Air Markings

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The following material was taken from Airway Bulletin No. 1 "General Airway Information" (published September 1, 1932).   Aeronautics Branch of Department of Commerce, Washington D.C., 1932.

Air Markings
Air markings that airmen and the flying public may expect to find in general use throughout the United States are described and reproduced herewith.

 

(figure 5, from original text)

Roof Markings
Figure (5) shows a roof marker embracing the name of the city, the meridian marker, and the airport pointer.  Figure (6) illustrates the various types of airport and landing field pointers in general use.  A marker of one of these types may be seen on the roof of a building or on some other suitable area, pointing to a nearby airport or landing field and at the same time giving a clear indication to airmen as to the type of landing facility.  It should be understood that these are roof markers which will be seen at points away from airports or landing fields and are not displayed at the airports or fields themselves.

(figure 6, from original text)

Illustration (a)
shows an airport pointer indicating that the airport holds a Department of Commerce airport rating of A1A.  The pointer next to the circle shows the direction and the figure gives the mileage to the airport.  The "LS" preceding the circle indicates that the airport is an airport for landplanes but possesses seaplane facilities.  The "US" above the circle identifies the airport as a United States airport of entry.

Illustration (b)
similar to (a) except that the airport is a seaplane airport having  landplane facilities as the character "SL" before the circle indicates.

Illustrations (c) and (d)
indicate unrated municipal and commercial airports, respectively

Illustration (e)
a Federal (government) airport or landing field

Illustration (f)
an intermediate government landing field

Illustration (g)
a marked government auxiliary field

 

Airport Markings
Roofs of hangars, airport buildings, and other area are utilized to give information as to the name of the airport, the supporting city, its class of operation (commercial, municipal, etc.), the meridian marker, and in some instances distances and directions to other cities.  Typical airport roof markings are shown in figures (7) and (8).

(figures 7, 8, and 9 from original text)

Figure (9) shows the conventional airport landing area circle marker.  This circle usually is 100 feet in diameter and has a band not less than 4 feet wide constructed of crushed stone, gravel, or other wear-resisting material used in conjunction with a suitable binder to prevent displacement under traffic.  Such circles are either white or chrome yellow in color.

Intermediate Field Markings
The standard day marking for a Department of Commerce intermediate landing field is a 50 foot diameter international orange circle at the intersection of the runway center lines, with international orange panels 20 feet long and 2 feet wide, extending from the outside of the circle along the runway center lines to indicate the landing directions, as seen in figure (10).

(figure 10 from original text)
 

To augment these markings, there are installed special international orange boundary markers in 60-foot sections in each angle in the field boundary and at 600-foot intervals on long straight sides.  In the past, these boundary markers consisted of wooden panels supported by galvanized steel posts.  The boards were mounted on two sides of metal triangles so that they sloped from the middle, giving the finished marker the appearance of an inverted trough.  A newer type of boundary marker used at recently constructed fields is built with corrugated sheets instead of boards, the sheets being installed in the same manner as the wooden panels formerly used.  In a few cases the new all-metal boundary markers also serve as supports for boundary and approach lights.  (see explanation____ ).  Ordinarily the metal boundary marker is 60 feet in length, but the panels used for approach lights marking the ends of the runways are 30 feet in length.

Auxiliary Field Markings
The auxiliary landing field marker for use in identifying marked auxiliary landing fields is shown in figure (11).  This marker consists of a white or chrome-yellow cross made up of two straight strokes 4 feet wide by 50 feet long, intersecting at right angles at their mid-points.
 

(figure 11 from original text)

The Aeronautics Branch has record of several hundred marked auxiliary landing fields located throughout the United States.  Such fields do not provide facilities for shelter, supply, and repair of aircraft, and are not used regularly for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo by air.  However, they have, in each case, been designated by the owner as being available for landing and taking off of aircraft without charge, entirely at the risk of the owners and operators of such aircraft, and without the assumption on the part of the owner of the field of any responsibility for the condition of the field or obstructions thereon or for any damage incurred in its use.  Permission to use such fields for landing and taking off of aircraft is not to be construed as an invitation to conduct such operations thereon, it being understood that persons using these fields are in the category of licensees and not invitees.

Markings for LEFT and RIGHT circles at airports
The circling of an airport to the left (counterclockwise), which for several years has been the general practice at the majority of airports throughout the United States, is now a requirement of the Air Traffic Rules of the Air Commerce Regulations.

In cases where local conditions require circles to be made to the right or right or left circles at different times, depending upon wind or other conditions, it will be necessary for those airports and landing fields to obtain authorization of the Secretary of Commerce to provide for such turns by displaying suitable markings to indicate the direction of turn in accordance with the following requirements:

If clockwise (right turns) are to be made at all times, the letter 'R' shall be displayed in the center of the landing-area marker circle, and in case the airport is lighted for night operations the letter 'R' shall be also be displayed upon the roof of an outstanding airport building or on other suitable area and shall be illuminated every night from sunset until sunrise with exposed incandescent lamps, gaseous-discharge lamps, or other equivalent apparatus. 

If left-hand and right-hand turns are to be made at different times, depending upon wind conditions, the letter 'X' shall be displayed in the center of the landing-area marker circle and the letters 'R' and 'L' shall be placed upon the roof of an outstanding airport building or on other suitable area and shall be so arranged that either the 'R' or the 'L' may be displayed, depending upon the direction of the turn.  In case the airport is lighted for night operations, the letter displayed shall be illuminated in the manner provided for the letter 'R'.
 

Highway Markings
The highway marker is illustrated in (figure 12).  Several states have already marked highways in this manner and others are planning to adopt similar programs.

(figure 12 from original text)

 

 

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