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Airport Lighting

Most of the lights on the airport have to convey various signals to the flight crew, especially when the plane is about to land. From the time the pilot sees the airport until he safely arrives at the parking place, a total of nine types of lighting equipment are required. The order of their use is:

(1) Airport position beacon lights, which usually use Morse flash lamps and are installed at the highest point of the central building of the airport. The light is green and is composed of ordinary incandescent bulbs of 500 watts to 1000 watts installed in a parabolic Reflector.

(2) Approach signal lights: Generally, 300-watt PAR 56 lamps are used, and these lights are used to form a light pattern leading to the runway. Some American airports also use flash lamps on the center line of the pattern. Approach signal lights can also be installed on high poles according to the needs of the terrain.

(3) Visual approach slope indicator (VASI): The pilot must have a parallel corridor for landing correctly. If the pilot only sees a white line composed of white lights, it means that the aircraft is too high. If only a red line composed of red lights is seen, it means that the altitude is too low. If the red line is seen above the white line, it means that the descent angle is the most appropriate. A total of 12 sets of lights are required here, each set uses three 200-watt PAR 64 lamps installed in a special lamp frame.

(4) Limit lights: The lights are generally green and are used to mark the entrance end of the runway. When the pilot approaches the aircraft landing area, they can be seen clearly. Generally, embedded installation is adopted, using lamps with a front cover with a glass prism lens and a 200-watt ordinary incandescent bulb inside.

(5) Landing area lights: These lights mark the area where the aircraft will land. They use white 200-watt halogen lamps and are buried in the runway.

(6) Runway centerline lights: These lights are buried in the centerline of the runway and are set every 30 meters. White 100-watt to 200-watt halogen lamps are used.

(7) Runway edge lights: These lights are installed on the ground, one every 60 meters on both sides of the runway. Ordinary 100-watt to 200-watt incandescent bulbs are used and installed in lamps with glass prisms. The latest design is to bury the white halogen lamps in the runway edge.

(8) Taxiway lights: After the aircraft lands, this light is used to guide the aircraft to the apron. The lights can be installed on the ground beside the road or buried in the center line of the taxiway, or buried on both the roadside and the center line. 45-watt to 100-watt bulbs are used. The bulbs installed on the center line must be green, and the bulbs installed on the roadside must be blue. Due to the increase in air transport volume, the taxiing speed is required to be faster. Therefore, it is advisable to bury high-intensity (45-watt to 100-watt) halogen lamps on the center line of the taxiway.

(9) Parking apron lights: Floodlights are generally used at the landing or unloading areas. The shading of this equipment must be very strict to prevent pilots from being exposed to glare during landing.

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