Wake vortex capacity benefits for simultaneous approaches at St. Louis Airport

1994PDFResearch PaperFTA-TM-506-1Airport runwaysParallel runwaysTurbulenceVorticesWakesAircraft separationSt. Louis (Missouri)Flight Transportation Associates, Inc.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)NTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-AVIATION-Airports and FacilitiesVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThis paper details the results of FTA's investigation into the potential capacity gains of applying 1.5 nautical mile (NM) diagonal separation between parallel arrival operations at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL). Currently, dependent parallel arrivals are permitted only when runways are separated by 2,500 feet or more due to concern over wake vortex turbulence. If conditions exist which eliminate or reduce this effect, the application of diagonal separation may be permitted between runways separated by less than 2,500 feet. A similar study was completed for Boston's Logan International Airport and much of the material in this memorandum reflects the previous Logan analysis1. Figure 1 depicts the existing runway layout at STL. The centerline separation between Runways 30L and 30R is approximately 1,350 feet. The manner in which the runways are used is dependent upon several factors including weather, traffic demand, and the type of aircraft operation (e.g. jet versus propeller). Information on STL operations was obtained from the STL Tower and the Air Traffic Division of the FAA Central Region Office