Aviation Vocabulary-Aerodrome: In Pictures

Luxor Aerodrome Terminal, Egypt. in the year 1961.
Photo: Mike Loader | Wikimedia Commons

The word aerodrome is a portmanteau of Ancient Greek words ἀήρ (aḗr), which means air, and δρόμος (drómos), which means road or course, and therefore translates as “air course”. According to ICAO Annex 14, an aerodrome is defined as “a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.”

In the early days of aviation, grass airfields permitted landings and takeoffs in a restricted range of directions, much like airports today. Aerodromes, on the other hand, were bigger and allowed planes to fly in any direction, giving them a significant advantage when crosswind performance was poor.

Over time, advancements in technologies like differential braking, improved aircraft performance, and asphalt inefficiency of circular aerodromes rendered them obsolete. Aerodromes fall into one of four categories. 

Seaplanes and amphibious aircraft land and take off at water aerodromes, which are specially chosen places on bodies of water. They are essential for connecting isolated locations and islands where land-based aerodromes are impractical since they often include floating docks, mooring buoys, and passenger access facilities.

Joint-use aerodromes support both commercial and military flights. These installations balance the needs of commercial airlines and defense forces, usually sharing runways and control systems.

The purpose of military aerodromes is to facilitate defense operations. They contain facilities for supplies, training, and combat aircraft and frequently have limited access.

The aerodrome in Mingbo in the Khumbu region that was constructed by Sir Edmund Hillary. Though regular passenger fixed-wing operations don’t take place here, helicopters do provide essential supplies. 

Aerodrome reference code number	Aeroplane reference field length
1	Less than 800 meter
2	800 meters – 1199 meters
3	1200 meters – 1799 meters
4	1800 m and above

Aerodromes also tend to have two different types of reference codes. The table above represents the Element 1 of the reference codes, and depends upon reference field length, which is defined as “”the minimum field length required for take-off at maximum certificated take-off mass, at sea level, in International Standard Atmosphere conditions in still air and with zero runway slope”. The following table shows the aerodrome reference code letter. 

Aerodrome reference code letter	Wingspan
A	Less than 15 meter
B	15 meters – 24 meters
C	24 meters – 36 meters
D	36 meter – 52 meter

 

The largest passenger aircraft in the Domodedovo International Airport (DME) in Moscow. The aerodrome reference code for an airport like DME, which can house the A380 having a wingspan of 79.5 meters, would have the letter F. On the other hand, an airport like Syangboche in Nepal has an aerodrome reference code 1B because it has an aerodrome reference field length of less than 800 meter (therefore the Aerodrome reference code number 1) and can only accommodate aircraft with wingspan 15 meters – 24 meters.

According to the aviation dictionary compiled by Ernest J. Gentle, “The term airport is normally used to describe a U.S. civil facility…. Aerodrome is an international term”       

 An aerodrome’s topography must be relatively flat. The Flybe Glasgow service is shown in this photo launching from the northwest-southeast runway. Just south of the east-west runway’s end lies a very small rocky outcrop known as Knockangle (Cnoc Aingil) Point.

College Park Airport (USA), established in 1909, is the world’s oldest continuously operating aerodrome. Needless to say, it is also the oldest airport in the US. 

Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (USA) is one of the busiest general aviation aerodromes in the world.

The rooftop heliport at Burj Al Arab is an aerodrome without a fixed-wing runway. Helicopter-only aerodromes or simply heliports do not need traditional type of runways.

Barra Airport (Scotland) used to have no control tower and is the only aerodrome in the world where scheduled flights land on a beach. During high tides, the runway disappears underwater, so flights are timed around the tides. 

Gibraltar International Airport has a runway that intersects with Winston Churchill Avenue, a major road, making it a unique aerodrome. 

Kansai International Airport (Japan) holds the distinction of being an aerodrome that is built in an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

Pegasus Field (Antarctica) is an example of an aerodrome which serves as scientific missions despite its subzero temperatures. The runway is entirely made up of ice. 

Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (Canada) is a floating aerodrome which is for seaplanes. Seaplane aerodromes exist where aircraft take off and land on water instead of runways.