navigation lights?

[Cub Driver]

I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"
but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
another.

What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Andrew Sarangan]

Cub Driver wrote:
> I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"
> but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
> to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
> another.
>
> What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?
>

Position Lights is the term used in FAR 23. I am not sure where the
term nav light came from.

Anticollision light is a different thing. It is usually the red
fflashing beacon or the strobe light.

[Roy Smith]

In article >,
Cub Driver <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote:

> I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"
> but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
> to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
> another.
>
> What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?

FAR 23 calls them "position lights":

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=fbbc4025e1d8e5bc153
687c2f3c01bb8&rgn=div8&view=text&node=14:1.0.1.3.10.6.102.26&idno=14

The use of red and green lights come from maritime law. IRPCS
(International Rules for the Preventions of Collisions at Sea) and COLREGS
(the US version, which is virtually identical), both refer to the red and
greens as "sidelights".

[Peter Duniho]

"Cub Driver" <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote in message
...
>
> I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"

As does the rest of the aviation world, including the FAA.

> but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
> to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
> another.

They borrow the term from nautical use, as is the case with many other
airplane terms. The usage may seem archaic, but I don't see it as entirely
unreasonable. To "navigate" can mean a broad range of activities, all
related to piloting a ship (or airplane). This includes guiding the ship in
the presence of other ships, for which the navigation lights are very useful
(at least at night).

> What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?

I certainly wouldn't recommend "recognition lights" as a replacement.
Navigation lights tell you only that an airplane is near and what direction
it's headed. It doesn't help you to recognize it. That's what true
recognition lights are for. They are found only on larger commercial
airplanes, and illuminate the distinguishing marks on the tail and fuselage.
There are, of course, false recognition lights as well -- various blinking
lights marketed to the light aviation crowd for the purpose of helping to
make your own airplane more noticeable -- and, while I disagree with the use
of the term in this context, the fact that it's already in use further
precludes the use of the term to describe navigation lights.

I think most pilots are quite satisfied with the use of the term "navigation
lights". They do aid in one very specific aspect of navigation, and in any
case aviation includes a variety of other terms that aren't strictly
accurate but which we use anyway. If we "fix" "navigation lights", we'll
have to go after all the other terms too (including "navigation"...flying
airplanes has nothing to do with making progress over the water, except for
seaplane operations, so that term itself would be prohibited if we want
everything nice and neat). What a pain in the neck.

Given that there's no actual confusion regarding the use of the term
"navigation lights", I see no reason to suggest a change.

Pete

[Jim Macklin]

Ships navigating use lights to mark that they are underway,
i.e. navigating. When at anchor they have anchor lights
displayed.

Aircraft use the same pattern of lights to show their
position and direction of motion.

Anti-collision lights are the red or white flashing,
rotating, or strobe lights.

Recognition lights are the wing or tail mounted lights that
appear to be like landing lights, except they can be run at
high speed. Some aircraft have retractable landing lights
or the landing lights are mounted on the landing gear and
thus not usable at high speed.

Logo lights are mounted on the rear of the wing or
horizontal stabilizer to light the vertical tail surface.
--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Andrew Sarangan" > wrote in message
oups.com...
|
| Cub Driver wrote:
| > I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail
"navigation lights,"
| > but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to
mark the aircraft
| > to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in
formation with
| > another.
| >
| > What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition
lights?
| >
|
| Position Lights is the term used in FAR 23. I am not sure
where the
| term nav light came from.
|
| Anticollision light is a different thing. It is usually
the red
| fflashing beacon or the strobe light.
|

[Jay Honeck]

> I certainly wouldn't recommend "recognition lights" as a replacement.
> Navigation lights tell you only that an airplane is near and what
> direction it's headed.

I have always found it difficult-to-impossible to determine an aircraft's
direction of flight by viewing those itty-bitty green and red lights. In
night flight, if you're even seeing another aircraft's nav lights, you're
way too close, IMHO.

