What is an airport?

Airport is the general name of airports and related facilities located on the air route to ensure air transportation and general aviation, and it is the basis of air traffic network. Its main tasks are to ensure the take-off, landing, parking, maintenance and repair, command and dispatch of aircraft, the normal transportation of passengers, goods and mail, and the location of various service guarantee facilities.

(1) Airport

The airport occupies an extremely important position in the airport, which is one of the prerequisites for air transportation and general aviation production. The airport is characterized by flat and open terrain, no tall obstacles around it and good geological conditions, so it covers a wide area, has strict site selection standards, is closely related to the surrounding environment and urban planning, and has many engineering problems, so it needs to adopt more advanced technology.

Under standard conditions (namely, the airport elevation is 0, the temperature is 15℃, there is no wind, and the runway has no slope), the length of the airport runway is Class I, more than 2,800 meters; Level 2, more than 2000 meters; Class III, 1400 meters above; Grade 4, more than 400 meters (more than 450 meters on soil pavement).

According to different uses and equipment, airports can be divided into military airports and civil airports, as well as military-civilian airports. Civil aviation airports are divided into transport airports and general aviation airports according to the nature of services. Transport airports are divided into international airports and domestic airports; General aviation airports include agricultural and forestry aviation flight schools, special airports for aviation sports transportation schools and comprehensive airports. Civil airports can be divided into several grades according to the characteristics of aircraft type, area size, runway carrying capacity and perfect facilities.

(2) Runway

A rectangular field designated on a land airport for aircraft to take off or land along its length is called a runway.

The designated geographical location of the airport takes the center of the main runway as the airport positioning point (airport base point). The elevation (elevation) of the highest point on the runway centerline is the airport elevation. A rectangular area extending from the runway end, the width of which is not less than150m, enables the aircraft to pass through the area to reach the specified height during takeoff. This rectangular area is called a clear lane. A rectangular pavement outside the end of the runway, the width of which is the same as that of the runway, is used to prevent the aircraft from taking off, which is called a parking lane.

(3) taxiway

In order to make the plane run safely and quickly in the airport, the main taxiway, exit taxiway and auxiliary taxiway are set up according to the needs. The width of the first and second class airport taxiways is18m; The third level is14m; The fourth level is12m. There is also a taxiway between the taxiway and the runway called the contact road.

(4) apron

According to the needs, the airport provides parking spaces for aircraft, such as passenger apron, cargo apron, maintenance apron and overnight apron. Some airports also have test platforms and aircraft washing platforms.

(5) Tower

It is one of the main components of the airport control center. It is usually set on the top floor of the airport building, surrounded by glass, from which the commanding and dispatching personnel can look around everything around and command the plane to take off and land on the runway through radio communication equipment.

(6) Terminal building (room)

A place where passengers check in and wait for the plane. The scale and service facilities can be determined according to the number of flights and passenger flow, and one or more international and domestic terminals (satellite halls) can be set up respectively.

(7) Navigation control facilities

In order to ensure flight safety and smooth traffic, the airport air traffic control agency is responsible for air traffic control, which is generally divided into area control and tower control. Area control is responsible for the command and dispatch on the air route and the adjustment of aircraft conflicts, while tower control is responsible for directing the aircraft in the airport and adjusting the order of aircraft landing, entering and leaving the airport.

(8) Various service support facilities

In addition to the above facilities, there are various service support facilities to ensure normal operation. Generally, there are navigation equipment (radio stations, navigation stations), meteorological stations, control towers (cars), maintenance departments, equipment depots, oil depots, fire emergency facilities, air conditioning stations, oxygen stations, charging stations, special vehicle fleets, on-board catering and food departments, etc. There are also post offices, banks, customs, frontier defense, health and epidemic prevention checkpoints, security departments and security agencies in the big airport. When there is aircraft activity, these vehicles are parked near the take-off line or at a fixed duty place, ready to stand by. In the event of a flight accident, these vehicles will be immediately dispatched to the crash site for rescue and rescue.

(9) Alternate airport

The airport designated in the flight plan will be selected as a backup airport in case the airport cannot be used due to meteorological or equipment factors.

(10) Lighting equipment for aircraft flying at night

When you take a night flight of civil aviation and arrive at the airport soon, you will see colorful and dazzling lights in the airport. The important role of these airport lights in flight safety has long been known. Among them, there are runway lights, landing searchlights, wind direction indicators, glide lights, road lights, obstacle lights and other lighting equipment.

(1 1) special vehicle for airport operation

Special vehicle for airport operation is an indispensable airport auxiliary equipment to ensure the normal take-off of aircraft. The vehicle itself is just a working platform. According to the equipment carried, various operations such as refueling, adding water, towing, loading and unloading can be carried out. According to the operation nature, it can be divided into airport maintenance operation, airport business operation, airport station and airport communication navigation operation vehicle. These vehicles include aircraft tractors, air source vehicles, power supply vehicles, aircraft refueling vehicles, air-conditioned vehicles, lift trucks, aircraft deicing and washing vehicles, and airport fire ambulances.