Airport Master Plan - City of Riverside

identify the runway centerline, threshold,
designation, and hold positions.
Runway 16-34 is equipped with basic
markings which identify the runway
centerline, designation, and aircraft
hold positions. Taxiway and apron
centerline markings assist pilots when
moving on these surfaces. In addition,
all aircraft tie-down areas are outlined
with white striping.
The helipad is also marked with traditional
white striping and an “H” designation.
AIRFIELD LIGHTING
Airfield lighting systems extend an
airport’s usefulness into periods of
darkness and/or poor visibility. A variety
of lighting systems are installed
at the airport for this purpose. These
lighting systems, categorized by function,
are summarized as follows:
Identification Lighting: The location
of the airport at night is universally
identified by a rotating beacon.
The rotating beacon projects two
beams of light, one white and one
green, 180 degrees apart. The rotating
beacon at Riverside Airport is situated
on the top of a 50-foot tall steel
scaffold tower located in the northeast
corner of airport property.
Runway and Taxiway Lighting:
Runway and taxiway lighting utilizes
light fixtures placed near the edge of
the pavement to define the lateral limits
of the pavement. This lighting is
essential for safe operations during
night and/or times of low visibility in
order to maintain safe and efficient
access to and from the runway and
aircraft parking areas.
Both runways are equipped with medium
intensity runway lighting
(MIRL). These are lights set atop a
pole that is approximately one foot
above the ground. The light poles are
frangible, meaning if one is struck by
an object, such as an aircraft wheel,
they can easily break away, thus limiting
the potential damage to an aircraft.
Runway threshold lighting
identifies each runway end. The helipad
is also equipped with perimeter
lighting.
Medium intensity taxiway lighting
(MITL) is associated with the taxiways.
These lights are mounted on
the same type of structure as the runway
lights.
Visual Approach Lighting: Since
the last master plan was completed in
1999, the visual approach slope indicator
(VASI) lights for Runway 27
have been replaced with precision approach
path indicator (PAPI) lights.
PAPIs have also been installed to
serve approaches to the Runway 9 and
Runway 34 ends. The VASI and PAPI
are identical in their purpose of providing
visual approach slope guidance,
but vary in their configuration. Each
lighting aid, however, consists of a
system of lights located at various distances
from the runway threshold,
which when interpreted by the pilot,
give him or her an indication of being
above, below, or on the correct descent
path to the runway. The PAPIs serving
approaches to Runway 9-27 are
currently inoperable.
1-11