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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0813.PDF
FLIGHT, 27 April 1950 SWAMP TO BE FILLED AND RAISED TO SAME LEVEL AS OTHER SIDE OF RIVER TEMP. WOODEN efttOCE TO FACILITATE FILLINC BOTANY BAY In the heading picture opposite is a general view of the ex-cavations for the Cooks River diversion, looking towards General Holmes Drive. The vertical air photograph on the right showsthe whole site and its environs; comparison with the key drawing above gives some idea of the magnitude of the project. SYDNEY'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT . . . the new river course is the presence of ground water, over the whole area, at depths ranging from one to three feet; it restricts the method of work to the use of drag-line exca- vators entirely. To keep the water down sufficiently to permit of the greatest efficiency by the operating equip- ment, a number of 6in electric pumps have been, installed to pump out a minimum of 500,000 gall a day, but as the work progresses and the length of the excavation increases, two million gallons will need to be extracted each day. Before the ground water is reached, power shovels and bucket loaders are used, assisted by bulldozers to push the sand into heaps. As the whole area is of an extremely sandy nature, temporary roads have had to be laid to prevent the motor trucks from getting bogged. For this purpose boiler ash from the Bunnerong power station has been used; laid wet, well rolled and regularly watered, it has proved to be both economical and efficient in carrying the constant shuttle of moving trucks from the cut to the filling areas. To provide for drainage of the extended area, protection against flooding, and make provision for the public ser- vices, it has been necessary to raise the level of the ground about nine feet by the provision of 11,000,000 cu yd of filling, including that taken from the new river cut. This is being obtained from the bed of Botany Bay, which adjoins the airport, and will be used, should it ever be decided to include a marine-aircraft base, for that purpose. To secure the fill from Botany Bay three dredges have been designed and built with a combined capacity of 9,000 cu yd per day. The dredges will pump the sand through i6in pipelines direct to the filling areas as long as this is feasible; when it is not, stockpiles will be made from which the material will be transported by motor trucks to the required area. In view of the facts that the main runway will be located down the centre of the existing river bed and that the whole surface is being raised by nine feet, the compaction and consolidation of the fill is of major importance and very close attention has been paid to this point. At the filling points the motor trucks dump their load at the end of the ash road and it is then pushed out by Caterpillar D.8 tractors fitted with Le Toumeau 12ft blades. The constant movement of these heavy tractors is the basis of the consolidation but, when the time comes for the final filling-in of the existing river bed, the Porter pneumatic 200-ton compactor will be used. This machine, imported from U.S.A., can be used in four different weights from 50 to 200 tons, and is similar to the type successfully used on the international airport at New York. Until the results of the consolidation have been thoroughly tested and assessed, the composition of the main runway will not be decided. The choice, of course, is between reinforced concrete or bitumen-sealed gravel. As the traffic density of the airport at the present time averages 124 movements a day, with a maximum of 250 on such occasions as Easter and Christmas, it is considered the present two-runway plan will provide for the require- ments of Sydney for at least 10 years, as it is capable of dealing with 400 movements a day, with a maximum of 40 per hour at peak periods. Some 2,200 passengers are at present handled each day and 4,000 motor vehicles enter the airport. The plan is essentially a flexible one and included is provision for a third runway, No. 3/21, of 200ft width and 6,300ft length, should it be considered necessary, whilst the other two can be duplicated as and when required. When duplication does take place runways will be at least 3,000ft apart and will be located in the centre of grass landing strips 1,000ft wide. The duplicate runways will be parallel to existing ones but on the other side of the control tower, in accordance with accepted airport management principles. Runways will possess a maximum longitudinal grade of 1 per cent and transverse 1.5 per cent. It has definitely been decided that the aprons will be of reinforced concrete laid on a thoroughly consolidated sandstone base up to 14m in thickness and designed to carry a wheel loading of 100,000 lb and a tyre pressure of 100 lb/sq in. Normal runway (as well as normal taxiway) lighting will be installed and high-intensity runway and high-intensity approach lighting will be included in the instrument run- way. Obstruction lights^ are being provided where necesr- sary, including hazard-Jbeacons on such places as the Sydney Harbour ^Bridge. "An Airport rotating beacon is already installed; Navigational aids cover a wide range, as the following list indicates:— (1) V.A.R. radio range (112-118 mc/s), four course, which will later be converted to V.O.R. omni-range. (2) M.F. homing beacon. (3) 2oomc/s D.M.E. (distance-measuring equipment). (4) 1,000mc/s D.M.E. for international aircraft. (5) Instrument landing system on one and possibly two runway approaches, comprising: localizer, 108-112 me / s ; glide-path transmitter, 330 me / s marker beacons, 75mc/s M.F. locator (homing) beacons;
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