Airport Capacity Increase

The proposal by Georgetown to resurface the main runway 18-36 to accommodate 60,000 pound single wheel aircraft is a doubling of the existing limit of 30,000 pound single wheel aircraft.  Although, the airport landing limits are specified for single wheel main landing gear aircraft, the weight limits for aircraft with dual wheels on each main gear strut are higher.  For example, a single wheel limit of 30,000 pounds is equivalent to a 40,000 pound limit for dual wheel aircraft.  Likewise, a 60,000 pound single wheel limit is approximately 80,000 pounds for dual wheel aircraft.

The following are examples of aircraft that meet the C-II airport designation:

Canadair Regional Jet CRJ 700

Wingspan 76 ft 3in

Tail Height 24 ft 10 in

Length 106 ft 8 in

Max Take Off Weight 72,260 lbs

Dassault Falcon 20

Wingspan 5.05 ft

Length 56.3 ft

Tail Height 17.4 ft

Max Take Off Weight 28,660 lbs

It is apparent that the Canadair Regional Jet is more that twice as large as the Dassault Falcon 20 and by increasing the runway strength, the larger airplane will be able to be accommodated.

This feels like the movie, Field of Dreams, "Build it and they will come."  To meet the City Council direction that the airport should be self-sustaining, the number of annual operations will have to increase as the City grows.  Doubling the weight of allowable aircraft able to use the airport provides the opportunity to increase the number of annual operations.