Are there any A320 operators out there who allow the crew optional use of the landing lights? Seems all airlines MANDATE the use of those lights at all times below 10,000... making one hell of a noise and vibration in the mid cabin when extended. Are they really necessary on a clear bright day that high up?

Disclaimer: at my airline, on the MD80 fleet, the extendable wing landing lights were always optional, and if used, they were not put out until at least slats/flaps extend at slower speed, so as to mask the vibration.

Mine encourages the pilots to switch of landing lights when not needed... as long as they are on for take off and landing.

Always a source of rich debate!

Recommended below 10,000ft but up to us, I don't tend to turn them on until finals day or night. In the US of course it is mandated below 10.

Was it to supposedly "remind" the pilot to have the landing lights ON if not already ON at glideslope interception (diamond shape on PFD)? Trying to think outside the box.

Good question, still unanswered...
Perhaps, this is just tradition, inherited from marine

Wow old thread. Has nothing to do with Airbus, limitations or ILS, because the DC-6 has the same dots. It has nothing to do with 3 position switches since planes like the 737 and the L1011 use two position switches.

The other clue you have is that the Douglas products, up to the 717 use three pieces of white plastic glued to the switch instead of molding it in.

Here's the story. In the bad old days, airplanes didn't have backlit instrument panels. They used red lights that illuminated the panels from the front. When you were on short final and looking for the airport, the lighting of the overhead panel would become an issue. It would cause glare, so you would switch it off. The thing you would need on the overhead panel at this point would be the landing lights.

The three dots were radioluminiscent tritium markers, and later, glow in the dark plastic, to help you find the switches in the dark.

Shapes
 

You must be quite young and inexperienced to make a comment like that. Us older folks remember the accidents caused by pilots mistaking one lever/switch for another. Now that they are all quite different, those mistake don't happen anymore. That was considered very important at the time. Having a flap and landing gear lever that look similar is NOT a good idea.

Catiamonkey

I bet you are right.

Thermostat

Yep. So many things in aviation are the way they are because an airplane crashed and they made improvements.

Anyone knows why I can't save aaib.gov.uk reports?
It is a PDF and I try to save, but to no avail...
Are they protected so that air transport safety information is not unduly disseminated?

I heard someone saying one day that the switch has that shape so as to make it distinguishable from other switches because you need those lights when airborne or about to become airborne... but I guess the question now would be why the nav/position lights switch is not that way too? :confused:

Why did nobody mention the drag effect of these switches?

​​​​​​Not laughing matter. Despite the shape given to the levers Pilots have raised flaps instead of gear, applied parking brake instead of selecting full flap. Despite FCU buttons having names they have stabbed EXPED instead of LOC and trying to stab it again although that doesn't disengage EXPED have stabbed ATHR disconnecting ATHR.

I am trying to think why it would be vital to be able to locate a landing light switch by feel alone; given that the landing lights will normally be put on/off passing FL100, or before releasing the parking brake on take-off, so not normally a critical situation.

What emergency would need locating the landing light switches by feel ? If the cockpit was full of smoke perhaps?