Landing lights and low drag approaches
 

I was wandering in Windsor on a day with easterlies, so was under finals for Heathrow. Busy as it was, I soon noticed a pattern with BA flights seemingly late to landing configuration, compared with other carriers. Is this a low drag approach procedure? But I also noticed a lack of landing lights; I always thought it was common practice to use them below 10,000ft. Am I wrong and is this also a low drag procedure, keeping retractable lights tucked up for as long as possible? If

As for the lights, yes it is. They stick out into the airflow on an A320 so some operators do request delayed extension.

Different procedures for different operators. We extend the retractable landing light on getting our landing clearance and on departure retract them as we select gear up. We used to leave them on until 10000 feet until someone worked out that that increases the fuel burn by about 10 kilo per flight. Doesn't sound like a lot but if you are doing hundreds (or even thousands) of flights a day it all adds up.

Landing lights used to be part of my energy management plan on the A320. Around Heathrow it’s pointless to have landing lights on for anything other than touchdown.

Huh……….

Whilst not LHR, at my airline which has a significant presence at LGW, ATC ask us to fly 160kts to 4 miles. In the airbus we fly a low drag approach, selecting the gear at 5 miles and fully configuring at 4 miles. The landing lights are selected on with gear down (although can be selected at an earlier stage if considered necessary).

We used to have the runway turn off lights on below 10,000ft.
Landing lights were only on when cleared for take-off or landing.

But the runway turn off lights are inside the fuselage until you extend the gear?

We select gear and land flap at 4dme at lhr, so over windsor would be flap 2, gear up and possibly landing lights extended depending on the wind. Unless you’re in a light 319 you’ll be stable at 1000ra, if in a light 319 flap 3 landings assist with achieving a stable approach at 1000ra.

Sorry, my Airbus experience was the A300 with the turnoff lights in the wing root.

Technical Data Landing Lights Drag
 

Hi, any ideas on where i can find actual data with regards to saving fuel with the use of landing lights?

Photon Drag
 

Landing lights produce photon drag. Newton's third law of motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction).
FlySafe
PJ88

In the MEL. It’s 1% fuel consumption increase per light.