On older aircraft, they are sometimes located on the wingtips, pointing backward. Logo lights are lights mounted on the horizontal stabilizer of an aircraft and point upward toward the vertical stabilizer, illuminating the airline’s logo. Some military and law enforcement aircraft are equipped with searchlights that are used to illuminate objects on the ground. They are used to aid ground and flight crew in detecting ice formation on the wing. Wing inspection lights are mounted on the aircraft fuselage and point backward toward the wing. Typically found on the nose strut, these lights also assist the pilots during tight turns, as the primary taxi lights generally only illuminate the area in front of the aircraft. Runway turnoff lights share many similarities with landing lights but are not as bright and are positioned on either side of the aircraft’s nose to illuminate the exits of a runway. Suppose the switch is set to taxi, and the aircraft is flying above 40 knots In that case, the lights automatically change from dim taxi lights (half of the total amount of LEDs) to full alternating pulsing landing lights, known as recognition lights. Interestingly, on the newer GA Cessna aircraft, one LED landing light on each wing serves as the landing, taxi, and ALLS enabled recognition lights, controlled by one switch with two modes – landing and taxi/recognition. These systems can even be found on newer General Aviation (GA) aircraft such as the Cessna 172, with a “recognition light” setting activating the ALLS. On newer aircraft, supplementary systems such as the Alternating Landing Light System (ALLS) pulse the left and right landing lights in alternating fashion, further increasing visibility. In addition to providing illumination for the crew, landing lights also improve the aircraft’s visibility. They are also commonly integrated with landing lights, where landing lights on a dimmer setting are used as taxi lights. These lights are typically located on the nose gear strut and the wing. Quite simple and true to their name, taxi lights are used to illuminate the taxiway so that the pilots don’t have to guess where they’re going at night (this, as you can imagine, is very helpful). Lights That Illuminate Areas the Pilots Need to See Taxi Lights LED lights are commonly used for strobe lights, particularly on newer aircraft. These lights are only used during flight and on the runway, as they are too bright for use on the ground, particularly at night. On some planes, these lights flash in rapid bursts, while on most aircraft, they flash in the regular on/off manner. Strobe lights, also known as anti-collision lights, are flashing white lights located on the wingtips of an aircraft. If you see any aircraft on an apron, the fastest way to determine if that aircraft will start its engines (and if you need to stay away) is to look for the flashing beacon lights. Newer aircraft such as the latest Boeing and Airbus airplanes use LED (Light-Emitting Diode) lights as anti-collision lights, and their red flash (the “on” cycle) is noticeably longer than their Xenon counterparts. They are turned on as soon as the pilots begin the process of starting the engines and are only switched off after the engines have been shut down.īeacon lights flash in an alternating on/off fashion. They are sometimes referred to as rotating beacon lights, harking back to the days when these lights did rotate.īeacon lights are flashing red lights located on the top and (on larger aircraft) the bottom of the airplane. Beacon (Red Anti-Collision) Lightsīeacon lights, also known as anti-collision lights, indicate when an aircraft is in operation. Pilots have jokingly created different phrases for remembering what seeing certain lights mean, such as “Green then red, turn right or you’re dead” when an aircraft is approaching head-on.Īlthough only a requirement for flying at night, pilots generally have these lights turned on all the time to increase visibility. If an aircraft were flying past you towards your left, you would only see a red light. For example, if an airplane were flying directly towards you, you would see a green then red light (from left to right). These lights allow an observer to determine the position and direction of an aircraft. The white light is located on the aircraft’s tail and sometimes additionally on the wingtips, facing backward (aft). The right wingtip contains the green light, with the red light located on the left wingtip.
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