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Issue link: https://groundsupportworldwide.epubxp.com/i/665839
22 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE APRIL 2016 FBO FOCUS F or example, for each square foot of improve- ments on a leasehold — such as hangars or an FBO building — a certain corresponding percentage of non-buildable square footage is in turn dedicated to aircraft parking or transi- tion areas, known more simply as "ramp" space. More often than not however, the real factor which affects FBOs and dictates those non-buildable areas of a leasehold is FAR Part 77, Imaginary Surfaces. Under Part 77, several imaginary surface areas of an airport are defned, and their dimensions are a function of the type of airport itself and the approaches available to that airport, among other factors. The frst surface, and perhaps most obvious is referred to as the primary surface. At ground level and emanating from the centerline of the runway, the primary surface is the area which must be object free — excepting those required for the safe movement of aircraft, such as lighting, taxiway signage and navaids. While other imag- inary surfaces, such as the approach surface on runway ends are more commonly known to pilots, it is another imaginary surface — the "transitional surface" that most affects FBOs. Transitional surfaces establish a 7:1 slope of a protected area outwards from either side of the runway, or pri- mary surface. As a great many FBO leaseholds are located parallel to a runway, improvements such as hangars or an FBO itself must be lower than the At almost every airport across the country, an FBO's leasehold is comprised of a mixture of buildable and non-buildable areas, dependent on a number of factors. One factor defning non-buildable areas may be found in an airport's minimum standards, where a leasehold improvement formula is sometimes located. By Douglas Wilson FAR Part 77: Imaginary Surfaces Are a Very Real Issue