ACE Airport Infrastructure and Facilities Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The primary purpose of an Airport Layout Plan (ALP) is to:
- Document terminal lease agreements
- Provide an official graphical record of existing and proposed airport facilities for FAA approval (Correct answer)
- Outline the airport's annual capital budget
- Specify runway lighting specifications
Correct answer: Provide an official graphical record of existing and proposed airport facilities for FAA approval
The ALP is the FAA-approved master drawing set depicting all airport facilities, land, and airspace, and must be updated whenever significant changes occur.
Question 2: Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores range from 0 to 100; a score between 10 and 25 indicates pavement in which condition category?
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
- Very Poor / Failed (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Very Poor / Failed
PCI scores of 10–25 fall in the 'Very Poor' to 'Failed' range, indicating severe distress requiring reconstruction rather than routine maintenance.
Question 3: Which FAA advisory circular provides standards for airport pavement design, including flexible and rigid pavement thickness requirements?
- AC 150/5320-6 (Correct answer)
- AC 150/5370-10
- AC 150/5300-13
- AC 150/5345-28
Correct answer: AC 150/5320-6
AC 150/5320-6 covers airport pavement design and evaluation, specifying thickness requirements for runways, taxiways, and aprons based on aircraft loading.
Question 4: Foreign Object Debris (FOD) management on airfields is critical primarily because FOD can:
- Delay customs processing for international flights
- Be ingested into aircraft engines causing damage or loss of thrust (Correct answer)
- Interfere with ILS localizer signal accuracy
- Reduce terminal passenger throughput
Correct answer: Be ingested into aircraft engines causing damage or loss of thrust
FOD ingested into jet engines can cause compressor blade damage, engine failure, and catastrophic accidents, making FOD detection and removal a top safety priority.
Question 5: The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) is administered by the FAA and funded primarily through:
- State property taxes on airport land
- The Aviation Trust Fund, fed by ticket taxes and fuel taxes (Correct answer)
- Direct Congressional appropriations each fiscal year
- Airport-generated concession revenue shared with the federal government
Correct answer: The Aviation Trust Fund, fed by ticket taxes and fuel taxes
AIP grants are drawn from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is financed by passenger ticket taxes, cargo waybill taxes, and aviation fuel excise taxes.
Question 6: A Runway Safety Area (RSA) must be capable of supporting which type of load without causing structural damage to aircraft?
- Full gross weight of the design aircraft during normal landing
- The occasional passage of airport maintenance vehicles only
- An aircraft that inadvertently departs the runway surface (Correct answer)
- Emergency vehicles traveling at highway speed
Correct answer: An aircraft that inadvertently departs the runway surface
FAA standards require the RSA to support an aircraft overrun or excursion without causing additional structural damage, improving survivability in runway excursion incidents.
ACE Airport Infrastructure and Facilities Management 1
The primary purpose of an Airport Layout Plan (ALP) is to: