Aircraft Lighting

-three most common lighting systems on an aircraft that increase their visibility are -beacon lights -strobe lights -navigation lights

Aircraft Visibility Lighting

-red lights that either flash or rotate to make the lights appear to be pulsating typically two beacon lights installed on the aircraft -one on top of the fuselage -one on the bottom -some aircraft have one beacon light installed on top of the vertical stabilizer -activated before starting aircraft engines and turned off after engine shutdown

Beacon Lights

-high intensity lights used to illuminate the runway surfaces for takeoff and landing -also indicate to other pilots that the aircraft is either taking off or landing -can be installed on the wing, nose, nose gear, or main landing gears -some of these lights retract into the fuselage and wing when turned off

Landing Lights

-combination of red and green lights fitted to the wingtips that are steady -RED light is always attached to the LEFT wingtip -GREEN light is always attached to the RIGHT wingtip -typically turned on after engine start making identifying an aircraft's flight direction easier

Navigation Lights

-most common lights that improve _______ ________ are taxi lights and landing lights

Pilot Visibility

-make it easier for aircraft to be identified day and night -improve pilots visibility

Purpose of Aircraft Lighting

-white high intensity flashing lights installed on the wingtips and sometimes on the tail -typically turned on when the aircraft enters an active runway for takeoff and turned off after landing -not activated when taxiing due to the potential blind spots in other aircraft

Strobe Lights

-medium intensity white lights that may be mounted on the nose gear or the wings -purpose is to illuminate the taxiways to make it easier for pilots to navigate the airport environment

Taxi Lights