Flashing T/O lights!
 

Just wondering does anybody know why a plane would have alternate flashing take off/ landing lights while taking off from an airport?

I spent the past 3 months living under the departure path of KSAN (San Diego Intl airport USA) and at night many planes had flashing landing lights for the take off and departure out of the airport.

Appreciate any answers.

Recognition lights make it easier to spot airplanes.

Never heard of it on fixed-wing. I have heard of pipeline patrol helicopters with flashing landing lights, in yet another effort to make low-flying air force jets notice them.

There is a system which has been discussed here before called Pulselite whereby the lights on an aircraft are all flashed repeatedly at different times. It looks weird at first but certainly does the job its designed to do - get you seen.

Seen a number of them on C177s, C182s, etc. Catches your eye...

Did you become a Marine?


Dave

the dash 8 got them as well... looks weird when they turn final or taxi... but they get your attention quite quickly... maybe because they operate a lot in uncontrolled airspace/aerodromes... at least in australia they do... possibly a Sunstate/Eastern/QF driver can explain...

europilot

When I asked about the cycling landing lights on Sunstate aircraft, I was advised that it was a bird strike prvention initiative.

In theory, apparently, birds don't see too well unless there is some relative movement, so a bird on a collision course with a bird with little or no relative movement, doesn't fare too well. The cycling landing lights are believed to provide the relative movement allowing the birds to adhere to Dick's doctrine of "see and avoid"!

Too many lighties with a faint pulsing red light on tail and thats it! The more A/coll loghts the better I say. See and be seen!

A lot of schools seem to "suggest" that students don't use landing lights as the old seal beam units blow easily on hard landings.



:ok: :cool:

We use them here at Southwest, not only do they make you more visible but apparently they save lamp life as the filaments don't get to full temperature and don't shock cool.

We can switch them between all flashing, inboards only etc etc At night they have to be on steady by 1000' agl ? (need to look that one up) and they can be disorienting in IMC

G-ONADS