Luckily, many aircraft have strobes, which makes determining relative motion
bone-simple.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Matt Barrow]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:xTTTf.41344$oL.25009@attbi_s71...
>> I certainly wouldn't recommend "recognition lights" as a replacement.
>> Navigation lights tell you only that an airplane is near and what
>> direction it's headed.
>
> I have always found it difficult-to-impossible to determine an aircraft's
> direction of flight by viewing those itty-bitty green and red lights. In
> night flight, if you're even seeing another aircraft's nav lights, you're
> way too close, IMHO.

Come out to the clear and dry air in the moutain west; you can see them for
ten miles.
--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

[Jay Honeck]

> Come out to the clear and dry air in the moutain west; you can see them
> for ten miles.

Maybe the airliners -- they've got some big-ass nav lights! (And some are
as bright as landing lights...)

But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way. Not with my eyes,
anyway.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Peter Duniho]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:diUTf.41370$oL.35779@attbi_s71...
> But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way. Not with my eyes,
> anyway.

Have you tried using oxygen on night flights? Even at modest altitudes,
reduced air density can result in decreased visual acuity, and night vision
is the first to go.

I can see nav lights at night. Ten miles might be pushing it, but certainly
at five miles. Anti-collision lights do assist in identifying the direction
of travel, but it's strictly two-dimensional information. Nav lights add
the third dimension that give one a very accurate idea of where the other
airplane is heading.

Pete

[Jim Macklin]

On a clear dark, moonless night in the Great Plains and
Rocky Mountains you can see a match at 100 miles, but to see
the different colors and space between the position lights
the acuity of the human eye is limited to about 1 minute of
angle, about 2 feet at a mile. So it is possible to see the
nav lights on a spam-can at about 15 miles and discern the
color and direction. A longer span, such as a 200 King Air
can be read out to about 30 miles and a Boeing can be at 100
miles.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:diUTf.41370$oL.35779@attbi_s71...
|> Come out to the clear and dry air in the moutain west;
you can see them
| > for ten miles.
|
| Maybe the airliners -- they've got some big-ass nav
lights! (And some are
| as bright as landing lights...)
|
| But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way.
Not with my eyes,
| anyway.
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|
|

[Matt Barrow]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:diUTf.41370$oL.35779@attbi_s71...
>> Come out to the clear and dry air in the moutain west; you can see them
>> for ten miles.
>
> Maybe the airliners -- they've got some big-ass nav lights! (And some are
> as bright as landing lights...)
>
> But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way. Not with my eyes,
> anyway.

Okay...ten miles for everone else, 150 feet for Jay! :~)

[John Gaquin]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
>
> I have always found it difficult-to-impossible to determine an aircraft's
> direction of flight by viewing those itty-bitty green and red lights.

That's a bit disconcerting, Jay. Maybe a night/color vision check is in
order; and perhaps a sit-down with someone who knows how to look at things
at night, and review with you the patterns and what they might mean.

You ought to be able to see small aircraft nav lights at about five or six
miles, I would guess. At that distance, even if head on in a pair of light
twins, you'd still have about a minute, or perhaps a bit less, to recognize
and respond. That's a fairly long time.

[Greg Farris]

In article >,
says...
>
>
>
>"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
>>
>> I have always found it difficult-to-impossible to determine an aircraft's
>> direction of flight by viewing those itty-bitty green and red lights.
>
>That's a bit disconcerting, Jay. Maybe a night/color vision check is in
>order; and perhaps a sit-down with someone who knows how to look at things
>at night, and review with you the patterns and what they might mean.
>
>You ought to be able to see small aircraft nav lights at about five or six
>miles, I would guess.

Are you guessing then?
I agree with Jay - there are some situations where the position lights are
clear and easy to read, but many other situations where it is not at all clear
from these light which way a plane is going. This applies to airliners as
well, whose position lights often seem scarcely larger or brighter than those
of light aircraft. Few airliners have a really clear, white light in the back
to indicate they are moving away from you - exception made for the ATR's,
which have a gigantic "lantern" in the tailcone!

BTW - responding to the original question - It is correct to call them
"position lights" however we get used to calling them Nav lights because
that's what is marked on the little switch that turns them on in so many small
planes.

GF

[Jay Honeck]

> > But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way. Not with my eyes,
> > anyway.
>
> Okay...ten miles for everone else, 150 feet for Jay! :~)

Ah, you've seen the thickness of my glasses, then?

