gizmo Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Hi All, I have a question. What is the proper protocol for the use of the Port & Stabboard lights and strobes? If you were to get the clerance from ATC for engine startup, do we turn on the strobe lights or the Port & Stabboard lights or both? Thank you Gizmo If you want Peace, be prepared to fight for it ! :pilotfly:
shu77 Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 This is what we came up with at the 77th from the various manuals and checklists, Personally I tend to keep the position lights on steady as it eats frames Startup: Position Lights: Flash Nose Illumination: OFF Anti Collision: OFF Bright/Dim: Pilots' call based on time of day, wx, etc. Nosegear Main headlight: Taxi or OFF Taxi: Position Lights: Flash Nose Illumination: OFF Anti Collision: OFF Nosegear Main headlight: Taxi Takeoff: Position Lights: Steady Nose Illumination: OFF Anti Collision: ON (when entering the runway) Nosegear Main headlight: LAND Flight: Position Lights: steady Formation Lights- +BRT as needed Anti Collision: ON Nose Illumination: OFF except for Air Refueling Hostile airspace: ALL exterior lights OFF except Formation lights. Landing: configuration same as Takeoff except as noted: Anti Collision-OFF upon exiting runway. Hornet, Super Carrier, Warthog & (II), Mustang, Spitfire, Albatross, Sabre, Combined Arms, FC3, Nevada, Gulf, Normandy, Syria AH-6J i9 10900K @ 5.0GHz, Gigabyte Z490 Vision G, Cooler Master ML120L, Gigabyte RTX3080 OC Gaming 10Gb, 64GB RAM, Reverb G2 @ 2480x2428, TM Warthog, Saitek pedals & throttle, DIY collective, TrackIR4, Cougar MFDs, vx3276-2k Combat Wombat's Airfield & Enroute Maps and Planning Tools
Ranger79 Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Nice procedures, 77th has got their stuff wired tight, nice! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Ranger79 OEF/OIF Veteran YouTube Channel Twitch Channel Mods, Missions, & Tutorials: Operation Piercing Fury Campaign Ranger79's Object Pack ISIS CrisIS Campaign Mission Editing Video Series
gizmo Posted May 1, 2011 Author Posted May 1, 2011 Shu77, Thank you for the reply. Will use this for future flts. Thanks Again, Gizmo If you want Peace, be prepared to fight for it ! :pilotfly:
shu77 Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Nice procedures, 77th has got their stuff wired tight, nice! I've only been there a few weeks but I can honestly say its a quality squad to be a part of. </end advert> Hornet, Super Carrier, Warthog & (II), Mustang, Spitfire, Albatross, Sabre, Combined Arms, FC3, Nevada, Gulf, Normandy, Syria AH-6J i9 10900K @ 5.0GHz, Gigabyte Z490 Vision G, Cooler Master ML120L, Gigabyte RTX3080 OC Gaming 10Gb, 64GB RAM, Reverb G2 @ 2480x2428, TM Warthog, Saitek pedals & throttle, DIY collective, TrackIR4, Cougar MFDs, vx3276-2k Combat Wombat's Airfield & Enroute Maps and Planning Tools
funkster Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Great - this how I've been operating. Just a couple of questions. Fence in - all off? When would you use nose illumination? Any protocol on internal lighting? (RL) I've noticed a white light on the upper fuse/behind canopy - what is this? Can it be switched? Thanks Funk
Sinky Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Funkster, on fencing in you would usually turn off all illumination with the exception of formation lights if I remember correctly. Thanks for posting that shu77. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] ASUS M4A785D-M Pro | XFX 650W XXX | AMD Phenom II X4 B55 Black Edition 3.2ghz | 4GB Corsair XMS2 DHX 800mhz | XFX HD 5770 1GB @ 850/1200 | Windows 7 64bit | Logitech G35 | Logitech Mx518 | TrackIR 4 My TrackIR Profile ( Speed 1.2 / Smooth 30 ) - Right click & save as.
