“Out on the airfield it’s so open,
it’s like the Arctic. Te machines come in white, caked solid with ice and snow. Tey’re a mess and hard to work on in that condi- tion,” says Ron. He goes on to explain why the sweepers are such high maintenance machines. Each sweeper core is made up of 115 separate broom sections, each section has hundreds of metal strands of razor sharp wires which force mechanics to wear gauntlet gloves when working on or around them. Te broom cores last on average 80 to 100 hours before they need to be replaced, a task which takes an entire day to complete. Soggy snow is especially hard on the sweepers as it wears down the steel wires faster than regular snow. On average, WAA goes through 20 sweeper cores per year, which amounts to about one per week during the winter season.
Knowing it’s safe So, how do the pilots and airport staff know the runway is
safe for your plane to land? Make way for the foreman and his specialized vehicle equipped with a friction tester. He will test the runway at certain times during his shift, when the tower or
Keeping the runways clear is a real team effort.
any airline request it, or when weather conditions call for ex- tra testing. Pat Gray, one of the airfield foremen responsible for directing operations, works closely with the airport Duty Manager and tower to ensure the safety of the runways. Pat explains the process, “Well, you run the truck up to 60 km/h, hit the brakes, and keep doing that the entire length of the runway.” Tat averages out to 24
stops on runway 18/36 and 22 on runway 13/31. Seatbelts are mandatory for this job. Te computer uses the results gathered to find the runway friction index, or RFI, a calculated average which they relay to the tower along with existing weather con- ditions. A decrease in RFI numbers reflects increasingly worse runway conditions. An average RFI of .2 implies the runway is extra slippery, .36 suggests good braking conditions, and RFI’s over .5 are not reported as conditions are ideal. Te crew works through some pretty horrific weather condi-
tions to ensure the continuous operation of our airport which enables planes to land and take off safely. Kudos to you all at the CSB.
The Hub
Winter 2014 • 71
Photos courtesy of WAA.
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