UPDATE: Strobes on or off thread

[Guest]

Thanks Bernt(and Ernesto).I checked the other thread "STROBES OFF?? during day? and found a lot of useful information there. I also found this brochure(from aircraft lighting manufacturers, Honeywell) http://www.grimesaero.com/info/literature/ext-2001.pdfand notice that the fuselage lights on the CRJ are referred to as strobes(you'd imagine that Honeywell would know, wouldn't you? :-)).By the way, the word "strobe" is derived from the Greek, strobos, "whirling", so I guess the term can(strictly speaking) be more correctly applied to beacons of the rotating type, than to those of the flashing kind?/FrankPS Irrelevant information: my first encounter with stroboscopic lighting was many years ago in the discotheques I used to frequent as a teenager. The lights were wired to flash in time with the beat of the music, and the effect there was to reduce the (relatively :-)) fluid movements of the dancers to a jerky, snapshot type of motion due to the intermittent illumination.

[CraigC 0]

Okay Skyy, I just got off the phone with the Ankeny, IA FSDO and here is what I was told. First of all, its no wonder that there are so many people confused about different regulations because the inspector that I talked to said that lawyers are the ones who write the final drafts of the regulations that go in the FAR/AIM.He said that the anticollision light system (which according to the definition in the aim (refer to my bold print in my main post above) is any part of the anticollision light system) only needs to be operational for daytime, VFR flight. It is not required to actually use them. That goes without saying that you should at least use your beacon or strobes for visibility, but they are not required to actually be turned on. This was kind of a shocker to me because when you are going through your PPL and learn TOMATO FLAMES or whatever version of daytime VFR requirements you learn, the anticollision lights are part of that list.The inspector and I kind of went over a couple of other FARs right close to 91.209 as far as being able to fly the airplane while they are inop as long as you are flying to a place to have them fixed, but as far as daytime VFR flight for aircraft in the US, no lights are actually required to be running during the day. You just must have either strobes OR the beacon operational and ready for use.I wish that they could word these regs in a way that would be easier to understand, and not seem like you were having to translate all the time. The inspector even said the phrase to me that I use all the time regarding the FARs. Catch-all. There are so many of these in the FARs its incredible. And of course, they are written by lawyers. Go figure. :)Craig

[Guest]

"only needs to be operational for daytime, VFR flight. It is not required to actually use them. That goes without saying that you should at least use your beacon or strobes for visibility, but they are not required to actually be turned on"Thanks for the call. I just got home from school around 6 pm today, and the orlando FSDO is already closed. I'll see if I can give em a call tomorrow, and see what they say, no doubt it will be a different interpretation :).Going back over 91.209, I don't actually see anything that says they must be on, just that they are operational. That's too funny. It too amazes me about the FAR's :).Till next timeSkyy

[CraigC 0]

Skyy, I wanted to give you another viewpoint that I got today from one of the charter pilots that works for our FBO. He said that if the POH or AFM checklist has you turn them on (like the beacon is on just about every checklist in the world), then it is a requirement. My only doubt about his statement is that the FAR/AIM does not make any statement about variances between different aircraft or their checklists.CraigEDIT: I forgot to comment on your interpretation that you will get from the Orlando FSDO when you call. I have no doubt on that either. That is another thing that my instructor and I were talking about today (I just got home also, from a ground lesson since it was 300 and 1 1/4 here today), which is how the FAA words their regulations. We both feel like they leave themselves numerous options for interpretation when they want to nail someone to the wall. I think it sucks, but its the government. :)

[Guest]

Just to clarify the terminology a bit regarding aircraft lighting:The red lights (one on the top of the fuselage and one on the bottom) are considered anti-collision lights. They can be either rotating beacons (like the police car type Wolfgang equates them to) or strobes (like a camera's flash bulb). Modern jets like Airbus, Boeing typically have the strobe type while the smaller or older aircraft will typically have the rotating beacon type. One interesting exception is the L-1011 which has two beacons on top and two on the bottom. Most, if not all, commercial carriers have these running during all phases of operation. The red light on the left wing, green light on the right wing and white lights on the trailing edges of the wingtips and/or tail of the aircraft are considered navigation lights. Most, if not all, commercial carriers have these running during all phases of operation.The white camera-like strobes on the wingtips are considered anti-collision lights. Airbus models typically have the double-flash type while most newer Boeing models have the slightly brighter single-flash type. These are the lights most carriers will turn on as they enter the runway for take off and extinguish as they exit the runway after landing. These are also the lights referred to in AIM 4-3-23 that the PIC may turn off if he/she determines they pose a hazard to safety (blinding other pilots on the ground at night, for instance).

[badderjet 181]

>Actually in real life these red beacons are not flashing but >rotating (at least on many a/c I have seen) similar to the >red lights on a police car. Well, it seems most GA a/c do have this kind of really 'rorating' beacon, while Airbuses/Boeings etc. seem to have 'strobe'-like beacons. Rotating ones seem to be rare on 'em, I recently saw some JAL 747 with a rotating one, tho.http://members.lycos.co.uk/fs2k2/avsim/sig.jpg