Gandalf_56 Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Funkster, on fencing in you would usually turn off all illumination with the exception of formation lights if I remember correctly. You are right. I think you can fly into hostile airspace with formation lights with minimum bright. Regarding nose lights they are used for Refueling procedures but IIRC those lights are not used for Refueling in RL. http://www.ecv56condor.com.ar ECV56 Condor - Discord Channel
Sinky Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Yeah I'm sure I read somewhere that the formation strips are made to be seen only from a close distance. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] ASUS M4A785D-M Pro | XFX 650W XXX | AMD Phenom II X4 B55 Black Edition 3.2ghz | 4GB Corsair XMS2 DHX 800mhz | XFX HD 5770 1GB @ 850/1200 | Windows 7 64bit | Logitech G35 | Logitech Mx518 | TrackIR 4 My TrackIR Profile ( Speed 1.2 / Smooth 30 ) - Right click & save as.
Snoopy Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Yeah I'm sure I read somewhere that the formation strips are made to be seen only from a close distance. Real world our pilots hardly ever use the formation lights anymore...when flying at night they use NVGs so often they aren't needed. v303d Fighter Group Discord | Virtual 303d Fighter Group Website
Merlin216 Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 I don't quite understand what the signal lights are, and where they are located. Also, what is the use of having the pinky switch with 2 lighting configurations, such as pinky forward and aft. I can't see a use for the default lighting if the anti collisions don't turn on, so why wouldn't you just use the aft setting with the panel state? [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Rig Asus P8P67 | Corsair 750wTX | i5-2500k Quad Core at 4.6Ghz | ASUS GTX570 1280mb | G.Skill Sniper 8gb DDR3 1600MHz | 23.6" ASUS VS247 + 22" Dell Secondary 1680X1050 | Hyper 212+ Cooler | CM Storm Scout Mid case | Windows7 HP 64bit | Lycosa Keyboard | Deathadder Mouse | Logitech G930 Wireless Headset | Logitech X-240 2.1 Speakers | TrackIR 4 | Saitek X-52 HOTAS stick | CH Rudder Pedals | 2 Saitek Throttles |
BTTW-DratsaB Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Nice Guide Shu77. I'd like to get use to using lights as they should be, but for the moment they are costing too much FPS. Hope this can be be fixed eventually Specs: GA-Z87X-UD3H, i7-4770k, 16GB, RTX2060, SB AE-5, 750watt Corsair PSU, X52, Track IR4, Win10x64. Sim Settings: Textures: ? | Scenes: ? |Water: ? | Visibility Range: ? | Heat Blur: ? | Shadows: ? | Res: 1680x1050 | Aspect: 16:10 | Monitors: 1 Screen | MSAA: ? | Tree Visibility: ? | Vsync: On | Mirrors: ? | Civ Traffic: High | Res Of Cockpit Disp: 512 | Clutter: ? | Fullscreen: On
Frederf Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Pretty much with Shu77 said. The only differences or comments from my practices is that I don't use the taxi light during the day and in a flight of N in formation only the Nth pilot turns anti-collision lights on. Real world our pilots hardly ever use the formation lights anymore...when flying at night they use NVGs so often they aren't needed. Maybe you can answer this. How exactly does the master exterior forward switch position work? I have a feeling it's not right in the sim. The Alpha's Dash-1 mentions something about "retention of settings" or something I can't decipher. I don't quite understand what the signal lights are, and where they are located. Also, what is the use of having the pinky switch with 2 lighting configurations, such as pinky forward and aft. I can't see a use for the default lighting if the anti collisions don't turn on, so why wouldn't you just use the aft setting with the panel state? Signal lights are the interior caution and warning lights like the CAP panel, gun ready, etc. but not the two on the canopy bow. It's not functional in the sim right now. In real life it's a two-way spring switch that you tap into bright or dim and it does some fancy things with respect to the FLT INS dial and the thunderstorm lights circuit. For the pinky, because it's faster! Rolling on the runway after landing and turning off onto the taxiway, fwip, lights are half way to a taxi configuration.
