Airport Master Plan 2012 - City of Waterville

Historical wind data collected from the airport’s AWOS was utilized to develop new wind roses for
WVL. The wind roses provide a graphical tool to analyze wind coverage of the two runways. Wind
coverage is the availability of runway orientation that maximizes use by landing and departing aircraft in
a variety of wind conditions at WVL. Aircraft operate more safely when landing and taking off into the
wind. When wind is not in the direction or orientation of the runway, wind coverage analysis also
includes “crosswinds” that affect aircraft performance.
The orientation of the primary runway, Runway 5-23, has wind coverage for over 99% of VFR and IFR
operations at WVL. Combined runway coverage is 100%. Refer to the wind rose analysis graphics
attached to the end of this Chapter.
FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Change 1, Airport Design, recommends that a crosswind runway
should be made available when the primary runway orientation provides less than 95 percent wind
coverage for any aircraft forecast to use the airport on a regular basis. The 95 percent wind coverage is
computed on the basis of the crosswind component not exceeding 10.5 knots (12 mph) for ARC A-I and
B-I; 13 knots (15 mph) for ARC A-II and B-II; and 16 knots (18 mph) for ARC A-III, B-III, and C-I
through D-II; and 20 knots (23 mph) for ARC C-III through D-IV. Thus, Runway 5-23 has adequate wind
coverage; an additional runway strictly for crosswind purposes is not necessary. However, Runway 14-32
is adequate for the smaller single and multi-engine general aviation aircraft that utilize the airport. As
previously noted small, piston-engine aircraft are more susceptible to crosswinds greater than 10.5 knots
(12 mph). The Runway 5-23 wind analysis includes typical operating conditions of small aircraft; the
wind coverage is 93.59% for VFR, 98.72% for IFR and 94.30% for all weather conditions in crosswinds
of 10.5 knots. Crosswind runways are often made available for arriving or departing aircraft as an
alternate for smaller aircraft or to ease capacity. Since capacity is not a constraint at WVL, the City may
want to consider maintaining Runway 14-32 as the alternate runway for small aircraft of ARC A-I or B-I
operations only.
Runway Safety Area
Runway safety area dimensions are shown in the previous table. The existing Runway 5-23 RSA is 400
feet by 1,000 feet long on each runway end. These dimensions match those recommended in FAA
guidelines for C-II aircraft, the Design ARC for Runway 5-23 at WVL. The FAA guidelines allow a
smaller width, 400 feet, for C-II aircraft. The existing Runway 14-32 RSA is 120 feet by 240 feet long on
each runway end. Since the ARC is not changing for either runway, the standard dimensions of the RSA
are the same for the existing and future ARC.
Pavement
Except for the newly reconstructed pavements on Taxiway “D”, all other airfield pavements require
future rehabilitation during the planning period to continue to serve the design aircraft. All the pavements
require annual maintenance including crack sealing and spot repairs. These pavement surfaces are fairly
old and have weathered significantly, and there are numerous cracks developing in the pavement due to
weathering and thermal stresses. It is recommended that the existing cracks on the airport pavements be
repaired or sealed as early as possible. The current airport pavement conditions and rehabilitation
recommendations are summarized as follows:
The City of Waterville Maine
Facility Requirements – Page 3-4
Airport Solutions Group, LLC & The Louis Berger Group, Inc. December 2011