CE 455 – Planning and Design of Airport Facilities

Catalog Data: CE 455. Planning and Design of Airport Facilities (3-0) Three hours. A planning and design course that includes the air transportation system, airport facilities, and regulatory requirements for airport certification by federal and state agencies.

Textbook: Timely textbook selection by instructor as well as web sites and government publications. FAA AC 150 and related microcomputer programs form the primary design references.

Prerequisites: Senior standing in civil engineering or consent of instructor.

Course Objectives: This course acquaints the student with the basic terminology and techniques used in the planning and design of airports through the use of FAA and State design circulars, printed regulations, texts, reference materials, and field trips. The uniqueness of airports as civil engineering construction projects is emphasized in this course. Heavy emphasis is given the design project in this course, including an advertised public presentation.

Topics covered: The air transportation system (5 classes)

Introduction and history

General aviation

Military aviation

Commercial air carriers (cargo and passengers)

Air transportation facilities planning (10 classes)

Terminals

Runway environment

Airport navigation systems

Drainage and environmental

Taxiways and parking

Cargo facilities

Passenger facilities

Fueling and maintenance

Individual and team design problem(s) (24 classes)

Hour Examinations (1 class)

Final examination (design project presentation)

Contribution of course to meeting the professional component:

Airport facilities planning and design require essentially all of the major professional areas of civil engineering. Environmental considerations in water runoff, waste treatment, and hazardous materials and waste handling, structural engineering of buildings and roadways, geotechnical engineering in the appropriate underlayment of runways, taxiways, and roadways, the design of water supplies for consumption and utility, and transportation engineering to assure the efficiency of the airport environment and its relationship to incoming and outgoing transportation systems. Estimated Content: Engineering Science: 3 credits)