Barrier Test Facility

The facility (currently mothballed) consists of barrier pits on both sides of the South Base runway approximately 100 by 50 feet sunk into the ground approximately 15 feet. The pits are connected underground by a walk-through tunnel under the runway. The floors of the pits are equipped with bolt-down rails to facilitate a wide variety of barrier system configurations.

The walls of the pits are also equipped with bolting provisions to accommodate any sheaves necessary for the routing of the barrier tapes. The roof of each pit is at ground level and can be rolled back to accommodate installation and removal of large pieces of equipment. Adjacent to the runway and next to the southern pit is a reinforced barrier test control booth to provide safe control of testing.

Also adjacent to the runway and barrier pit on the south side is a facility used for storage and engineering space. A fenced compound is within 150 feet of the facility, providing for outdoor storage of large equipment.

A BAK-13 is installed approximately 100-feet to the west of the barrier facility with fair-lead tubes and sheaves (currently this installation is inoperable). A minimum amount of the South Base runway is open at this time with plans to renovate the runway back to full bearing capacity. The facility is capable of supporting a wide variety of barrier setups, BAK-9 through BAK-14 including mobile arresting gear evaluations. Instrumentation consists of high-speed photography from reinforced locations, speed trap, cable runout, loads, etc.