Maximum Take Off Mass Restriction

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

To get a good knowledge about what kind of airport must be designed, must be inquired what exactly the definition of General aviation is (1.1.1). To know what kind of capacity this new airport must be able to process, the current and possible future statistics of Rotterdam The Hague airport are investigated (1.1.2).

1.1.1 Definition General aviation

General aviation [GA] is classified by ICAO as a part of the civil aviation, which consists of all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire. These operations are classified into non-commercial business aviation, aerial work, instructional flying, pleasure flying and other flying. The new airport will have a maximum take-off mass restriction (1.1.1a).

1.1.1a Maximum Take-Off Mass restriction

The part of GA of EHRD what will be accommodated at the new airport is restricted to a Maximum Take Off Mass [MTOM] of 7000 kg. For important aspects such as runway length, the biggest and heaviest airplane that complies with the requirement is selected as a reference. This airplane is ********* . Specifications of this airplane can be found in Appendix **.

1.1.2 General aviation at Rotterdam The Hague airport

To get any idea of how much aircraft movement can be expected at the new airport, the statistics from 2009 till 2013 of EHRD are analyzed. These statistics show general aviation in the category <6000 kg and comes close to the requirements for the new airport. These statistics are noted in Table 1.

Statistics show a slight increase in movement from 2009 till 2011, but a sharp drop in movements in 2012. To get a good indication of how general aviation of EHRD may look like in 2020, the statistics are analyzed and calculated for the future. These future statistics are further clarified in 1.1.2a.

General Aviation movement EHRD 2009-2013

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

1,528

1,988

1,915

2,023

2,933

2,638

3,261

2,764

2,836

2,964

3,047

2,582

1,887

1,446

2,430

1,990

3,829

3,857

3,606

3,209

3,313

3,627

3,221

3,031

2,048

1,861

1,842

1,843

3,611

3,563

3,557

3,801

3,227

3,136

3,463

3,337

2,174

1,321

2,023

1,749

2,756

3,307

4,046

3,604

3,051

3,679

3,617

2,948

1,853

1,679

Totaal

3,516

30,296

36,022

34,875

34.312

Table 1: General aviation at EHRD

Source: http://www.rotterdamthehagueairport.nl/

1.1.2a Future of general aviation Rotterdam The Hague airport

To get a good indication of future movements, two situations are used for calculating the expected amount of traffic what could be in 2020 at EHRD. These statistics can be found in (Table 2).

The first calculation is based on autonomous growth, which stands for a normal growth based on economy and direct related aspects. The second calculation is an alternate situation, taking into account specific innovations in the industry, such as Micro-light aircraft. This alternate situation mostly affects only the training and recreational flying.

With these statistics, a good reference is stated to indicate how much traffic the new airport must be able to handle.

General Aviation EHRD expected amounts 2020

Autonomous 2020

Alternate 2020

Business aviation

12,316

12,316

Social

4,460

4,460

Aerial work

4,597

4,597

Training

41,448

45,824

Sport and recreation

14,425

17,376

Remaining

430

455

Total

77,674

85,028

Table 2: Future general aviation at EHRD

Source: Veldhuis, J (2008). De maatschappelijke en economische betekenis van de General Aviation in Nederland. Amsterdam: Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat.

1.2 Airport Landside facilities

The landside is the area in an airport where the passengers and transport goods are located before the flight. The point where the passengers past the gates and the transport goods transported to the apron. The landside is inaccessible to airplanes. The landside facilities are divided in required facilities (1.2.1) and recreation facilities (1.2.2).

1.2.1 Required facilities

Some facilities on an airport are obligated by authorities. These facilities ensure the safety of the passengers. For the landside of a small airport are the emergency facilities (1.2.1a) and customs (1.2.1b) enough.

1.2.1a Emergency facilities

The emergency facilities at an airport are needed for the safety of the passengers and the visitors. The airport police are for the maintaining safety. Fires at the airport are extinguished by the fire department. There is also a fire fighter for the airplanes, but covered by airside. There is also a first aid post. This is needed if there is an accident.

1.2.1b Customs

Is an airport also is used for international flights it have to use customs. A custom officer checks all passengers and transported goods here. This is for the safety of the passengers and the flight crews. The checking of the passengers and the transport goods is tightened since planes were hijacked.

