Cold War ALternate Basing

Kevin Brooks wrote:

"David Lesher" wrote in message
...

There's a long-standing Urban Legend that the Interstate Highway
system was designed to serve as replacement airfields The Day After.

See "One-Mile-in-Five"
http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp
&
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/mayjun00/onemileinfive.htm

I seek to debunk this UL on an engineering basis. I think the
Interstate is unusable for multiple reasons, one of which is a 2-lane
highway is simply not wide enough for B-52/B-57, much less a B-36,
gear.

But I have had little luck finding the gear footprint of such
aircraft. Everyone talks wingspan. Suggestions/data?

I'd also like to compare PSI loads for such aircraft with those of
trucks.

Check old copies of the US Army's TM 5-430, IIRC; one was titled "Planning
and Design of Roads, Airfields, and Heliports in the Theater of Operations",
and the various USAF aircraft were listed by type with data regarding
pavement loading and minimum operating strip dimensions. Not sure that the
current TM manual is the same as the older versions; ISTR the older ones
were a 5-500 series pub, but that just may be due to hazy memory.

AFPAM 10-1403 lists required runway and taxiway widths and lengths, as well as
ACN requirements for each type of a/c. Not quite what you're asking for, but
should get you going. fas.org has it online:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/usaf/...pam10-1403.htm

Until recently all of the army FM/TM were online at TRADOC's website, including
the one Kevin mentions, but it appears that it's now restricted to official use.

Guy