motion of an air vehicle as it

accelerates on a runway from an initial speed Vo to a final liftoff
speed V lof
• This equation can be theoretically integrated twice with respect
to time to obtain the distance traveled from a starting point to the
point of liftoff
• With a little more effort we could also predict the distance
required to clear a 35 ft. obstacle as required by Federal Aviation
Regulations Part 25 or 23 that sets airworthiness criteria for
aircraft in the U.S.
• Airport engineers use tabular or graphical data derived from this
integration procedure

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 A Word on Stalling and Lift-off Speeds

The stalling speed can be estimated from the basic lift equation
1
L = --- ρV 2 SC L
2

Under steady flight conditions L ≅ mg so,

2mg
V = -------------
ρSC L

define C Lmax as the maximum attainable lift coefficient, then

2mg
V stall = ------------------
ρSC Lmax

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 FAR Regulation Principles

Regulations (FAR 25) specify that:

• Aircraft should lift off at 10% above the stalling speed ( V lof )
• Aircraft climb initially at 20% above the stalling speed (V 2 )
• Aircraft speed during a regular approach be 30% above the
stalling speed ( V app )
• During takeoff aircraft should clear an imaginary 11 m (35 ft.)
obstacle
• During landing aircraft should cross the runway threshold 15 m
(50 ft.) above ground)
These considerations are necessary to estimate takeoff and landing
distances (and thus size runway lenghts)

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 Integration of Equation 2.9

First obtain the aircraft speed at time t ,

V lof

∫
1 1
Vt = ---- ( T ( V , ρ ) + --- ρV 2 S ( C L f roll – C D ) – mg f roll ) dt (2.11)
Vo m 2

Now get the distance traveled, S t

D lof

St =
∫ o
V t dt (2.12)

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 Sample Results (Boeing 727-200 Data)

The following results apply to a medium-size transport aircraft

3

Sea Level
2.5
1250 m

2
2500 m

1.5

1
0 10 20 30 40 50
Roll Time (s)

Figure 2.4 Sensitivity of Aircraft Acceleration vs. Field Elevation.

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 Aircraft Speed During Takeoff Roll

Note how speed increases at a nonlinear pace

120
Sea Level
100
1250 m
80

60 2500 m

40

20

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Roll Time (s)

Figure 2.5 Sensitivity of Aircraft Speed vs. Field Elevation.

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 Distance Traveled During the Takeoff Roll

3500

3000 Sea Level

2500
1250 m
2000

1500
2500 m
1000

500

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Roll Time (s)

Figure 2.6 Lift-Off Distance vs. Field Elevation.

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 Takeoff Roll Distance vs. Aircraft Mass

3500
DTW = 60,000 kg
3000 2500 m. Field Elevation

2500 DTW = 66,000 kg

2000

1500

1000

500
DTW = 72,000 kg
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Roll Time (s)

Figure 2.7 Lift Off Distance vs. Aircraft Weight.

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General Federal Aviation Regulation
Criteria to Develop Runway Length
Requirements at Airports

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 General Procedure for Runway Length
Estimation (Runway Length Components)

Runways can have three basic components:

• Full strength pavement (FS)
• Clearways (CL)
• Stopways (SW)
Full strength pavement should support the full weight of the aircraft
Clearway is a prepared area are beyond FS clear of obstacles (max
slope is 1.5%) allowing the aircraft to climb safely to clear an
imaginary 11 m (35’ obstacle)
Stopway is a paved surface that allows and aircraft overrun to take
place without harming the vehicle structurally (cannot be used for
takeoff)

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 Runway Components

Each runway end will have to be considered individually for

runway length analysis

Stopway (SW)

Clearway (CL)

Full Strength Pavement (FS)

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 FAR Certification Procedures

FAR 25 (for turbojet and turbofan powered aircraft) consider three

cases in the estimation of runway length performance
• Normal takeoff (all engines working fine)
• Engine-out takeoff condition
- Continued takeoff
- Aborted takeoff
• Landing
All these cases consider stochastic variations in piloting technique
(usually very large for landings and smaller for takeoffs)
Regulations for piston aircraft do not include the normal takeoff
case (an engine-out condition is more critical in piston-powered
aircraft)

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 Nomenclature

FL = field length (total amount of runway needed)

FS = full strength pavement distance
CL = clearway distance
SW = stopway distance
LOD = lift off distance
TOR = takeoff run
TOD = takeoff distance
LD = landing distance
SD = stopping distance
D35 = distance to clear an 11 m (35 ft.) obstacle

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 Landing Distance Case

The landing distance should be 67% longer than the demonstrated

distance to stop an aircraft
Large landing roll variations exist among pilots
Example touchdown point variations (µ=400 m, σ=125 m for
Boeing 727-200 landing in Atlanta)
LD = 1.667 * SD
15 m (50 ft)
FSland = LD

SD

LD

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 Normal Takeoff Case

The Takeoff Distance (TOD) should be 115% longer than the

demonstrated Distance to Clear an 11m (35 ft.) obstacle (D35)
Clearway
CLn

11 m (35 ft)
TODn = 1.15 * D35n
TODn - 1.15 LODn

1.15 LODn
LODn Relationships
CLn = 1/2 (TOD-1.15 LOD)
D35n TORn = TODn - CLn
FSn = TORn
FLn = FSn + CLn

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 Engine-Out Takeoff Case

Dictated by two scenarios:

Continued takeoff subcase
• Actual distance to clear an imaginary 11 m (35 ft) obstacle D35
(with an engine-out)
Aborted or rejected takeoff subcase
• Distance to accelerate and stop (DAS)

Note: no correction is applied due to the rare nature of engine-out

conditions in practice for turbofan/turbojet powered aircraft

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 Engine-Out Analysis

Stopway Clearway
V1 = decision speed 11 m (35 ft)

D35eo

D35eo - LODeo

LODeo
DAS
Continued Takeoff
TODeo = D35eo
Aborted Takeoff CLeo = 1/2 (D35eo-LODeo)
FSeo-a = DAS - SW TOReo = D35eo - CLeo
FSeo-c = TOReo
FLeo-a = FSeo-a + SW FLeo-c = FSeo-c + CLeo

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 Runway Length Estimation
According to FAA AC 150/5325-4

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Runway Length Procedures (AC 150/5325-4)

Two different views of the problem:

• For aircraft with MTOW up to 27,200 kg (60,000 lb.) use the
aircraft grouping procedure
- If MTOW is less than 5,670 kg use Figures 2-1 and 2-2 in FAA AC
150/5325-4
- If MTOW is > 5,670 kg but less than 27,200 kg use Figures 2-3 and
2-4 provided in Chapter 2 of the AC 150/5325-4
• For aircraft whose MTOW is more than 27,200 kg (60,000 lb.)
use the critical aircraft concept
- The critical aircraft is that one with the longest runway performance
characteristics
- This aircraft needs to be operated 250 times in the year from that
airport

Review some examples

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Advisory Circular 150/5325-4

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Contents of Advisory Circular 150/5325-4

Be familiar with all items contained in FAA AC 150/5325-4

• Chapter 1 - Introduction (background)
• Chapter 2 - Runway length design based on aircraft groupings
• Chapter 3 - Runway length design for specific aircraft
- Aircraft performance curves
- Aircraft performance tables
• Chapter 4 - Design rationale
- Airport temperature and elevation
- Wind and runway surface
- Difference in runway centerline elevations
• NOTE: The runway length procedure using declared the
distance concept is outlined in FAA AC 150/5300-13

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