Separation Matrix — Tool Guide

Coming Soon AC 150/5300-13B CHG 1 · ALL GUIDES

The Separation Matrix is a runway and taxiway separation standards lookup — the centerline-to-centerline distances that govern parallel taxiway placement, taxiway-to-taxiway spacing, and taxilane object clearances. It presents two live tables: runway-to-parallel-taxiway separation by Aircraft Design Group, split into AAC A/B and AAC C/D/E columns for both visual and instrument visibility minimums; and taxiway/taxilane separation by Taxiway Design Group. Every value is served live from AvPlot's standards engine, which carries the design-standards matrix from AC 150/5300-13B, so each figure arrives with its citation rather than from a spreadsheet you have to keep current.

It replaces the usual workflow of pulling the AC, finding the right design-standards row for the critical aircraft's AAC and ADG, and cross-referencing the taxiway design tables by hand. Type an aircraft and the tool resolves its AAC, ADG, and TDG and sets the filters for you; filter state persists and is shareable by URL.

This tool is built and in pre-release; it will open from the home page when released. The guide below documents the full workflow.

Who It's For & When to Use It

Airport planners siting parallel taxiways, laying out apron taxilanes, or documenting separation standards in design reports, planning studies, and ALP narratives. Use it when you need the controlling runway-to-taxiway separation for a critical aircraft, when checking whether an existing taxiway system meets standard for a fleet change, or when you need a defensible citation for a separation distance rather than a number recalled from memory. It is a reference lookup, not a drawing tool — it returns the governing distances and their citations; you site the geometry.

How to Use It

Search by aircraft (fastest path). Type an ICAO or FAA designator or a model name into the Search aircraft field (for example B737 or C172). The tool matches against the aircraft database and shows a hint such as “Boeing 737-800 → AAC C / ADG III / TDG 3,” then sets the AAC, ADG, and TDG pills to that aircraft automatically. Clearing the field resets all three filters to All.
Or set the filters by hand. Use the AAC pills (All, A/B, C/D/E), the ADG pills (All, I–VI), and the TDG pills (All, 1A–6). The AAC filter controls which dual columns the runway/taxiway table shows; the ADG and TDG filters highlight the governing rows. Choosing a pill clears any aircraft search so the two don't fight.
Enter the airport elevation (ADG V only). Type the field elevation in the Airport Elevation (ft MSL) box. The elevation adjustment affects runway/taxiway separation for ADG V only — ADG VI does not vary with elevation, and sea level (0 ft) returns the smallest ADG V value. Enter your real field elevation for the governing figure; the table refetches from the API when the value changes.
Read the matrix. Section 1 — Runway / Taxiway Centerline Separation lists ADG I–VI with AAC A/B and AAC C/D/E columns for visual and instrument minimums. Combinations the standard does not define — A/B groups at ADG V/VI — show an em-dash rather than a filled-in number. Section 2 — Taxiway / Taxilane Centerline Separation lists every TDG with TWY/TWY, TWY/TL, and TL/TL distances. Active ADG and TDG filters highlight the matching rows in amber.
Read the Filtered Result card. When an ADG or TDG filter is active, Section 3 — Filtered Result collects the governing separations for that AAC · ADG · TDG combination in one summary card — the controlling runway/taxiway visual and instrument distances for the selected AAC group, plus the TWY/TWY, TWY/TL, and TL/TL distances for the selected TDG — with the data vintage stamped at the bottom.
Copy what you need. Use Copy table (top of the matrix) to put both full tables on the clipboard as tab-separated text respecting your active filters, or Copy result (on the Filtered Result card) to copy just the governing summary. Both include the source line and the AC-edition vintage, ready to paste into a report.
Share the view. Active AAC, ADG, and TDG filters are written to the URL (?aac=&adg=&tdg=) and saved locally, so a copied link reopens the tool with the same filters preset, and your last settings restore on return.