:-)

Actually, I've always had fairly rotten night vision. Each eye
individually is pretty good, but getting them to work together in low
light is difficult. (Clearly focusing on the "Man in the Moon", for
example, takes great effort.) At my last check-up I mentioned this
problem, and the doc put a bit of a prism in one (or both?) lenses, to
help them focus together better. It helped, but it's still far from
perfect.

I'd get lasik, but I've heard that night vision REALLY gets the shaft
after that surgery, at least for a time.
--
Jay "Mr. Magoo" Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Morgans]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote
>
> But nav lights on a Spam can? From ten miles? No way. Not with my eyes,
> anyway.

I live somewhat near a VOR, and get a lot of traffic to and from it, flying
right overhead at my house.

In the summer I frequently sit outside with a cold one, and watch the planes
fly by. I can see them quite clearly at quite a distance, although I really
can't say exactly how far away they are.

I do see some airliners traveling overhead at somewhat over 15,000 feet, I
would guess, on their way to and from Charlotte.
--
Jim in NC

[Cub Driver]

Okay, let me restate the question. It is April 1942. Five Japanese
fighter aircraft are flying in formation to attack an enemy airfield
at dawn. Their lights are on so they can follow the leader and not
bump into one another. Before rolling in to attack, they switch off
the lights.

(If it matters, the fighters do not have air-to-air radio
communication. The lights serve that purpose as well.)

Would you call those "navigation lights"?

Thanks!


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[John Gaquin]

"Greg Farris" > wrote in message news:dvpchc$15e1
>
> Are you guessing then?

Not really -- just estimating (based on 35 years worth of looking) because I
don't know the exact specification. You can bet that somewhere there is an
FAA spec telling manufacturers *precisely* the number of lumens, the
candlepower, and the distance from which the light must be visible under
specified circumstances of visibility.

>......but many other situations where it is not at all clear
> from these light which way a plane is going. This applies to airliners as
> well, whose position lights often seem scarcely larger or brighter than
> those
> of light aircraft. Few airliners have a really clear, white light in the
> back
> to indicate they are moving away from you .......

You don't necessarily need to see the white light to make that call. That's
precisely why the specs call for different types of lights in stipulated
locations -- different colors, some steady, some flashing -- so you won't
have to see all the lights to make a determination.

[Bob Moore]

John Gaquin wrote

> You can bet that somewhere there is an FAA spec telling
> manufacturers *precisely* the number of lumens, the
> candlepower, and the distance from which the light must
> be visible under specified circumstances of visibility.

FAR 23.1385 thru 23.1397

Bob Moore

[Leonard Milcin Jr.]

Cub Driver skrev:
> Okay, let me restate the question. It is April 1942. Five Japanese
> fighter aircraft are flying in formation to attack an enemy airfield
> at dawn. Their lights are on so they can follow the leader and not
> bump into one another. Before rolling in to attack, they switch off
> the lights.
>
> (If it matters, the fighters do not have air-to-air radio
> communication. The lights serve that purpose as well.)
>
> Would you call those "navigation lights"?

No. Don't-bump-my-ass lights ;-)



Leonard

[Jim Macklin]

Just a question for the military types out there, don't they
have low intensity formation lights to use that cannot be
seen from the ground?



"Cub Driver" <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote in message
...
|
| Okay, let me restate the question. It is April 1942. Five
Japanese
| fighter aircraft are flying in formation to attack an
enemy airfield
| at dawn. Their lights are on so they can follow the leader
and not
| bump into one another. Before rolling in to attack, they
switch off
| the lights.
|
| (If it matters, the fighters do not have air-to-air radio
| communication. The lights serve that purpose as well.)
|
| Would you call those "navigation lights"?
|
| Thanks!
|
|
| -- all the best, Dan Ford
|
| email: usenet AT danford DOT net
|
| Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
| Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
| In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Peter Duniho]

"John Gaquin" > wrote in message
. ..
> [...] so you won't have to see all the lights to make a determination.

And in fact, which lights you see or don't see is a key part in interpreting
the lights. If you could see all of them at the same time, they would be
less useful.

