Strobe and beacon lights

[mburkhard 23]

I'm a bit surprised that there are so many different answers regarding the strobes. As some people have said correctly, strobes are only being turned on when CLEARED to enter an ACTIVE runway. This means you also turn them on when cleared to CROSS an active runway. And then you turn them off again when CLEAR of the active runway, be it after a crossing or after landing. This is also what tower controllers expect from you.You do NOT turn on the strobes when simply leaving the ramp area. Of course it might look that way to an observer if there's a runway to cross next to the ramp. So yes that could mean you'd have to turn on the strobes still taxiing on the ramp if you happened to get a crossing clearance way before reaching a runway.The reason for this is simple: Should anyone see an airplane with strobes turned on they then know THAT airplane is either in the air or cleared to enter or cross an active runway. This is the ICAO way of doing this. There MIGHT however be other rules in other countries that I'm not aware of.Regards,Markus

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

Markus,I think we need to first make sure that when "we" say strobes, we're talking about the white lights that strobe at the end of the wing and NOT the red beacon (which used to be mainly rotating). The red beacon that most people see I think strobes now on most equipment so they might be getting confused.I also think people are not sure what an "anti-col" light actually is versus a beacon light, likewise for position and nav lights.I've seen some beacons that are white depending on the plane. I can't remember seeing a white beacon though on an airliner. They've all been red as far as I can remember even though they do strobe mostly now.

[Guest kriss737]

Hi Paul,Nav lights on when ground power in use or APU is running.Beacon are on to tell people that the engines are or are about to be started, pushback, taxi or some sort of maintenance eg cabin pressurization test.Strobes on when cleared on to the active, and off when you have landed and clear of the runway.. they remain on entire flight.On the 744 you can set the beacon switch to OFF, LOWER, UPPER, when flying through cloud select to LOWER so that the UPPER beacon is OFF and therefore the reflection will not distract you.Chris

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

Nav lights have nothing to do with power being on to the aircaft. That's what the beacon is for.

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Gents-WOW.... Okay- I think it's time for some clarification here....Lets review so that we are all on the same page- (and nobody goes blind....LOL)NAV LIGHTS: (Steady Red/Green lights mounted to the wing tips) Turn these on whenever the aircraft has electrical power. Day or night.... This is a clear indication that the aircraft has electrical power- and also allows the airplane to comply with lighting regulations regardless of time of day.BEACON: (flashing red lights on top/bottom of fuselage) Turn these on whenever the aircraft is prepared for movement, or capable of movement under it's own power. IE: When ready for pushback or when being towed, or if any engine is running or to be started. Generally you turn this one when you are ready for pushback- and you turn it off when you shut the engines down post flight. (Ground crews are trained to watch for beacons during ground ops...so make sure you use this correctly or you could mess them up!)STROBES: (flashing WHITE lights on wingtips/tail) These should be turned on when the aircraft is on ANY runway surface for any reason (Taxi or takeoff) and when the aircraft is in flight. If you taxi across a runway on the ground- turn them on to increase the visibility of your aircraft. Turn them off when you reach the other side, however..... When cleared for takeoff- turn them on again- as you want them on in flight.SOmeone asked early in the thread: "Why turn off the strobes/beacons at night when flying IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions: In clouds or fog.) Bascically this is a preference issue- and largely differs by airplane type- but the flashing of strobes/beacons can be distracting if you are flying in a very dark cockpit at night while in clouds because the light refracts through the moisture vapor. I have NEVER had a problem with the beacon- as the red just doesn't seem to be a nuisance- but the brilliant white flash of strobes can become annoying very quickly- so I usually have the FO snap those off until we clear the muck... This is not a "regulation" or "requirement" it is merely a technique....Hope that clarifies things a bit for you guys!

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

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[lostmoon 0]

nielsen is all wrong here. nav lights are to be illuminated so as long as the a/c is powered in any way (ground)(apu).tomas

[Guest kriss737]

JeffAny time the aircraft has power supplied to it, the NAV lights should be on, this alerts the ground crew that the aircraft is powered and under pilot control.The Beacons are turned on just before the engines are started or the A/C is being towed and they remain active until the last engine is shut down. The beacons help to serve as a safety warning to ground personnel that the engines are operational.ANY electrical power on the aircraft = nav lightBefore engine start = nav + beaconTaxi (day- good visibility) = recog/taxi lightTaxi (day- low visibility) = recog/taxi light + nose landing lightTaxi (night) = recog/taxi light + the nose landing light + the logo lightLine up and wait (day) = strobes+recog/taxi lightLine up and wait (night) = strobes + recog/taxi+nose landing light + Logo lightCleared for takeoff (day or night) = all external lights on. The more your seen the better!As Captain Robert S. Randazzo said turn the strobes on when crossing runways.Regards Chris

[Guest s_L_Y_F_a]

wow awesome support many thx to all Now things are way more clear to me ( and not only me I guess) regarding the lighting system.

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

Guys guys guys.,As you can see I erased that. Yes the nav lights are on for certain aircraft when power is supplied. Most small aircraft do not have GPU's attched to them nor APU running either.I usually turn them on with the beacon for small aircraft because when you turn the batt on you are close firing up the engine anyways so the you hit ALL the lights as needed.Sorry for the confusion there I did mispeak.NAV lights are NOT required for small aircraft though during the day, I thought, just the beacon or anti-col lights. I'll check the FAR-Aim again.STILL no one, with landing light answer???? C'mon guys....lol.