Key Features

Confirmed AAC dual-column matrix. Runway/taxiway separation is shown for both AAC A/B and AAC C/D/E across visual and instrument minimums, so C/D/E aircraft see their own governing values rather than a collapsed single column.
Aircraft-to-filters search. Resolving an ICAO/FAA designator or model name sets the AAC, ADG, and TDG pills in one step from the aircraft database.
Pill filters with row highlighting. AAC, ADG, and TDG pills narrow the tables and highlight the governing rows.
Elevation-adjusted ADG V separation. The airport-elevation input feeds the standards engine, which applies the AC's elevation adjustment where it exists — ADG V runway/taxiway separation only — and the tool states exactly where the adjustment does and does not apply.
Filtered Result summary card. Collects the governing separations for the active combination, with undefined A/B groups at ADG V/VI flagged in place.
Copy table & copy result. One-click clipboard export of the filtered tables or the governing summary, each carrying its source line and AC-edition vintage.
Persisted, shareable filter state. Filters survive reload via localStorage and travel by URL query params (?aac=&adg=&tdg=), so a link reproduces the exact view.
AC-edition vintage stamp. A vintage chip names the governing edition — AC 150/5300-13B Chg 1 (8/16/2024) — on the matrix and in every copy output.
API-served values. All distances come from the standards API, which varies them by AAC/ADG/visibility — nothing is hardcoded in the page.

FAA References

AC 150/5300-13B Chg 1, Airport Design — governing standard. Runway-to-parallel-taxiway centerline separation comes from the Appendix G design-standards matrix, indexed by the critical aircraft's AAC and ADG and by visibility minimums. Taxiway/taxiway, taxiway/taxilane, and taxilane/taxilane centerline separation comes from the taxiway design tables (the Table 4-1 family) by TDG.
AC-edition vintage. The tool stamps the governing edition — AC 150/5300-13B Chg 1 (8/16/2024) — on the matrix and in every copy output, so the dated basis travels with the figures.

Separation varies by AAC, ADG, and visibility minimums; every value is served from the standards API rather than hardcoded, so it tracks the cited source.

Limitations & Disclaimers

AvPlot is technical planning production support — accurate enough for design reports, planning studies, and ALP narratives. It is not a replacement for stamped engineering or construction documents. Verify all values against current FAA publications before use in official Airport Layout Plans or regulatory submittals.

All values are minimum standards; airports may establish more restrictive standards.
Centerline separation alone does not ensure compliance — Object Free Areas and Safety Areas must be satisfied independently.
The tool reports standard separations; it does not evaluate modifications of standards or site-specific FAA determinations.
The elevation adjustment is applied to ADG V runway/taxiway separation only; do not infer an elevation effect for any other design group.
Aircraft search resolves design codes from AvPlot's aircraft database — confirm the AAC, ADG, and TDG it returns match your actual critical aircraft and current operations before relying on the result.

Related Tools

ADG / TDG Quick Reference — resolve the design aircraft's ADG and TDG before reading the matrix (guide).
Aircraft Classification Library — look up the full AAC/ADG/TDG and dimensional record behind the search hint.
Taxiway Fillet Tool — fillet geometry for the taxiway intersections the separations connect (guide).
RSA / ROFA / ROFZ Reference — the safety-area and object-free-area dimensions that must be satisfied alongside centerline separation (guide).

Tips & Best Practices

Start from the critical aircraft. Searching the designator is faster and less error-prone than picking pills by hand — it sets AAC, ADG, and TDG together and shows the resolved codes in the hint so you can sanity-check them.
Match visibility to your approach. The visual column applies to visibility minimums of 3/4 statute mile or greater (including visual-only runways); the instrument column applies to minimums below 3/4 statute mile. Read the column that matches the runway's lowest planned minimums.
Set the real field elevation before reading ADG V. Leaving elevation at 0 ft returns the smallest ADG V value — enter the actual elevation to get the governing separation.
Don't read across the em-dashes. A — in an A/B column at ADG V/VI means the standard defines no such group, not zero separation; use the C/D/E column for those large-aircraft groups.
Paste the citation, not just the number. Copy table / Copy result both carry the source line and AC-edition vintage — keep them in the report so the figure stays defensible.
Share by link. Send the URL with its ?aac=&adg=&tdg= params so a reviewer opens the exact filtered view you saw.
Separation is necessary, not sufficient. Confirm OFA and Safety Area dimensions separately before concluding a layout is compliant.

What Changed in AC 150/5300-13B Change 1 — the August 2024 updates affecting taxiway/taxilane separation standards.