[Peter Duniho]

"Cub Driver" <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote in message
...
>
> Okay, let me restate the question. It is April 1942. Five Japanese
> fighter aircraft are flying in formation to attack an enemy airfield
> at dawn. [...]

I think you want rec.aviation.military.

[Roy Smith]

In article >,
John Gaquin > wrote:
>
>"Greg Farris" > wrote in message news:dvpchc$15e1
>>
>> Are you guessing then?
>
>Not really -- just estimating (based on 35 years worth of looking) because I
>don't know the exact specification. You can bet that somewhere there is an
>FAA spec telling manufacturers *precisely* the number of lumens, the
>candlepower, and the distance from which the light must be visible under
>specified circumstances of visibility.

Of course there is.

PART 23--AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND
COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES

23.1385 Position light system installation.
23.1387 Position light system dihedral angles.
23.1389 Position light distribution and intensities.
23.1391 Minimum intensities in the horizontal plane of position lights.
23.1393 Minimum intensities in any vertical plane of position lights.
23.1395 Maximum intensities in overlapping beams of position lights.
23.1397 Color specifications.

Everything you ever wanted to know about nav lights.

[StuartyA330]

I think they would be called Anit-Collision lights as well as nav
lights, but i could be wrong, Correct me if i am.

[Jim Macklin]

Wrong, they are used to show the position of the airplane in
reference to the viewer. An anti-collision light does not
show the position of the airplane, but it is designed to
attract attention.



"StuartyA330" > wrote in message
oups.com...
|I think they would be called Anit-Collision lights as well
as nav
| lights, but i could be wrong, Correct me if i am.
|

[.Blueskies.]

"Leonard Milcin Jr." > wrote in message ...
> Cub Driver skrev:
>> Okay, let me restate the question. It is April 1942. Five Japanese
>> fighter aircraft are flying in formation to attack an enemy airfield
>> at dawn. Their lights are on so they can follow the leader and not
>> bump into one another. Before rolling in to attack, they switch off
>> the lights.
>>
>> (If it matters, the fighters do not have air-to-air radio
>> communication. The lights serve that purpose as well.)
>>
>> Would you call those "navigation lights"?
>
> No. Don't-bump-my-ass lights ;-)
>
>

Ohhhh...the dbmals...

[Jay Honeck]

> Just a question for the military types out there, don't they
> have low intensity formation lights to use that cannot be
> seen from the ground?

Don't some aircraft even have "lights" that can only be seen with
night-vision goggles?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Cub Driver]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:54:42 +0100, "Leonard Milcin Jr."
> wrote:

>> Would you call those "navigation lights"?
>
>No. Don't-bump-my-ass lights ;-)

How do you say that in Japanese?


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Cub Driver]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 03:51:18 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>> Just a question for the military types out there, don't they
>> have low intensity formation lights to use that cannot be
>> seen from the ground?
>
>Don't some aircraft even have "lights" that can only be seen with
>night-vision goggles?

Not in 1942.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Leonard Milcin Jr.]

Cub Driver skrev:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:54:42 +0100, "Leonard Milcin Jr."
> > wrote:
>
>>> Would you call those "navigation lights"?
>> No. Don't-bump-my-ass lights ;-)
>
> How do you say that in Japanese?

I don't know, but I have friends here in Poland that
study Japanese. I'll ask them.


Leonard

[Jay Honeck]

>>> Just a question for the military types out there, don't they
>>> have low intensity formation lights to use that cannot be
>>> seen from the ground?
>>
>>Don't some aircraft even have "lights" that can only be seen with
>>night-vision goggles?
>
> Not in 1942.

The question was "Don't they?" not "Didn't they?"...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Montblack]

("Cub Driver" wrote)
>>No. Don't-bump-my-ass lights ;-)

> How do you say that in Japanese?


Torso! Torso! Torso!


Montblacksheep

[Cub Driver]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 15:33:26 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>> Not in 1942.
>
>The question was "Don't they?" not "Didn't they?"...

No, the question I asked, and to which the other question was a
topic-drift, referred to five specific Japanese fighter planes on a
night in April 1942.



-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Cub Driver]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 23:28:56 -0500, vincent p. norris >
wrote:

>If you recall, the wingtip lights are not visible from the rear and
>so they would be of no use to someone trying to fly formation.

