Tailgate Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I always wondered which lights are used during daytime ops in friendly territories. I'll usually turn on the strobes prior to startup, are there other procedures that are used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 (edited) Can only speak from my experience working on the ramp with civillian aircraft but If the engines are running, aircraft is being moved, pushed back ect Anti collision lights must be on And almost every aircraft that comes onto stand usually has wingtip illumination. Edited September 19, 2012 by James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ENO Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 We were talking about this over at simhq as well and it sounded like the strobes were annoying and were only used once all preparations were complete. That's the impression I got anyway. Seemed once your aircraft was ready and you were shuffling out the door- then te anti collisions were turned on. I think otherwise it was just your normal wingtip lighting. "ENO" Type in anger and you will make the greatest post you will ever regret. "Sweetest's" Military Aviation Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woofer15 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Standard practice is anticollision strobe and flashing positions prior to and during engine startup; then solid positions after startup completed and for taxi - in theory, anticollision should be on the entire time, but -as indicated above- many pilots turn them off for the courtesy of others during good visibilty bc they are annoying. SPECS: Phenom II X4 965BE OC 3.9GHz on M4A79XTD EVO | XFX GeForce 970 GTX 4GB FTW+ (single monitor) | HOTAS Warthog | TrackIR 5 | CH Pro Pedals | G.SKILL Ripjaw 16GB DDR3 | Win 7 64-bit Home Premium | Corsair TX750W | WD Caviar Black 500GB @ 7200 | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailgate Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 (edited) I noticed the wingtip position lights (not strobes) have a flashing and steady mode. Are there specific uses for each? Is flashing for low visibility conditions? Edited September 19, 2012 by Tailgate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Lock91 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Navigation lights in civil aviation are required to be turned on from sunset to sunrise. High-intensity white strobe lights are part of the anti-collision light system, as well as the aviation red or white rotating beacon. The anti collision light system (either strobe lights or rotating beacon) is required for all airplanes built after March 11, 1996 for all flight activities in poor visibility, and recommended in good visibility, where only strobes and beacon are required. An example of this would be just before push back, (push and start) the beacon lights are required, to notify ground crews that the engines are about to be started. These beacon lights will stay on for the duration of the flight. While taxiing, the taxi lights are activated. When coming onto the runway, the taxi lights are deactivated and the landing lights and strobes are activated. When passing 10000 feet (or FL100), the landing lights are no longer required, and can be turned off at the pilot's discretion. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can certainly make something out of you" -Muhammad Ali WIN 7 64-bit SP1 | AMD Phenom II X4 955 | 8.0 GB RAM | NVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti | CH Pro Throttle | CH Fighterstick | CH Pro Pedals | TrackIR5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ENO Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Just wondering. Do civil aviation rules apply for the a-10? In Georgia? And in wartime? "ENO" Type in anger and you will make the greatest post you will ever regret. "Sweetest's" Military Aviation Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Lock91 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Aviation rules...I would say they do. Absolutely! As far as the use of lights, I don't know. I don't see why it would be any different. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can certainly make something out of you" -Muhammad Ali WIN 7 64-bit SP1 | AMD Phenom II X4 955 | 8.0 GB RAM | NVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti | CH Pro Throttle | CH Fighterstick | CH Pro Pedals | TrackIR5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwolf187 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Obviously lights are turned off once you fence in, but they're supposed to be put back on once you fence out. During wartime, it's arguable that lights are even more important near friendly airspace since air traffic density is often very high indeed - and with a lot of irregular flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil.Bonsai Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I've heard it said that leaving lights on at night over enemy allows them to track/attack you more easily. Is this actually modeled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 When I was at Luke AFB and working day shift, the "flashing" and nav lights were always on when they started up. maybe because it was a training base....I don't know. Mvsgas should know more about this. i7-4820k @ 3.7, Windows 7 64-bit, 16GB 1866mhz EVGA GTX 970 2GB, 256GB SSD, 500GB WD, TM Warthog, TM Cougar MFD's, Saitek Combat Pedals, TrackIR 5, G15 keyboard, 55" 4K LED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woofer15 