London Heathrow Airport

Robust RECYFIX®HICAP surface water drainage system for aircraft maintenance area.

Located to the south of BAA’s London Heathrow airport is the British Airways aircraft maintenance area. Currently some areas undergoing a major extension, it is due for completion during 2008 although parts are already operative. Bordering directly on runways and taxiways, the demands made on the site are huge with all types and sizes of aircraft being maintained and serviced.

With aircraft tow trucks alone weighing 80 tonnes, manoeuvring aircraft impose an enormous burden on the newly installed surface drainage system. Not only must the area be efficiently drained, the system must withstand the twisting forces exerted by turning aircraft and numerous service trucks. 

Taking into account the strict ecological requirements laid down by the airport regulators, suppliers to BAA must present product innovations which bring cost savings in installation and maintenance. RECYFIX®HICAP channels were specified at Heathrow. Made from the company’s specially formulated recycled Polyethylene-Polypropylene (PE-PP), they allowed hydraulic engineers and contractor’s great flexibility during the design and installation stages and reduced the number of channel runs normally required to drain such a large area. The reduction meant less materials being used and fewer underground excavations, all resulting in an easy and fast installation procedure.

Complying with Industrial Class F900 applications (Test force 900kN) all the HICAP channels used, including their ductile iron slot component, weighed less than 25kg.