4 ms·

4-pronged approach: A. Lighten the load as they're already doing. B. Prep the runway surface with steel matting and wait until the time of year when the soil

4-pronged approach: A. Lighten the load as they're already doing. B. Prep the runway surface with steel matting and wait until the time of year when the soil is hardest. (January) C. Field (literally) replace the main gear with double bogie assemblies borrowed from Air India.[1] The single bogie gear risk collapse or sufficient rolling resistance preventing attainment of V1. D. A rejected takeoff (RTO) contingency plan. Firstly, the runway surface should be twice as long as anticipated. Secondly, firefighters should be available to extinguish brake fires to prevent any wildfire or airframe damage. References: 1. https://www.airliners.net/photo/Indian-Airlines/Airbus-A320-231/63659 https://www.airliners.net/photo/Indian-Airlines/Airbus-A320-...

Stevvo 3y ago
Those gear assemblies were scrapped years ago. I expect they will just let some air out of the tires.
- oldbbsnickname 3y ago
  Checking with my sources, enough of Air India's former A320-221 fleet survives mostly intact in France in storage. Letting air out of the tires and going now isn't a viable solution because they're going to land on a regular runway. They'll wait for winter when the ground is harder.
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culebron21 3y ago
In January, there'll be 50 cm of snow and the ground will be frozen. Pour water on the ground, smooth it with tractors, let it freeze and be covered with a bit of snow for friction. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/101015/ https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/101015/
- oldbbsnickname 3y ago
  It's rarely economically feasible to tank in enough water to form an ice runway for heavy aircraft. They will need to rely primarily on heavy snowfall and then prepare that as a hard surface that can bear the pressure load of the aircraft takeoff roll. If there are large wood mills nearby, pykrete reinforcement maybe an option. And they better plan for EMAS at the end of the usable length of this or that plane is likely to skid off into the woods. Interesting read: Improving Construction and Performance of a Runway in Nuiqsut, Alaska. ASCE. 2021. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784483589.026 https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784483589.026
  - culebron21 3y ago
    Well, if you pour a bit of water on snow, it melts and then freezes altogether, forming ice too. You don't need large volumes of water for that, just couple of trucks of water twice a week. Plus, the ground is frozen 1 m deep by January. It's hard enough for one take-off roll.

Stevvo 3y ago

Those gear assemblies were scrapped years ago. I expect they will just let some air out of the tires.

oldbbsnickname 3y ago
Checking with my sources, enough of Air India's former A320-221 fleet survives mostly intact in France in storage. Letting air out of the tires and going now isn't a viable solution because they're going to land on a regular runway. They'll wait for winter when the ground is harder.

deleted 3y ago

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culebron21 3y ago

In January, there'll be 50 cm of snow and the ground will be frozen. Pour water on the ground, smooth it with tractors, let it freeze and be covered with a bit of snow for friction. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/101015/ https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/101015/

oldbbsnickname 3y ago
It's rarely economically feasible to tank in enough water to form an ice runway for heavy aircraft. They will need to rely primarily on heavy snowfall and then prepare that as a hard surface that can bear the pressure load of the aircraft takeoff roll. If there are large wood mills nearby, pykrete reinforcement maybe an option. And they better plan for EMAS at the end of the usable length of this or that plane is likely to skid off into the woods. Interesting read: Improving Construction and Performance of a Runway in Nuiqsut, Alaska. ASCE. 2021. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784483589.026 https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784483589.026
- culebron21 3y ago
  Well, if you pour a bit of water on snow, it melts and then freezes altogether, forming ice too. You don't need large volumes of water for that, just couple of trucks of water twice a week. Plus, the ground is frozen 1 m deep by January. It's hard enough for one take-off roll.