Hi all, as my search did not result in any hit, I ask the question here: each and every default airport in MSFS has a huge flashing beacon somewhere installed, usually just floating some meters above ground. What is this? Can this be removed somehow? I wonder why most addon airports do not have this, is this something "normal" to US airports only? Thanks for any heads up...

The green and white rotating beacon light is a feature of most medium and up airports in the U.S.

“In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established the following rules for airport beacons:^[1]

Flashing rates

1. 24 to 30 per minute for beacons marking airports, landmarks, and points on Federal airways
2. 30 to 45 per minute for beacons marking heliports

Color combinations

1. White and Green — Lighted land airport
2. Green alone* — Lighted land airport
3. White and Yellow — Lighted water airport
4. Yellow alone* — Lighted water airport
5. Green, Yellow, and White — Lighted heliport
6. White, White, Green** — Military Airport
7. White, Green, Amber — Hospital and/or Emergency Services Heliport

*Green alone or yellow alone is used only in connection with a white-and-green or white-and-yellow beacon display, respectively.

**Military airport beacons flash alternately white and green, but are differentiated from civil beacons by two quick white flashes between the green flashes.

In Class B, C, D, and E surface areas, operation of the airport beacon between sunrise and sunset often indicates that the ground visibility is less than 3 miles and/or the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet. This is true particularly at locations where beacon controls are available to air traffic control personnel;^[2] however there is no regulation requiring daytime operation.^[1]

At some locations with operating control towers, ATC personnel turn the beacon on or off with controls in the tower. At many airports the airport beacon is turned on by a photoelectric cell or time clocks, and ATC personnel cannot control them. ^[1]”

Edited December 14, 20205 yr by Cmcollazo71

Perfect, thanks for this clarification.

I also wondered what they were for, Never seen any in Europe or the UK

35 minutes ago, Car147 said:

I also wondered what they were for, Never seen any in Europe or the UK

Birmingham Airport (UK) used to have one.  I always wondered why it flashed white and green.  It was never as bright as in the sim though.

14 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

It was never as bright as in the sim though.

Yeah that’s obviously an issue in the sim. We should not see taxi, “rabbits” from 20+ miles away...🛬

Edited December 14, 20205 yr by Cmcollazo71

Its to be turned on during night and during low visibility conditions like IMC. It's very useful for pilots to distinguish an airport from the myriad of other lights.

Edited December 14, 20205 yr by Manny

I don't ever recall seeing this rotating beacon light at any airport in the US. Does anyone have a video of what it is suppose to look like in real life?

17 minutes ago, captain420 said:

I don't ever recall seeing this rotating beacon light at any airport in the US. Does anyone have a video of what it is suppose to look like in real life?

Next time when landing at night at a large airport in real life like DFW etc, look out the window and try to look for these flashing white and green lights.. There is a slow cadence to them and you would be amazed how many airports there are by looking for these flashing white and green lights. You never noticed it cause you were not looking for it. I used to look for it and try to guess which airport it is and confirm by looking at the Sectional chart.

Edited December 14, 20205 yr by Manny

5 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Does anyone have a video of what it is suppose to look like in real life?

Fly to X39 in Florida, one runway aero park in Tampa, pretty hard to miss since it’s in the middle of a residential/industrial area.

 

Still couldn't see that flashing rotating beacon in that video. In MSFS it stands out like a sore thumb, is that how it should look in real life as well?

6 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Still couldn't see that flashing rotating beacon in that video. In MSFS it stands out like a sore thumb, is that how it should look in real life as well?

You can spot it fairly easy on a clear day when landing on a commercial airliner at night. That video was hard. Flying at night on a single engine aircraft, those lights are god sent to find a spot to land if your engine quits. 

Edited December 14, 20205 yr by Manny

Come to think of it, I thought the beacons were a bit too bright going right back to the summer of last year, in some of the first publicity videos - remember the one with the TBM landing in overcast.

I recon somebody will mod these eventually before MS/Asobo tweak them. 🙂

I also find them a bit too bright. Although I've never seen one in real life, I have a feeling that with the overly bright night lighting that it's the same with the flashing beacons as well. I think they need to tone it down a bit.