Limiting use of Pilot Controlled Lighting

On Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:19:10 GMT, wrote:

Having just crossed the border, and visited a few non-towered airports
in the US, I'm afraid I may have done some injustice by using the PCL
pilot controlled lighting a bit too much. Knowing the somewhat
precarious financial state of those airports, and the electricity hog
the lights can be, I'm wondering if its use is required at all. Can
the USA procedures experts here please comment on the following?

1. Any legal requirement to use them during the day (that is, any
FAR)? Is it an AIM recommended procedure?

Most, but not all leave that feature turned off during the day.

2. Will 3 clicks ALWAYS turn off the REILs or approach lights?
Will 3 clicks sometimes turn off the runway lights, and if so, any way
to know this in advance?

Always? Check the AFD, but it works for most.

3. Why not have an ability to turn them all off, runway lights
and approach/REILs?

They are supposed to turn themselves off after 5 minutes, but I
supposed not all are set up that way. When I was a student the
instructors had me hit the runways lights coming into the pattern and
then again on base or final. That was to prevent them timing out at an
inopportune time.

As to turning them all off, they shoudl take care of that by
themselves. I find the REILS blind me. I did use the REILs to find
an airport in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Even with the runway
lights on, that place was darn near invisible set down into the woods.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


Just trying to help save Uncle Sam some $

Stan

We used to have a Captain flying for us that took great pleasure in keying
the mike several times on unicom, while over the central valley of Cal. at
FL410. He said it would light up runways from redding to bakersfield.

Al


"Roger" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:19:10 GMT, wrote:

Having just crossed the border, and visited a few non-towered airports
in the US, I'm afraid I may have done some injustice by using the PCL
pilot controlled lighting a bit too much. Knowing the somewhat
precarious financial state of those airports, and the electricity hog
the lights can be, I'm wondering if its use is required at all. Can
the USA procedures experts here please comment on the following?

1. Any legal requirement to use them during the day (that is, any
FAR)? Is it an AIM recommended procedure?

Most, but not all leave that feature turned off during the day.

2. Will 3 clicks ALWAYS turn off the REILs or approach lights?
Will 3 clicks sometimes turn off the runway lights, and if so, any way
to know this in advance?

Always? Check the AFD, but it works for most.

3. Why not have an ability to turn them all off, runway lights
and approach/REILs?

They are supposed to turn themselves off after 5 minutes, but I
supposed not all are set up that way. When I was a student the
instructors had me hit the runways lights coming into the pattern and
then again on base or final. That was to prevent them timing out at an
inopportune time.

As to turning them all off, they shoudl take care of that by
themselves. I find the REILS blind me. I did use the REILs to find
an airport in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Even with the runway
lights on, that place was darn near invisible set down into the woods.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


Just trying to help save Uncle Sam some $

Stan