Approach Lights
 

Can any of you learned Ppruners shed some light (no pun intended) on an issue that has been bugging me for years?

Is there any significance in the runway approach light configuration? I've seen all sorts of combinations of numbers of rows and numbers of lights in those rows, and they seem to be different wherever you go.

I've even asked the airfield licensing department of the Campaign Against Aviation, and they couldn't answer the question.

prop jocket

Try the following: -

CAP 637: Visual Aids Handbook

CAP 168: Licensing of Aerodromes

All available from:-

www.caa.co.uk

Click on publications on the left side of the window and then choose Aerodrome on the next page...

Regards,

Shuttlebus

shuttlebus is pointing you to some good publications. You might also want to look at ICAO Annex 14. But you'll have to be a bit more specific if you want specific answers.

There are a number of 'standard' configurations and, for a whole raft of reasons, variations on these standards. All are trying to provide the necessary visual cues for the type of operations that the runway can support. Got any specific examples?

Out of interest can anyone explain why several airports in France have no approach lights at all on ILS runways?
EG Nantes, Toulouse.


Other than a vauge shrug of the shoulders and "their French" statement.

I don't know about Panops, but neither the US terps nor Canadian terps require approach lights for an ils. I think the minimum visibility is raised to 3/4 mile, requiring a minimum HAT of 250 feet. Chico California is such an example, if I remember correctly.
Hawk

Thanks for the input guys. I'll get a few examples of different ones and post them here soon.

Do you mean the difference between say the Calvert 5 bar approach light system and the Barette Approach light pattern.

The former was developed at at secret place in southeast England near Farnboro' around the end of the war. I think the idea was to give alignment, roll and distance to go info.

The lights lead you to the touchdown point. The figure is in CAP168 somewhere.

The other system seen typically in the US and Europe presumably comes from the ICAO Visual Aids Panel of similar age as it is shown in Annex 14.

Hope this helps........... a bit

Sir George Cayley