UFC 3-260-02
30 June 2001
(3) Blast protective pavement.
3. AIRCRAFT LOADINGS. Factors which must be considered in pavement thickness design are the
landing gear configuration, weight distribution, gear loads, number of wheels, wheel spacing, tire width,
and tire inflation pressure. These characteristics are different for each aircraft and will result in a
different pavement response. All aircraft expected to use the facility over the design period shall be
considered in the pavement thickness design.
a. Aircraft Types. A landing gear assembly shall consist of a single wheel for smaller aircraft, or
dual and dual tandem wheels for larger aircraft. Figure 4-2 illustrates the various multiwheel landing
gear assemblies and lists typical aircraft for each.
b. Design Weight. The maximum static gear loads are used for pavement thickness design.
Table 4-1 presents the design gear loads and other characteristics for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft.
To use the design curves herein, the design gear load must be converted to the design gross aircraft
weight (typically, the maximum gross take-off weight) by assuming that 95 percent of the gross aircraft
weight is carried by the main gears. The design gear loads given in Table 4-1 represent the maximum
static gear loads expected to be applied to a pavement.
c. Use of Other Gear Loads in Design. Gear loads other than those listed in Table 4-1 may be
used for design when required. Since certain areas of an airfield (e.g., runway shoulders, runway
overruns) do not normally carry fully loaded aircraft, they do not need to be designed for the maximum
gross weight.
d. Hangar Floors. Aircraft in hangars are not normally loaded with cargo, fuel, or armaments.
Hangar floors shall be designed for the empty weight of the aircraft. When exact data are not available,
60 percent of the maximum gross weight of the aircraft shall be used. Aircraft hangar floors or apron
pavements shall not be designed for jacking loads as long as the foot print of the jack is equal to or
greater than the contact area of the combined tires on the aircraft gear being elevated.
e. Standard Design Aircraft. One aircraft in each gear assembly group has been designated the
representative aircraft for that group. The tabulation below identifies these five standard aircraft types
which are to be used as default values in the design of rigid and flexible pavements only when site-
specific aircraft loadings are not available.
Standard Design Aircraft Types
Representative
Tire Pressure
Design Gear
Landing Gear Assembly
Aircraft
Mpa (psi)
Load, kg (lb)
Single
F-14
1.65 (240)
13,608 (30,000)
Dual
P-3
1.31 (190)
30,845 (68,000)
Single Tandem
C-130
0.65 (95)
38,100 (84,000)
Dual Tandem
C-141
1.24 (180)
70,310 (155,000)
Twin Delta Tandem
C-5A
0.79 (115)
86,190 (190,000)
4-2
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