Mike,

The lights on the nose gear tell the Landing Signal Officer on board
the carrier whether the plane is 'on speed' or not. That way he knows
if the plane is coming in too fast, or too slow, or 'on speed.' Then
he tells the pilot to either speed up or slow down.

The lights on the wings allow other aircaft to know if the plane they
are seeing in coming or going. Which is really important if you are
at the same altitude.





On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 18:32:36 -0500, "Mike W."
wrote:

Is anyone here familiar with carrier-based aircraft operations?

My first question is, on naval aircraft, what are the three colored lights
for on the front? Usually mounted on the front landing gear, three different
colors.

Also, last time I was out in San Diego to visit my brother, we visited the
U.S.S. Midway. Among the aircraft on display was a jet trainer, couldn't
tell you the type. Seems like the thing had lights everywhere, including
both red and green nav. lights on each wingtip? What is the purpose of this?

Thanks to anyone who can cure my curiousity.