Sinky Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Nice Guide Shu77. I'd like to get use to using lights as they should be, but for the moment they are costing too much FPS. Hope this can be be fixed eventually There is a fix for this but using it means that your light's won't project onto surfaces. So, your landing and taxi light's won't light the taxiways at night. Small price to pay in my eyes. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] ASUS M4A785D-M Pro | XFX 650W XXX | AMD Phenom II X4 B55 Black Edition 3.2ghz | 4GB Corsair XMS2 DHX 800mhz | XFX HD 5770 1GB @ 850/1200 | Windows 7 64bit | Logitech G35 | Logitech Mx518 | TrackIR 4 My TrackIR Profile ( Speed 1.2 / Smooth 30 ) - Right click & save as.
Frostiken Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) Anti-Ks should be on from the moment you leave chocks to when you fence in (or whatever local policy dictates... in Bagram, all lights go off immediately after rotation). The taxi light should only be on when taxiing, and should be turned off just prior to parking into your space (to avoid blinding the ground crew). The A-10 might be able to get away with not having its anti-k's on because of the strobing position lights, but every other airframe to include Tornados, F-111s and F-16s, all have their anti-ks' on when they leave chocks so I see no reason why the A-10 would be different. In Lakenheath they don't put on really any lights when sitting in chocks though (at MO they were always lit up after the JFS shut down), so lighting is probably MAJCOM directed. For the pinky, because it's faster! Rolling on the runway after landing and turning off onto the taxiway, fwip, lights are half way to a taxi configuration. That someone thought that this was so utterly necessary that it HAD to be on the HOTAS confounds me. This goes along with like, having a switch on the stick to adjust the cockpit's bleed air temperature... surely there was something better they could've stuck on that switch like, I don't know, autopilot modes? When Fairchild made the A-10, maybe they envisioned it turning all its lights on and off to strobe the enemy to death or something, I don't know. Edited May 1, 2011 by Frostiken [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
Frederf Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 In civil aviation we turned on anti-collision lights when entering the runway and turned them off when leaving the runway. Taxiing around with the anti-collision lights on was a no go, especially at night. Those things are crazy bright and will absolutely destroy your night vision. I figure the tower also appreciated the sanity of only having strobes on the landing and departing traffic instead of every yokel on the ground. I'm sure taxi light on ground movement is nice day/night as it acts as safety signaling on those long barren movement areas. In civil we only used the taxi at night and made sure to turn it off if someone was taxing in front of us. Online it makes a great "I'm ready to taxi" light to let people know you're about to move. In the Alpha the MELS was time-shared with the Maverick video polarity so possibly a 3-position switch was justified for the Maverick and might as well use it for the MELS function? Although Mav would only have 2 polarities. I have this strong suspicion that the MELS forward position is different/more-useful than what's modeled currently. It looks to be some sort of user-configurable preset. As for the utility of the MELS, flying around at 100' is not the best time to turn off your lights by the panel over your shoulder.
Frostiken Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) I've never seen the taxi light used during the day. Landing light, yeah, it's pretty much always used (on the runway, of course) because you can see it miles away. I don't know what to say about the anti-k's except that civil aviation is undoubtedly different in this case. F-16s have the most irritating goddamn anti-k in the world that absolutely hates your retinas, whereas the Aussie's F-111s have a funny little rotating red light on the belly. During Red Flag exercises the entire area looks like a rave. Even in Bagram, anti-k's were always a-go, at least at night. Spent plenty of time complaining about the Aviano light show taxiing down our ramp... For daytime I never paid that much attention. I can tell you with 100% certainty that at Mountain Home, anti-ks were always on when you were out of chocks no matter what. Again, it's most likely MAJCOM guidelines with theater specific supplements. Going to go on a limb here and say that as far as the USAF goes, you should have your anti-ks on during taxi and takeoff. Edited May 2, 2011 by Frostiken [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
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