I live near a major airport and see commercial planes with huge front headlights shining in the night sky. What could they be good for way up in the sky, though? I get that when they are taking off/landing headlights are necessary. Why not give them lights like a boat, with a green in front and a red in back?
Something further to add here is that planes get a little close at landing and line up in the air as they’re coming in. There’s actually something akin to roads in the sky so the increased visibilty is definitely handy
So they can be seen by other aircraft.
That’s what the marker lights are for not the headlights. Also if it’s a commercial plane as it sounds like it is traffic control and transponders kind of do that.
Also if it’s a commercial plane as it sounds like it is traffic control and transponders kind of do that.
airplanes are routinely told to watch for a traffic in their vicinity. also, aviation is all about procedures and backups, so if someone makes a mistake, it is good if there is another link in the chain to prevent accident.
Marker lights? You mean navigation lights, which are green and red lights. The port side of the aircraft has red lights, and starboard is green. This lets you know which side or direction the aircraft is facing. Boats and ships use the same logic. There is also a red flashing light at the bottom of the aircraft called the beacon, which is used to indicate to the ground crews that the engines are running.
The navigation and strobe lights help with being seen. So do the landing lights. It is why the FAA recommends that landing lights are turned on below 10k feet altitude. They aren’t required, but they are recommended so that the aircraft is easier seen at night as well as day. There is literally no other reason to use landing lights prior to turning final. Anything you can do to make your aircraft more obvious to others is an added safety benefit for obvious reasons. A big bright white light does this quite well.
But due to the added safety of increasing your visibility, it is standard for all airlines to have it in their procedure to turn landing lights on as soon as 10k is crossed. Due to company SOP, pilots are therefore required to follow this procedure and it is purely for added safety. This is why you see all commercial aircraft do this, and why you may see non-commercial ignoring this recommendation.
This is coming from someone with years of commercial aviation experience so take it however you’d like.
There are generally two main sets of lights. Landing and taxi lights. Don’t get all pedantic on me, pilots, about wing, taxi, logo, blah blah.
The taxi lights are usually on the nose gear, and you won’t see them until just before or after landing. Some techniques have pilots turning on the taxi lights when cleared to land as a reminder.
The landing lights are the really bright “high beams” that you see for miles. Most large airlines have these lights on up to or passing down through 18,000 feet, or maybe some other high altitude. The reason they’re on for long periods is for safety and visibility reasons, the time below 18 is the busiest airspace with the most changes in altitude and heading. These large lights are usually in the wings, sometimes there are additional landing lights on the nose gear, or on the aircraft nose on smaller aircraft.
Expired VFR pilot here.
When driving at night a car has lights on the front, sides, and rear. All of them, including the headlights, are present so that others can more easily maintain visual seperation from that car to avoid a collision.
Aircraft have lots of incredible technology and talented air traffic controllers that help keep pilots and passengers safe. But, with a single exception, pilots will ignore everyone and everything to maintain visual seperation.
From one aircraft it’s often hard to see another aircraft, even during the day. There’s lights on aircraft so they can be seen, just like cars.
The exception is a TCAS RA.
Don’t get all pedantic on me, pilots
But that’s like…what they do. It’s what they live for.
Lol, precisely why it’s there.
“Well, at [airline] we [do it a different way]…”
“Well akshully [airplane] has [lights someplace else]…”
The old joke is:
“How do you find out who the pilot is at the party?”
“You don’t have to, he’ll tell you.”
Hmm like vegans
But airplanes are interesting.
Hobby pilot, here. Yup, spot on. But for the most part, the comment you responded to was also pretty much spot on, so I have no complaints.
Can’t speak for any ATPL holders, though, so let’s hope they don’t see this thread.
like a boat, with a green in front and a red in back?
Boats and planes have green at their starboard and red at their board side.
The red zone has always been for loading and unloading, and there is never stopping in a white zone.