1.2.2 Recreation facilities

To make an airport as comfortable as possible the are some facilities. This facilities are the terminal (1.2.2.a), the information point (1.2.2.b), the restaurant (1.2.2.c), the tax-free shop (1.2.2.d), the car parking area (1.2.2.e), the ATM (1.2.2.f) and the laptop bar (1.2.2.g).

1.2.2a Terminal

A terminal is an area of the airport where the passengers can board their plane and can disembark. Passengers can also find easily find their way through the terminal. A big airport has multiple terminals, but a small airport has usually one terminal. A terminal has a lot of facilities to make it comfortable for the passengers. There are facilities like restaurants, tax-free shops and first aid posts.

1.2.2b Information point

The information point is necessary for the passengers and the visitors. The passengers and the visitors can see some information on the arrival and departure screens, but if they have other questions they can contact the information point.

1.2.2c Restaurants

Restaurants are for passengers and visitors very comfortable. This is because most airports do not have any restaurants in their vicinity. Passengers and visitors can eat there when they are hungry.

1.2.2d Tax-free shop

Tax-free shops are located behind the customs. Only the passengers with boarding pass can buy stuff from the tax-free shops. Usually there are not any shops near an airport. Passengers can buy stuff like food, drinks clothing and cosmetics from the tax-free shops.

1.2.2e Car parking area

Because passengers and visitors usually arrive by car at the airport, they need parking areas. These are located near the airport. There are two different parking areas. The first one is the short-term parking area. These are for the visitors and the passengers who do not go away for a long time. The second one is the long-term parking area. This is for passengers who stay away for a long time. Passengers can park their car here for a long time.

1.2.2f ATM

ATM is needed for passengers and visitors if they want use the facilities on an airport. They’re also needed if a passenger wants to buy a ticket. They can also withdraw money from their bank account.

1.2.2g Laptop bar

Because the airport is used by general aviation there are laptop bars where the passengers can do their work while waiting for their flight. By these laptop bars are wireless internet.

1.3 Airport Airside facilities

The airside of an airport is all the areas that are accessible by aircraft. This includes all areas outside the terminal that are not regularly accessible by passengers. The airside includes the apron area (1.3.1), taxiway (1.3.2), runway (1.3.3) and the other facilities (1.3.4).

1.3.1 Apron Area

The apron area is the area used for (according to ICAO) ‘to accommodate airplanes for the purposes of (un)loading passengers or cargo, fueling, maintenance or parking.’ The apron is part of the movement area, which includes the maneuvering area and the apron.

1.3.1a Apron facilities

As mentioned before the apron is also the area used to fuel or conduct maintenance on the airplane. The facilities include

Fueling services

De-icing facilities

Maintenance area

Aircraft parking area.

Ad1. Fueling Services

The fueling services are everything used to refuel an airplane. The fueling area is located on the apron. On some airports, different kinds of jet fuel are available, as well as regular petrol. The fueling services has to maintain some safety standards, like having fire extinguishers available, all fuel tanks being grounded by a wire, a certain distance away from buildings and aircraft and placards on tanks and fueling trucks showing the flammability and the kind of fuel.

Ad2. De-icing Facilities

De-icing facilities should be provided on airports where there is a change of icing conditions being able to occur. De-icing facilities should be provided at the aircraft parking areas or on remote areas near the taxiway leading to the take-off runway. De-icing should be able to safely collect excess de-icing fluids and prevent them from pollute the groundwater.

Ad3. Maintenance Areas

Maintenance areas are the areas where maintenance is conducted on the airplane. This can be done at the aircraft parking places or in the hangars placed at the airfield, depending on the amount of maintenance necessary. Large maintenance jobs are usually done in the hangars, smaller maintenance jobs are usually done at the parking places.

Ad4. Aircraft Parking Stands

Aircraft parking stands are used to park the aircraft. The aircraft has to maintain a certain clearance between the aircraft and other objects. For the nose of the aircraft and the terminal this has to be at least 7.8 meter. For other objects this has to be at least 3 or 4.5 meter depending on the object.

1.3.1b Markings

The apron has some markings to navigate pilots and other airport personnel around the apron. This to make moving around the apron safer and prevent accidents from happening.

