Airport Lights, what do they mean ?
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What do blue lights mean at an airport?
Airport taxiway lights are always blue. These lights guide the flight crew and vehicle drivers in low visibility conditions, which includes nighttime operations. In the dark, humans best see the color blue green, which is why taxiway edge lights are blue and centerline lighting is green Keeping Your Wheels On The Pavement Runway edge lights are used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or reduced visibility. These light systems are classified according to the intensity or brightness they are capable of producing: they are the High Intensity Runway Lights (HIRL), Medium Intensity Runway Lights (MIRL), and the Low Intensity Runway Lights (LIRL). The HIRL and MIRL systems have variable intensity controls, whereas the LIRLs normally have one intensity setting. The runway edge lights are white. On instrument runways, yellow replaces white on the last 2,000 feet or half the runway length, whichever is less, to form a caution zone for landings. The lights marking the ends of the runway emit red light toward the runway to indicate the end of runway to a departing aircraft and emit green outward from the runway end to indicate the threshold to landing aircraft. Runway Centerline Lights...How Much Pavement Do You Have Left?
Runway centerline lights are spaced at 50-foot intervals on large precision runways to improve visibility. When viewed from the landing threshold, the runway centerline lights are white until the last 3,000 feet of the runway. The white lights begin to alternate with red for the next 2,000 feet, and for the last 1,000 feet of the runway, all centerline lights are red.Approach Lights
Approach
lights are the first lights that pilot will ‘reach’ during landing. They are of
white color, unidirectional, blinking or steady type of lights. Approach lights
are located prior to the runway. Their main function is to ‘show’ in what
direction the runway is.
There are
different type of runway approach. The simplest approach has a cross form and
usually consists of 17 approach lights. This type approach lights is usually
installed at regional and domestic airports.
The most
advanced approach lighting system has a more complicated structure and includes
lights of few colors – white, yellow, and red. You can see such system at huge
air hubs like Dubai International Airport, Atlanta Airport, or Heathrow
Airport.
Runway End Identification Light
Frequently
named as Runway Threshold Identification Light (or RTIL), this is a white
flashing light, unidirectional, that identifies beginning of a runway. Unlike
approach lights, there only two RTIL lights installed per one side of a runway.
Runway Threshold Lights
Threshold
Lights
Threshold
lights are green color airfield lights, unidirectional type, installed at the
beginning of the part of a runway where aircraft can do touchdown. Threshold is
not a touchdown point yet. But this is a beginning of ‘safe-to-land’ part of a
runway.
Runway Edge
Light
Runway edge
lights are the most important lights on the airfield. They are located on the
left and right sides of a runway (edges) and illuminate the part of the runway
safe for landings.
Solar Runway Lights
Runway Edge
Lights
Runway edge
lights are of different colors, usually they are bidirectional. The most often
used are white/white lights. Also, white/yellow, white/red, and yellow/red
runway edge lights can be installed on the runway. Such differentiation of
colors of runway edge lights is explained by the category of a runway, it’s
length, and other factors. In simple words, more complicated is airfield – more
colors you will see on the runway. The same story as with approach lights.
Runway End Light
Runway end
light identifies the end of a runway. It means that behind these lights, there
is no place to continue aircraft movement. Runway end lights are unidirectional
red color aviation lights.
Green red threshold end lights
Runway
Threshold End Lights
Very often,
airports use as kind of ‘combined’ solution: runway threshold end lights. This
is a bidirectional green/red airfield light. From one direction it is green,
from the other direction it is red. Threshold end lights are installed on the
runways having threshold and runway end in the same location. It saves money.
Because, in fact, airport will install twice less quantity of lighting fixtures
comparing to acquiring set of unidirectional green threshold lights, and set of
unidirectional red runway end lights.
Taxiway Lights
Taxiway
lights are blue color airfield lights installed on taxiways, and aprons.
Taxiway is a part of airfield where aircraft is moving after landing to a
runway. Taxiway lights are not so bright comparing to runway edge or threshold
lights. And, they are almost invisible from the air. Actually, it’s not
necessary. Because the pilot uses them only while moving on airfield.
PAPI stands
for Precision Approach Path Indicator. This is a bicolor light that helps a
pilot to keep the correct path when approaching airport runway. PAPI lights are
located on the left and right side of the runway, a little bit far from
threshold lights.
Each PAPI
light usually consists of four lighting fixtures (4 x Light House
Assemblies). Each lighting unit can
provide red or white light output. If aircraft is too low to the ground, all
four lights will be of red color. If aircraft is too high, all 4 lights will be
of white color. So, the correct path is when two lights are white and two
lights are red.
