Overview of the Taxiway Centerline Deviation Study at Airplane Design Group III Airports
In 1999, a research team from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Technology Research and Development (R&D) Branch initiated the Taxiway Centerline Deviation Study. The purpose of this study was to determine whether airplane design group (ADG) VI aircraft, with wingspans of 214 to >262 ft (such as the New Large Aircraft (NLA) Airbus A380 and Boeing B747-8) could safely operate at civil airports with ADG V 75-ft-wide straight taxiway sections. Without this capability, airports could incur expensive and lengthy improvements to taxilanes, taxiways, and runways to accommodate ADG VI aircraft. It is expected that the results from the overall study will suggest that centerline separation standards between parallel taxiways or taxiways to fixed/movable objects can be reduced. This would allow larger aircraft to operate without imposed operational limitations, such as reduced speeds on smaller taxiways and centerline separations without a modification to standards or prior permission, which may increase airport capacity. In Phase I, conducted between 1999 and 2000, the research team determined how accurately a Boeing 747, which is an ADG V aircraft with wingspans of 171 to <214 ft and which closely resembled ADG VI aircraft, tracked the centerline of their corresponding ADG V taxiway. The study determined that ADG VI aircraft could safely operate on existing ADG V straight taxiway sections. Consequently, in 2003, the FAA published Engineering Brief (EB) 63, “Use of Non-Standard 75-Foot-Wide Straight Taxiway Sections for Airbus A380 Taxiing Operations.” EB 63 also determined that ADG VI aircraft could operate on 75-ft-wide straight taxiway sections.
Based on the success of the original effort, it was decided to continue the Taxiway Centerline Deviation Study by collecting data at smaller ADG airports to focus on limited separations and object clearance standards. Phase II was conducted between 2008 and 2010 and collected ADG IV data from smaller ADG airports: Orlando International Airport (MCO), FL; Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), FL; Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT), NH; and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), IL.
Phase III was conducted between 2009 and 2013 and collected data from four civil ADG III airports: Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), FL; Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport (SBY), MD; Key West International Airport (EYW), FL; and Westchester County Airport (HPN), NY. Each airport met the criteria for this study, including 50-ft-wide straight taxiway sections built to ADG III standards and service to a strong mix of ADG III aircraft with wingspans of 79 to <118 ft, which are similar to an Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
This document summarizes Phase III, which includes an overview of the taxiway deviation data collection system, the data collection and analysis process, an overview of the data collection systems installed at each ADG III airport, and recommendations to complete future data collection system installations. The data will be analyzed under a cooperative research and development agreement between the FAA Airport Technology R&D Branch and The Boeing Company. The analysis will determine the associated centerline wander risk for each evaluated ADG in relation to their standard taxiway width. This information will allow comparison of taxiing risk among the six ADGs. The results of the analysis will be disseminated as a supplement to this report at a later date.
DOT/FAA/TC-15/18
Authors: Michael L. DiPilato and Lauren Vitagliano