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A Floating airport is an airport that would be built and situated on a very large floating structure (VLFS) located many miles out at sea utilizing a floatation type of device or devices such as Pneumatic Stabilized Platform (PSP) technology.

As the population increases and land becomes more expensive and scarce, very large floating structures (VLFS) such as floating airports will help solve land use
Land use

Land use is the human modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of temperate regions....
, pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 and aircraft noise
Aircraft noise

Aircraft noise is defined as sound produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight, on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths, over-flying while en route or during la...
 issues.

Wave of the Future: Airport issues tackled
Many issues and problems of land-based airport
Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and Non-rigid airship take off and land. Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an airport....
s could be minimized by locating airports several miles off of the coasts.






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A Floating airport is an airport that would be built and situated on a very large floating structure (VLFS) located many miles out at sea utilizing a floatation type of device or devices such as Pneumatic Stabilized Platform (PSP) technology.

As the population increases and land becomes more expensive and scarce, very large floating structures (VLFS) such as floating airports will help solve land use
Land use

Land use is the human modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. The major effect of land use on land cover since 1750 has been deforestation of temperate regions....
, pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 and aircraft noise
Aircraft noise

Aircraft noise is defined as sound produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight, on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths, over-flying while en route or during la...
 issues.

Wave of the Future: Airport issues tackled


Many issues and problems of land-based airport
Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and Non-rigid airship take off and land. Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an airport....
s could be minimized by locating airports several miles off of the coasts. Takeoffs and landings would be over water, not over populated areas, thereby eliminating noise pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 and substantially reducing risks of aircraft crashes to the land-locked population.

As little of the ocean's surface is currently being used for human activity, growth and alterations in configuration would be relatively easy to achieve with minimal impact to the environment and/or to local residents who would utilize the airport. Water taxi
Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar manner to a taxicab....
s or other high speed surface vessels could be a part of an offshore mass transit system that could connect the floating airport to coastal communities and minimize traffic issues.

A floating structure, such as a floating airport, would have less impact on the land than its land-based alternative. It would not require much, if any, dredging or moving of mountains or clearing of green space and the floating structure provides a reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
-like environment conducive to marine life. Wave energy could also be harnessed using the structure to convert waves into energy to help sustain the energy needs of the airport.

The ocean and seas are much easier to patrol and secure than land-based airports and a floating airport could conceivably reduce the risk of terrorist attack by shoulder-fired missiles.

Floating airport projects


In 2000, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)

The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government. It is the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, and the second-largest organ of the Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense ....
 sponsored the construction of , a 1000 metre floating runway in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kanto region of Japan. Its old name was ....
. After conducting several real aircraft landings, the Ministry concluded that floating runways' hydro-elastic response would not affect aircraft operations, including precision instrument approaches in a protected waterway such as a large bay.

The U.S. military and Japanese government the construction of a floating runway in Yamaguchi Prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi located in the center of the Prefecture: The largest city, by contrast, is Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi....
.

The Pneumatic Stabilized Platform (PSP) was originally designed as a means for constructing a new floating airport
Floating airport

A Floating airport is an airport that would be built and situated on a very large floating structure located many miles out at sea utilizing a floatation type of device or devices such as Pneumatic Stabilized Platform technology....
 for San Diego in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, at least three miles off the tip of Point Loma. However, this proposed design was rejected in October, 2003 due to the difficulty in accessing such an airport, the difficulty in transporting jet fuel, electricity, water, and gas to the structure, failure to address security concerns such as a bomb blast, inadequate room for high-speed exits and taxiways, and environmental concerns.

External links

  • (PSP / Floating Airport technology could be used for Cost Effective Cargo & Port Security)
  • "FLOATPORT: a floating solution to the San Diego airport's environmental problems" Auteur(s)/Author(s)BLOOD H.; INNIS D., Float Inc., San Diego CA, ETATS-UNIS
  • "Floating airport proposal resurfaces"
  • "Airport: Thinking Outside the Box"
  • , "The sinking of the San Diego floating airport proposal" by D.A. KOLODENKO