Chapter 4
4.7.1. Requirements for a Landing Lane. Occasionally there are situations at airfields or heliports
when a high density of helicopters are parked on mass aprons. When this occurs, there is usually a
requirement to provide landing and take-off facilities that permit more numerous rapid launch and
recovery operations that otherwise could be provided by a single runway or helipad. Increased
efficiency can be attained by providing one or more of, but not necessarily limited to, the following:
4.7.1.1. Multiple helipads or hoverpoints.
4.7.1.2. A rotary-wing runway of length in excess of the criteria in Table 4.1.
4.7.1.3. Helicopter landing lanes.
4.7.2. Landing Lane Location. Landing lanes are located in front of the paved apron on which the
helicopters park, as shown in Figure 4.9.
4.7.3. Touchdown Points. The location at which the helicopters are to touchdown on the landing lane
are designated with numerical markings.
4.7.4. Dimensions. Table 4.3 presents dimensional criteria for the layout and design of rotary-wing
landing lanes.
4.7.5. Layout. A layout for rotary-wing landing lanes is illustrated in Figure 4.10.
4.8. Air Force Helicopter Slide Areas or "Skid Pads." VFR helicopter runway criteria described in
Table 4.1 and shown in Figures 4.1 and 4.3 (in terms of length, width, grade, and imaginary surfaces) are
suitable for slide areas. The forces associated with helicopters landing at a small (but significant) rate of
descent, and between 10 and 30 knots of forward velocity, require that slide area surfaces have both good
drainage and some resistance to rutting. However, these landing surfaces need not be paved. Refer to
AFJMAN 32-1014, Pavement Design for Airfields, for helicopter slide area structural criteria.
4.9. Shoulders for Rotary-Wing Facilities. Unprotected areas adjacent to runways and overruns are
susceptible to erosion caused by rotor wash. The shoulder width for rotary-wing runways, helipads and
landing lanes, shown in Table 4.4, includes both paved and unpaved shoulders. Paved shoulders are
required adjacent to all helicopter operational surfaces including runways, helipads, landing lanes and
hoverpoints. The unpaved shoulder must be graded to prevent water from ponding on the adjacent paved
area. The drop-off next to the paved area prevents turf, which may build up over the years from ponding
water. Rotary-wing facility shoulders are illustrated in Figures 4.1 through 4.10.
4.10. Overruns for Rotary-Wing Runways and Landing Lanes. Overruns are required at the end of all
rotary-wing runways and landing lanes. Table 4.5 shows the dimensional requirements for overruns for
rotary-wing runways and landing lanes. The pavement in the overrun is considered a paved shoulder.
Rotary-wing overruns for runways and landing lanes are illustrated in Figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.9.
4.11. Clear Zone and Accident Potential Zone (APZ). The Clear Zone and APZ are areas on the
ground, located under the Rotary-Wing Approach-Departure surface. The Clear Zone and APZ are
required for Rotary-Wing runways, helipads, landing lanes and hoverpoints.
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