The primary line (stand lead-in line) is a color paired with another color that has a strong contrast. This to increase visibility. The minimum width of the line is 15 centimeter. Safety lines should be provided in areas used by ground vehicles.

1.3.2 Taxiway

Taxiways are the areas aircraft move from the runways to the apron. The width of the taxiway is indicated with letters as markings (1.3.2a). Curves in taxiway should be prevented as much as possible. The surface of a taxiway is not allowed to have irregularities and should provide enough grip in wet conditions.

1.3.2a Markings

Table 3 shows the width of the runway and longitude slope when a taxiway is marked with the given letter.

Letter

Width (In meters)

Longitude Slope on per cent

A

1.5

3

B

2.25

3

C

3 (Airplane wheelbase less than 18m)

4.5 (Airplane wheelbase equal or greater than 18m)

1.5

D

4.5

1.5

E

4.5

1.5

F

4.5

1.5

Table 3: Taxiway width markings

Centre lines on taxiways should be provided. The centre line has to be in the middle of the taxiway with equal distance from both sides of the edge of the taxiway. The centre line should be at least 15 centimeter width except when it intersects with a holding position marking.

1.3.3 Runway

The runway is used for take-off or landing an aircraft. The width of the runway is indicated with stripers (1.3.3a). Certain factors affect the placing of a runway. The usability factor of a runway should not be less than 95 per cent for the airplanes the airport is intended to serve. This excludes airplanes landing/take-off in crosswind conditions exceeding a certain speed depending on the length of the runway. Runways are named with a number between 01 and 36. This number is one tenth of the runway’s heading in degrees.

The length of the primary runway is determined by the operational requirements the airport wants to serve. The length of the secondary runway is determined in the same way as the primary runway, except only for the aircraft to meet the requirement of the 95 per cent.

1.3.3a Markings

Runways have a number of stripes at the threshold. This number of stripes indicate the width of the runway (Table 4). The number on the runway indicates the runway’s heading in degrees and the letter that is sometimes added indicates the left (L) or right (R) runway when there are two runway’s parallel to each other. Furthermore, a runway has aiming point markers, this are marking the pilot has to aim for when landing, and touchdown zone markings. These are markings where the pilot has to land its airplane.

Width Runway

(in meters)

Stripes

18

4

23

6

30

8

45

12

60

16

Table 4: Runway width marking

1.3.4 Other Facilities

Other facilities on the airside on the airport include the fire department (1.3.4a) and bird control (1.3.4b).

1.3.4a Fire Department

The fire department is an important aspect of the airport. All airports have to have a fire department on the airport. All firefighting and rescue equipment need to be housed in firehouses. Firehouses should be placed in such way that they have a direct access to the runway and need to make as less turns as possible minimizing response time.

The number of required firefighting and rescue vehicles depends on the category of the airport. Categories one until five requires at least one firefighting and rescue vehicle at the airport available categories six and seven requires two and categories eight until ten requires three firefighting and rescue vehicles available at the airport.

1.3.4b Bird Control

Bird control is an important part of the airport. It prevents birds as much as possible from flying around and landing at the airport. This reduces the risks of bird strikes when landing or taking off from the airport. Therefore, it should have easy access to the runways and taxiways.

1.4 Meteo aspects

When designing a new airport, meteo based facitilities have to be taken into account. What types of climate (1.4.1) and weather (1.4.2) determines what types of meteo facilities are needed on the new airport (1.4.3). These facilities are necessary to ensure safe flights and constant levels of flight movements under all circumstances.

1.4.1 Climate

With the predominant wind from the southwest (Appendix XX) due to the Coriolis Effect of the earth, the Netherlands’ climate is a moderate maritime climate. This means that the sea causes relative mild winters and cool summers (Appendix XX). This effect strengthens with the North Atlantic Current pushing warmer water into the west European regions. The influence of the sea is especially noticeable in places within close proximity the coastline. In these areas, the sea causes a steady temperature so that the whole year round the temperature is filtered and tempered by the sea’s temperature. Temperature determines which facilities are needed to make flights possible. Temperature is also a part of the formula to measure the lift of an aircraft.

