End-Around Taxiway Screen Evaluation

Details

• Creators:
  Patterson, James W.
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center. Airport and Aircraft Safety Research and Development Division.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Airport Runways Design Evaluation Screens Taxiways
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AR-TN06/59
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Technical Notes
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
• Abstract:
  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Safety Technology Research and Development Section was tasked to design and evaluate an end-around taxiway (EAT) visual screen to mask aircraft using the EAT. This evaluation effort was conducted to investigate the most conspicuous material, configuration, pattern, color, and lighting methods that would make the EAT visual screen visible to pilots operating on a runway equipped with an EAT. The visual screen should be visible during both daytime and nighttime conditions and should be adaptable for use at airports that have already constructed, or are planning to construct, this type of taxiway. This report describes the research, development, and evaluation efforts that were performed to determine the best design characteristics for the visual screen. The evaluation was conducted through a series of comparative evaluations at the Atlantic City International Airport, including a final evaluation involving pilots of various aviation backgrounds. The results of this evaluation showed that a screen height of 13 feet was satisfactory; the color and size combination of a 12-foot-wide, red and white diagonal striping proved most effective; and that the use of engineering-grade reflective material prevents the need for additional external lighting to enhance screen visibility at night. Additional findings were made regarding effective access for emergency equipment and verification that the effectiveness of the screen was not degraded by tilting the screen surface 14 degrees to avoid interference with airport-based radar systems. Ninety-eight percent of the subject pilots involved ranked the proposed screen design as being effective in performing the function of masking an aircraft on the EAT.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f7762e99da8983e1421d0888e0350d1f0d574cc367d8b02cc5c961837abd531d9127bf03826d36011fac413ae472719cca9045b2538cbb848ed56aafc8487e0
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90133/dot_90133_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1011.54 KB ]