Huh!

I suspect the Japanese used different specs, since they did this as a
regular thing, at least in 1942.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Cub Driver]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:35:14 -0500, Cub Driver <usenet AT danford DOT
net> wrote:

>
>I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"
>but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
>to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
>another.
>
>What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?
>

For what it's worth, I've decided to call them "wingtip lights".


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Cub Driver" <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:35:14 -0500, Cub Driver <usenet AT danford DOT
> net> wrote:
>
>>
>>I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail "navigation lights,"
>>but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to mark the aircraft
>>to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in formation with
>>another.
>>
>>What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition lights?
>>
>
> For what it's worth, I've decided to call them "wingtip lights".
>

Why?

[Jim Macklin]

Wing tip lights can be and often are recognition lights, but
they could be ice lights, navigation lights, but each type
of light has an official name and purpose.

On a King Air 200/300 recognition lights are located at the
wing tip behind the cover but on the leading edge. They are
high intensity white lights that are about 2x3 inches. They
are designed to allow traffic and persons in the tower to
see the airplane and the bank angle. They also work as an
ice detector because the ice builds on the light shield and
if the recognition light is ON it really makes any ice
shine.

But the ice light is located in the engine nacelle, just
along the leading edge to light up the wing so the pilot can
see the ice build up.

The navigation lights are colored lights of international
treaty approved colors and location.


"Steven P. McNicoll" > wrote in
message
ink.net...
|
| "Cub Driver" <usenet AT danford DOT net> wrote in message
| ...
| > On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:35:14 -0500, Cub Driver <usenet
AT danford DOT
| > net> wrote:
| >
| >>
| >>I've always called the lights on wingtip and tail
"navigation lights,"
| >>but of course they aren't for navigation; they're to
mark the aircraft
| >>to avoid collision, or so that one plane can fly in
formation with
| >>another.
| >>
| >>What's the name that suggests this purpose? Recognition
lights?
| >>
| >
| > For what it's worth, I've decided to call them "wingtip
lights".
| >
|
| Why?
|
|

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Jim Macklin" > wrote in message
news:OadVf.733$t22.245@dukeread08...
>
> Wing tip lights can be and often are recognition lights, but
> they could be ice lights, navigation lights, but each type
> of light has an official name and purpose.
>
> On a King Air 200/300 recognition lights are located at the
> wing tip behind the cover but on the leading edge. They are
> high intensity white lights that are about 2x3 inches. They
> are designed to allow traffic and persons in the tower to
> see the airplane and the bank angle. They also work as an
> ice detector because the ice builds on the light shield and
> if the recognition light is ON it really makes any ice
> shine.
>
> But the ice light is located in the engine nacelle, just
> along the leading edge to light up the wing so the pilot can
> see the ice build up.
>
> The navigation lights are colored lights of international
> treaty approved colors and location.
>

That's swell, but I was asking why he decided to call the lights on wingtip
and tail "wingtip lights".

[Jim Macklin]

Because he doesn't know any better, I hoped he might learn
something.



"Steven P. McNicoll" > wrote in
message
hlink.net...
|
| "Jim Macklin" > wrote
in message
| news:OadVf.733$t22.245@dukeread08...
| >
| > Wing tip lights can be and often are recognition lights,
but
| > they could be ice lights, navigation lights, but each
type
| > of light has an official name and purpose.
| >
| > On a King Air 200/300 recognition lights are located at
the
| > wing tip behind the cover but on the leading edge. They
are
| > high intensity white lights that are about 2x3 inches.
They
| > are designed to allow traffic and persons in the tower
to
| > see the airplane and the bank angle. They also work as
an
| > ice detector because the ice builds on the light shield
and
| > if the recognition light is ON it really makes any ice
| > shine.
| >
| > But the ice light is located in the engine nacelle, just
| > along the leading edge to light up the wing so the pilot
can
| > see the ice build up.
| >
| > The navigation lights are colored lights of
international
| > treaty approved colors and location.
| >
|
| That's swell, but I was asking why he decided to call the
lights on wingtip
| and tail "wingtip lights".
|
|