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I noticed the wingtip position lights (not strobes) have a flashing and steady mode. Are there specific uses for each? Is flashing for low visibility conditions? See my post above yours, but perhaps I was unclear: Generally, flashing pos lights during engine startup (to notify/warn ground personnel) and steady pos after startup and during normal fence-out flight ops. In-theater military light operations closely follow FAA regs unless otherwise specified. Precisely as inidcated by another poster: due to high density traffic congestion fence-out in friendly airspace. Just my experience OCONUS…others may vary SPECS: Phenom II X4 965BE OC 3.9GHz on M4A79XTD EVO | XFX GeForce 970 GTX 4GB FTW+ (single monitor) | HOTAS Warthog | TrackIR 5 | CH Pro Pedals | G.SKILL Ripjaw 16GB DDR3 | Win 7 64-bit Home Premium | Corsair TX750W | WD Caviar Black 500GB @ 7200 | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC_Cyborg Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 In-theater military light operations closely follow FAA regs unless otherwise specified. Precisely as inidcated by another poster: due to high density traffic congestion fence-out in friendly airspace. I have observed the same as well. Aircraft had lights on during take-off and landing. The lights were off the rest of the time. 'NC_Cyborg' [sIGPIC]http://forums.eagle.ru/signaturepics/sigpic88701_1.gif[/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailgate Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 See my post above yours, but perhaps I was unclear: Generally, flashing pos lights during engine startup (to notify/warn ground personnel) and steady pos after startup and during normal fence-out flight ops. In-theater military light operations closely follow FAA regs unless otherwise specified. Precisely as inidcated by another poster: due to high density traffic congestion fence-out in friendly airspace. Just my experience OCONUS…others may vary Sorry missed the flashing pos lights in your original post.. totally clear. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC_Cyborg Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 (edited) http://www.vpr.net/npr/161375879/ Reaper with no beacon just position lights. You can find all kinds of pics of aircraft in theater. http://www.air-attack.com/images/single/610/An-F-15E-Strike-Eagle-jet-takes-off-from-Bagram-Air-Base-Afghanistan.html Edited September 19, 2012 by NC_Cyborg 'NC_Cyborg' [sIGPIC]http://forums.eagle.ru/signaturepics/sigpic88701_1.gif[/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 It should be noted that lighting polices in Afghanistan should not be used to draw conclusions on normal lighting procedures, as to all intents and purposes aircraft "fence in" shortly after takeoff. The A-10Cs at Kandahar, for example, switch off their lights before they even left the base perimeter, as do many others. Whereas in traditional operations where aircraft are based many miles from hostile airspace the flight from take off to "fence in" and from "fence out" to landing may be hours in duration. Spoiler Intel 13900K (5Ghz), 64Gb 6400Mhz, MSi RTX 3090, Schiit Modi/Magi DAC/AMP, ASUS PG43UQ, Hotas Warthog, RealSimulator FSSB3, 2x TM MFDs + DCS MFDs, MFG Crosswinds, Elgato Steamdeck XL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ENO Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 All very interesting posts. Generally we don't have a lot of issues with whatever rules apply during our server operations... however I still want to "respect the business" of others when it comes to properly illuminating my aircraft so that people who know better understand what state of preparation I'm in when I'm going through my routine. On the ground I think blinking lights during startup and solid lights at the completion of a startup procedure is logical enough. As for in the air- I guess the situation will dictate. "ENO" Type in anger and you will make the greatest post you will ever regret. "Sweetest's" Military Aviation Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre-TLA Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 For night operations this reference says that flight/element leaders will turn off the anti-collision strobe when reaching the run-up position on the runway and set the position lights to bright steady. Wingmen may leave the anti-collision strobes off until brake release and turning them on and position lights bright steady for takeoff. The flight lead could direct wingmen to leave the strobes off anytime the lights cause a distraction. All aircraft must turn formation lights on. For night join-ups after the rejoin the anti-collision strobe is off and position lights bright steady for all except the last aircraft. The last aircraft will keep the anti-collision strobe on and position lights bright steady unless directed by the flight lead. Based on this my understanding would be position lights bright flash and anti-collision on until runway threshold. At runway threshold turn off the anti-collision strobes and set position lights to steady. Then turn the anti-collision light back on at takeoff. I think this can apply to daytime: "The anticollision light should be turned on prior to engine start, even during daytime operations. At night, the position (navigation) lights should also be on." -from The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook MapleFlagMissions - Read Our Blog for Updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts