Swiss Airbus wing lights always on?
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To be better seen from other aircraft in fog or in the air as the logo light is by design switch off by gear up or slats in.
some pilots use that as a reminder for " clear to push"
Or to always see if the wings are still there 😀😀
some pilots use that as a reminder for " clear to push"
Or to always see if the wings are still there 😀😀
At most commercial operations I'm familiar with, the policy was - nav lights (red and green wing) ON when the aircraft was "alive." Crew on board, or electrical power flowing.
Which includes most turnarounds, and even overnight if the aircraft is (electrically, probably with ground connection) powered up for ground personnel (cleaners, mechanics and such).
With a full cold shutdown, the nav lights are the last thing turned off before the Master power switches.
Which includes most turnarounds, and even overnight if the aircraft is (electrically, probably with ground connection) powered up for ground personnel (cleaners, mechanics and such).
With a full cold shutdown, the nav lights are the last thing turned off before the Master power switches.
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These are all very good guesses :-) Does anybody actually know why Swiss has it in their SOP. Not many companies use the wing lights for anything else than what they are designed for - to check for ice on the wing leading edge in flight. Nav and logo lights are the same switch and they are enough to keep the aircraft visible.
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Some captains I used to fly a part from icing conditions etc wanted to have them on on some “little lighted - dark” airports during evening/night turnaround. But this was an exception rather than the usual.
Qantas use their Wing Lights all the time for taxi takeoff and landings on all fleets.
I can’t see any problem with doing it.
I sometimes switch them on in busy disorganized airspace such as Delhi or Jakarta and when crossing busy runways in places like Seoul and Beijing at night, can’t hurt to light up the Jet a little more.
I still remember a Us Air 737 landing on top of a Metro at LAX a number of years ago simply because the 737 crew didn’t see them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_...unway_disaster
An an old saying referring to Driving in Victoria years ago is relevant to Aviation:—
“Be seen, be safe”
If you wish to talk about stupid use of lights then complain about the idiots that love aiming their nose at you lining up with all their lights blazing in your face......now that is bad airmanship.
I can’t see any problem with doing it.
I sometimes switch them on in busy disorganized airspace such as Delhi or Jakarta and when crossing busy runways in places like Seoul and Beijing at night, can’t hurt to light up the Jet a little more.
I still remember a Us Air 737 landing on top of a Metro at LAX a number of years ago simply because the 737 crew didn’t see them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_...unway_disaster
An an old saying referring to Driving in Victoria years ago is relevant to Aviation:—
“Be seen, be safe”
If you wish to talk about stupid use of lights then complain about the idiots that love aiming their nose at you lining up with all their lights blazing in your face......now that is bad airmanship.
Last edited by ACMS; 14th Sep 2019 at 11:00.
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Look up the incident involving a 737 at FAHS in 2011. A good reminder that perhaps those lights are useful after all.
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Lights on fog = even less visibility than having them off
"" "" Clear to push"" "" = beacon on
I've never found that a problem. Admittedly, turning onto the runway with traffic waiting at the reciprocal hold point, I normally do turn the lights off as a courtesy. However, if crews leave them on whilst pointing at me, I just don't look down the centre of the beam. Never been an issue for me.
Anyway thread drift.....
1. Because they are wise beyond their years?
2. the bullet that gets you is the one you don't see?
3. Why would you not?
2. the bullet that gets you is the one you don't see?
3. Why would you not?