1.4.2 Weather

With this moderate maritime climate comes a certain set of weather types to take into account. Because of the mild winters, a lot of snow mixed with icy rain and rain will be more likely than temperatures of -30 or -40 degrees Celsius. The mild summers will make sure that the temperatures will not be higher than 40 degrees Celsius, but it must be taken into account that the humidity will always be on the higher side due to the sea. This means that the temperature felt by the passengers will sometimes be higher than the actual temperature. Some dangerous weather types will be described: Icing (1.4.2a), lightning (1.4.2b) and wind (1.4.2c).

1.4.2a Icing

This mix of snow and rain can be dangerous for airplanes because the ice or rain can freeze onto surfaces of wings, thus reducing lift and aerodynamic characteristics. Icing can cause less visibility through the windows, break off metal antennas, and add weight to the airplane. It can also disrupt the flight data instruments with frozen pitot- or static tubes.

1.4.2b Lightning

Lightning was a hazard for airplanes in the 20th century, but not really anymore these days. The protection and safety certificates against lightning have made sure that the numbers of incidents have dropped. Still, smaller airplanes and jets will try to evade possible lightning strikes to make sure the lightning cannot cause electrical of mechanical failures aboard the airplane. Lightning always comes with major storm clouds with high speed airflows. This causes turbulence within these clouds, so it preferably the pilot navigates around these storm clouds. The storm itself is especially dangerous.

1.4.2c Wind

Wind can be used positively and negatively. When the airplane has so called ‘headwind’ (the airplane flies in the opposite direction of the wind), the air flows faster beside the airplane, thus creating more lift. This means that the airplane can fly slower when comparing the actual groundspeed with the actual airspeed. The exact opposite is also true. When landing with tailwind, the airplane needs to fly faster (higher groundspeed to ensure the same airspeed) to make sure the airflow will flow fast enough. In this situation, the actual groundspeed will be the needed speeded of the airplane to ensure enough lift + the speed of the airflow. The pilot will try to always land with ‘headwind’.

A more dangerous version of wind is called wind shear. It is a sudden change of direction and speed of the airflow. Wind shear can occur in two directions. The first one is vertical windshear. This type of windshear often occurs in so called ‘microbursts’ where there is a strong downward airflow which can cause the airplane to be forced against the ground. Special radar equipment is needed to mark this type of wind shear. The second type can occur when there are mountains, valleys or buildings in the close vicinity or the airport. It causes the airflow to suddenly change direction which the pilot cannot compensate for.

1.4.3 Consequences

The previous climate and weather types need applications (1.4.3a) on the airport to ensure a constant flow of flight movement during the whole year. So if necessary, a De-icing facility (1.4.3b) can be used.

1.4.3a Weather applications

To give the pilot information about the weather, METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) has been developed. It shows the pilot information as show in Table 5. Another important weather forecast is TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast). This forecast, like METAR, gives the pilot information about the weather for a certain time and period. The TAF gives information about the area, airport, time span, wind, visibility and additional comments. To detect wind shear, another instrument is needed. This one is called LIDAR (Light detecting and Ranging). It can detect all forms of identified wind shear around airports (FAA, 2007).

Wind

Visibility

Weather

Cloud Amount

Cloud Base

Temperature

Dew Point

Pressure (QNH)

4 knots from 070 degrees (ENE)

10 km or above

No significant weather

1 to 2 oktas

3 to 4 oktas

1600 feet

2200 feet

22 ⁰C

19 ⁰C

1014 hPa

Table 5: METAR forecast message

1.4.3b De-icing facilities

De-icing is used for removal of snow, frost and ice from the surface of aircrafts. Heated and unheated special salts and chemicals mix with water are used to de-ice the aircraft. It is also used to make sure that fresh ice and snow cannot stick to the airplane, so it also has a preventive function. Large commercial aircraft sometimes have their own de-ice installations. On a small airport that we will be designing, there will not be aircraft with self-sufficient de-ice properties. Therefore a separate de-ice machine is needed to ensure safe flight under all circumstances.

1.5 Airport legislation

In the following paragraphs the legal aspects of designing and operating an airport will be discussed. First a general look will be given at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) (1.5.1) and the guidelines they have prescribed. This will be followed by the ‘Wet Luchtvaart’ (1.5.2), which will contain information on the Dutch perception of the ICAO rules. Furthermore we will look at the ‘Aanwijzingsbesluit’ (1.5.3), regarding obtaining a certificate to operate the airport. Finally a look will be taken at several noise (1.5.4) regulations.

1.5.1 ICAO Legislation

The ICAO is an organization established to set the industry standard for aviation regulation. In this paragraph an introduction will be made to how ICAO controls aviation (1.5.1a), the relevant annexes (1.5.1b) and airport classifications (1.5.2c).

1.5.1a Legislative powers

Aviation is perhaps the most internationally focussed business. Airplanes fly to and from nearly all countries in the world and to ensure a set of conform rules through the entire world the ICAO has been established in 1947. Being an organization, they are not able to dictate global rules, so all they can do is establish a set of guidelines. What happened to make countries obey these rules is the Chicago convention. This convention states that each nation still has power over its own airspace, yet will follow the ICAO annexes as close as possible. This leads to the conclusion that in fact the ICAO annexes are mere recommendations.

1.5.1b Annex 14

ICAO releases a set of standards and recommended practices (SARPs) in 18 annexes. Each annex contains relevant information on a certain field of aviation. To design a general aviation airport for Rotterdam, annex 14 and 16 are relevant. Because there is an entire chapter about noise, annex 16 will not be discussed here.

Annex 14 contains information on the requirement of various airport aspects. A short summarization of the chapters is given below:

In the chapter ‘General’ some general information is given, about general information and definitions used throughout the entire annex.

In the chapter ‘Aerodrome data’ a description is given on release of airport data, such as the format of the airport location and also emergency services.

‘Physical characteristics’ describes the requirements to the runway, taxiways, aprons and several other airside aspects.

‘Obstacle restriction and removal’ explains about requirements regarding the removal of damaged airplanes and other structures.

‘Visual aids for navigation’ contains such matters as markings, lights and signs.

The chapter ‘Visual aids for denoting objects’ describes how signs and such need to be marked.

‘Visual aids for denoting restricted use areas’ describes how for example a closed runway should be marked.

The chapter ‘Electrical systems’ describes the requirements for the electrical network of the airport

‘Aerodrome operational services, equipment and installations’ contains information on the location and equipment of several airside facilities

‘Aerodrome maintenance’ describes requirements on the maintenance of the airport.

Many of the chapters will find their way into this report and are referenced as such. This information has been taken directly for the annex 14 and the annex can be read at your own discretion.

1.5.1c Airport classification

Due to the many types of airplanes, ICAO had to come up with a way to decide what airplanes can land at an airport safely and what types cannot. To do this they have come up with an airport classification index to standardize this. This index can be found in the table below (Table 6):

Code element 1

Code element 2

Code number

Airplane reference field length

Code letter

Wing span

Outer gear wheel span

1

< 800m

A

<15m

< 4.5m

2

800m - 1200m

B

15m – 24m

4.5m - 6m

3

1200m - 1800m

C

24m – 36m

6m - 9m

4

> 1800m

D

36m – 52m

9m - 14m

E

52m – 65m

9m - 14m

F

>65m

14 - 16m

Table 6: Aerodrome reference code

HIER MOET NOG IETS ALS DE BAANLENGTE EN GROOTSTE TYPES BEKEND ZIJN

1.5.2 Wet luchtvaart

The wet luchtvaart is a common document for Dutch aviation laws. The wet luchtvaart is partially derived from ICAO. For the obtainance of a ‘Aanwijzingsbesluit’ the rules as dictated in this document need to be followed. Specifically of interest to this report is chapter eight "Besluit burgerluchthavens’. This chapter consists of the rules for several types of airports. Interesting for this research is chapter 8.3 ‘Luchthavens van regionale betekenis’, paragraph two ‘Luchthavens van regional belang met luchthavenbesluit’. The most important articles will be named below with a short description.

§8.3.2.2 ‘Het luchthavenbesluit’ contains rules for obtaining a ‘Aanwijzingsbesluit’ and will be further discussed in chapter 1.5.3.

§8.3.2.3 ‘Vaststellen routes in de nabijheid van de luchthaven’ obliges the airport to establish its airspace in accordance to local air traffic control

Other articles are relevant for the commission in charge of allocating farmers and other affected communities.

1.5.4 Noise

People who live around the area of an airport often face obstacles of noise producing air traffic. Noise is an important factor when a new airport area has to be chosen and to obtain something such as a 'Luchthavenbesluit’. The used unit of sound is decibel (1.5.4a). There are different ways to measure noise nuisance (1.5.4b).

1.5.4a Decibel

Noise is caused by pressure changes in the air, which travels like sound waves through the air. This wave has a certain length and amplitude. The wavelength determines ultimately the level of the tone and is also called a frequency. The frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz), the number of vibrations per second. A healthy young adult can perceive frequencies between 16 and 20,000 Hz. But the human ear is not sensitive to all frequencies. The decibel [dB](A) is by far the most common used unit, since it corrects the volume of the sensitivity of the human ear. Each 10 dB means an increase in power or energy by a factor of 10. The human ear works just like the dB(A) more or less according to the principles of a logarithmic scale.

1.5.4b Measurement of noise

Noise around an airport is measured by a decibel meter. Around Schiphol this happens by the Noise Monitoring System (NOMOS). This system measures in an objective way the airplanes noise in the residential areas around the airport and monitors the created sound. With this information, the maximum amount of sound can be determined. This is also referred as a noise level, and can be determined by the LAMAX or the LAX. The LAMAX is the maximum noise level at a specific moment as a result of a passing plane, and is also referred as a peak level. With LAX, the constant noise level during one second with the same acoustic energy as the whole airplane passage is measured and is called a Single Event Level (SEL). The LAMAX and LAX can be displayed schematically (Figure 1).

Figure 1: LAMAX and LAX

The noise load is the measure of the sound that is produced by all airplanes together in one year. All noise levels of all airplane that take off or land at the airport, will be added together in a certain way. The nuisance of noise which residents encounter is not only dependent on the noise level of an airplane passage, but how many airplanes fly over and on which part of the day.

There are several methods in the Netherlands for calculating the noise load:

Geluidsbelasting kleine luchtvaart (BKL)

Kosteneenheid (Ke)

LDEN

Ad 1 Geluidsbelasting kleine luchtvaart

The ‘Geluidsbelasting kleine luchtvaart’ [BKL] (Formula 1) relates to fixed-wing airplanes with screw drive, with a Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW) between 390 kg and 6000 kg. In addition, small aviation mainly fly in the six busiest months of the year and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. This method of calculation just like the Kosteneenheid (Ad 2) is only used in the Netherlands. For the calculation of the BKL, a weight factor has to be used during several periods of time and a LAX. Since a plane that flies at night, in the early morning or in the evening causes more discomfort for residents, than when the same plane with the same noise flies at daytime, weight factors are being used into the calculation. There are three weight factors to be considered; factor 1 is used between 7:00 and 19:00, factor 3.16 between 19:00 and 23:00 and factor 10 between 23:00 and 7:00. As of January 1, 2000, the maximum allowable noise load for small aviation is restricted to 47 BKL.

Equation BKL

Symbol

Definition

Σ

Sum of all airplane noise in a year

n

Weight Factor

LAX

Noise level [Db]

Formula 1 ‘Belasting Kleine Luchtvaart’

Ad 2 Kosteneenheid

Kosteneenheid [Ke] (Formula 2) is an ancient dose measure, which is only used in the Netherlands, for the noise load of air traffic. The Ke is used for all civil airports, which has airplanes with a MTOW greater than 6000 kg and for all military airports. This method is based on the characteristics of the airplane fleet in the 60s and becomes less reliable, because of the increased air traffic. In addition, a so-called Ke threshold is being used, where airplanes with a maximum noise level of less than 65 dB are not included into the noise load. At the Ke, the maximum noise levels, which are based on the situation outdoors, are combined together. For the noise level of the individual airplanes, the LAMAX is used. In addition, a weight factor has been applied into the equation, which can be distributed into nine periods, depending on the time. Factor 1 is used between 08:00 and 18:00 and factor 10 between 23:00 and 6:00. Between 18:00 and 23:00 and between 6:00 and 8:00 there are seven factors to be divided, which vary between 1 and 10. Around Rotterdam The Hague Airport there are field contours, which encircle the maximum Ke and BKL zones. This is clarified in Appendix **.

Equation Ke

Symbol

Definition

Σ

Sum of all airplane noise in a year

n

Weight factor

LAmax

Noise level [Db]

Formula 2 Kosteneenheid

Ad 3 LDEN

LDEN (Formula 3) is the abbreviation for Lday-evening-night. In 2002, this unit was included in the European directive for environmental noise as a European dose measure for the assessment of the noise of traffic and industry. The LDEN method applies to all airplanes with a MTOW of greater than 150 kg. The LDEN has nothing to do with the so-called threshold value as in Ke, but on the other hand LDEN uses the same weight factors which correspond to those of the BKL. In the next couple of years the BKL and Ke will be replaced by the European LDEN. Schiphol and each newly opened airport handling the LDEN, but airports like Rotterdam The Hague Airport still uses the BKL and Ke method.

Equation LDEN

Symbol

Definition

Σ

Sum of all airplane noise in a year

n

Weight factor

LAX

Noise level [Db]

Formula 3 LDEN

1.6 Airspace

Introduction

1.6.1 Restrictions

It is not permitted to fly everywhere with an aircraft because of the restricted flight zones that are imposed by the ICAO. Besides the restricted flight zones are also control areas. Control areas have their own Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC guides the pilots for a safe route in a flight. There are also flight zones where many birds fly. For the safety of the aircraft is it better to fly around these areas, because birds can do serious damage to the aircraft.

1.6.1a Restricted flight zones

Restricted flight zones are areas in the sky where most aircraft are not permitted to fly. Mostly these areas are created by military authorities. Not every zone is always active. These areas are called Temporary Reserved Airspace’s (TRA). This means that they will be sometimes inactive and is it allowed to fly in. Not every zone is like a (TRA) and these are Restricted Areas. That means it will never be permitted to fly in.

1.6.1b Airspace classifications

All airports with (ATC) in the Netherlands are surrounded with a Control Terminal Region (CTR). CTR’s are areas around the airport where the pilot has contact with ATC (annex). The size of the CTR areas are around 32 nm in diameter and in the middle of the circle is where the airport is located. The pilot has to be able to fly the aircraft in bad weather with his own instruments and ATC. The aircraft also required a transponder, a device that locate the aircraft on the radar and identifies itself.

There are two different ways of flying an aircraft. With the instruments or a visual flight. Also known as Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Visual Flight Rules (VFR). In clear sky conditions is it possible to fly on own sight as long the visibility is good enough. These minimum rules are settled up by the ICAO. When the weather conditions are too bad, the pilot has to fly IFR with his own navigation equipment and will receive orders from the ATC for the right flight path.

Every CTR area has its own airspace classification, because not every CTR area does have the same sky limitations. ICAO composed some differences in CTR areas from category A to G (Table 7). The categories A to E are controlled airspaces, where ATC is located and VFR and IFR flights are allowed. The categories F and G are uncontrolled airspaces where no ATC services are stationed.

Category A

In category A aircrafts are only permitted to fly IFR and need to receive a clearance from ATC before they can fly in this category.

Category B

This category is commonly used by military and is the area from the ground to FL 100. Aircraft are allowed to fly VFR if the visibility is more than 8 km. The pilot must have radio contact with ATC and need to receive clearance for permission.

Category C

Category C is located around an airport with ATC, with a radius of fifteen nm and a height of 4000 ft. Aircraft must have two-way radio communication with the traffic control tower and have a speed limit of 250 knots. VFR flights are separated from IFR flights.

Category D

Category D includes the area from the ground to 2500 ft. Pilots of IFR flights must have two-way radio communications with ATC and have a maximum speed of 250 knots. VFR flights are not separated by ATC.

Category E

All areas which are not category A, B, C or D, are category E. In this category aircraft have a speed limit of 250 knots below FL 100 and must have two-way radio contact with ATC. IFR flights are separated with other IFR flights and are permitted to provide a clearance for permission.

Category F

In Category F, IFR and VFR flights are permitted to fly. These flights receive air traffic advisory service and flight information on request of ATC.

Category G

IFR and VFR can receive flight information if requested.

Table 7: Airspace classifications

1.6.1c Flight routes

Airports have their own flight patterns for arriving and departing aircrafts. These flight patterns are settled up for a better flow on the airport self.

1.6.1d Bird areas

The Netherlands is a rich bird country. That means a lot of birds flying in our country. Some areas above the Netherlands are more birds active than other areas. These areas are marked on the chart and are seasonal. In the Dutch law states that when an ILS approach will be performed, the runway must be at least six km out of the bird area.