Runway and taxiway markings must be maintained in order to keep compliance with FAA regulations. Every year airports go through recertification by an FAA inspector who will evaluate the condition of the airfield, including signage, markings, and perimeter fencing.  The knowledge of airport operations and airfield maintenance employees will also be tested, as the FAA requires personnel to be adequately trained. Airports abide by regulations found in the ACs (Advisory Circulars), which change over time. When the ACs change, airports are required to adjust. The inspector may write up several instances of the airport not in regulation, then will be given a deadline to fix the issues. Many airports take pride in the condition of their airfield and spend millions of dollars to keep the condition beyond what is required.

In preparation for my airport’s recertification in July we contracted the project out to a widely known company that travels around the nation painting airfields using highly technological equipment. The project for our airport to remove and repaint 70% of the total markings cost just over $500,000. After weeks of planning and mapping to determine which markings need to be removed and repainted, a team showed up with several pieces of equipment to do the job.

The markings at this airport have been repainted several times and were beginning to flake in many areas. The only option was to blast off the old paint and start fresh. With the help of two large trucks equipped with powerful pressure washers mounted on the front and tanks that hold thousands of gallons of water, crews are able to spray for nearly 6 hours without stopping. It took four days, working 24/7 to blast a total of three miles of runway clean of centerline, edge line and threshold paint. A sweeper was kept on hand to follow these trucks at all times to ensure all the flakes of paint were collected and disposed of.

Painting is the quicker part of this tedious job. Workers walk down the runway and use a measuring wheel to mark where the center lines and other runway markings are to be painted. Once the runway is marked, a large truck, with an operator positioned in the rear, controls the start and stop of the spray. It takes one pass and a couple of hours to paint two miles of 120 x 3 foot centerline markings. The taxiway and hold short lines are painted using a special motorized vehicle that resembles a modified riding lawn mower with a pole extending off the front three feet to lead the operator along. It allows the operator to see exactly where the paint will be sprayed.