Aircraft Navigation Lights

Aircraft Navigation Lights - Navigation lights are an important part of an airplane. At any given time, there are around 10,000 airplanes in the sky transporting a total of over 1 million passengers. To protect against nighttime collisions, as well as other serious accidents in poor visibility conditions, airplanes are equipped with navigation lights.

Our LED aircraft navigation lamps are available in industry standard colors that include red and green for wingtip lights, as well as white for wingtip and tail lights. They serve vital purposes for crew notification, anti-collision, and takeoff and landing operations.

Aircraft Navigation Lights

Strong illumination is essential in this type of lighting. Bulbs must function as beacons and notify ground crews of certain flight procedures, including takeoff and landing. All aircraft navigation lights should perform without fail, even in extreme temperatures, low visibility environmental conditions, and severe weather including snow, rain, and fog.

Aviation Lamps Logo Lights Led Aircraft Navigation Lights Mood Lighting And More

Aircraft navigation lights are used in the aviation industry to assist in the navigation process. These lights can refer to strobe lights that are meant to help aircraft avoid collisions and exterior lights that are placed at the wingtips and tail of an aircraft.

All airplanes use this universal format for their respective navigation lights. In doing so, air traffic controllers can determine the direction in which airplanes are traveling. If an air traffic controller sees a red light on his or her right and a green light on his or her left, the air traffic controller will know that the airplane is approaching the tower.

If the lights are reversed, on the other hand, the air traffic controller will know that the airplane is flying away from the tower. The SunTail LED Anti-Collision Strobe and White Position Tail Light is TSO Certified and uses the same mounting footprint as legacy tail light products.

It can be used as a navigation light on virtually any aircraft. The Pulsar Navigation, Strobe and Position Lights for aircraft are ideal for use in Experimental, Certified, Commercial, ARFF, and Military aircraft both new and retrofit designs.

Press Series

All the lights in the series meet and exceed the TSO requirements for navigation/position and anti-collision strobe. Without navigation lights, air traffic controllers and other individuals on the ground would not be able to tell the direction in which airplanes are traveling.

Navigation lights offer a solution. They consist of red and green lights that are installed on an airplane's left and right wings, respectively. Teledyne lighting provides a diverse range of LEDs that are FAA/PMA certified for commercial, business, and rotorcraft applications.

All products are FAA/PMA approved per aircraft type on their supplement. We are one of the very few authorized distributors for Teledyne. The forward position lights (red and a green lights) must be installed forward on the airplane with lateral spacing as far apart as practicable so that, with the airplane in the normal flying position, the red light is on the left wing tip and the green

light is on the right wing tip. The rear position white light must shine towards the rear of the aircraft and illuminate an area towards the rear of the aircraft wing. The forward position lights must provide a minimum intensity of 40 (0° to 10°), 30 (10° to 20°), and 5 (20° to 110°) candles (angle from right or left of longitudinal axis) in the

Aircraft Navigation Lighting System From Gt Power - Gtpnavairled

horizontal plane. It's important to note that navigation lights aren't used to provide illumination for passengers or pilots. Rather, they live up to their namesake by offering navigational benefits. They help pilots navigate to their intended destination without experiencing collisions or other serious accidents.

Navigation lights create colored illumination that makes airplanes easier to see. When the sun goes down, they'll illuminate the surrounding space around the airplane with colored lights. Complete LED navigation lighting system for your model aircraft up to .60 size.

The GT Power LED Lighting System consists of eight bright LED lights, a control board with power lead, and clamps for securing the LEDs to the fuselage and wings of your aircraft, as well as double-sided tape for securing the control board within the fuselage.

We work with aircraft maintenance professionals, engineers, and major airlines to efficiently identify the most appropriate solution for their lighting requirements. We can provide you with details on FAA/PMA certifications, pricing, potential ROI you stand to gain for specific types of bulbs, various performance and efficiency specifications, and other information that will ensure you get the greatest benefit from your purchase and that it correctly

Why Choose Us As Your Aircraft Navigation Light Supplier?

fulfills your requirements. If you require bulbs for aircraft mood lighting systems, upwash and downwash cabin lighting, various cockpit settings, and for other placements on the interior or exterior of an aircraft, we can supply a wide range of colors, tones, and bulb types, including many

LED options. The rear position light must provide a minimum intensity of 20 candles in the horizontal plane. The color of the position light must be controlled with regard to the chromaticity specification: aviation red (y is not greater than 0.335; and z is not greater than 0.002);

aviation green (x is not greater than 0.440-0.320y; x is not greater than y-0.170; and y is not less than 0.390-0.170x); aviation white (x is not less than 0.300 and not greater than 0.540; y is not less than x-0.040 or y-0.010, whichever is the smaller; and y is not greater than x+0.020 nor 0.636-0.400x).

AeroLEDs offers a wide variety of LEDs for general aviation, business and rotorcraft. We are one of the very few authorized distributors for this provider. They manufacture an extensive variety of LEDs for landing, taxiing, and navigation.

How Navigation Lights Work

Many products are certified but may require an STC 337 or log book entry depending upon the application and aircraft. Aircraft navigation lights, also referred to as position lights, are designed to indicate airplane position, flight direction and airplane orientation relative to an observer.

The navigation light system is comprised of the red and green lights installed in the wing tips and the white light on the aft end of the vertical stabilizer. For more than thirty years, we've helped domestic and international airlines, business jet operators, helicopter operators, and military/defense customers get the lighting products they need for their aircraft.

These aircraft light bulbs include LED aircraft reading lights, miniature light bulbs for various settings, and aircraft sealed beam lamps among many others. The control board power lead features a male JR plug for connection to any open channel on the receiver.

We suggest using a UBEC or receiver battery pack to provide adequate power to these lights, as the standard linear mode BEC on most ESCs may become overloaded. Another option is to use an ESC that has a switch-mode BEC.

Your Authorized Distributor Of Top Aviation Lighting Brands

We can readily provide aviation lamps that play varied roles in the interior and exterior of an aircraft, which include logo lights used to illuminate graphics on the wings and tail of the aircraft. Traditional navigation lights require the use of color filters to achieve the specified chromaticity.

LED navigation lights can produce light in any color directly from the source. These products also offer many improvements over legacy products, which include low energy consumption as well as extended lifespan due to the reliability and durability of the light source.

Dual navigation light systems of traditional technologies are often installed to provide redundancy in the event of a bulb failure. Our inventory is diverse and meets the ever-changing demands of a vibrant and fast-paced industry. We are ISO certified, accept all major credit cards, and can provide same-day shipment of in-stock items for all orders placed before 3pm EST.

If you need AOG service, we can respond to your request 24/7. Unlike most other companies, we're focused solely on lighting and we're highly knowledgeable about the needs of customers in many different industries. The close relationships we've built with the manufacturers and suppliers that we represent enable us to offer complete quality assurances in every product we provide.

Get The Bulbs You Need With Complete Quality Assurance

How do navigation lights work exactly? For airplanes, navigation lights consist of two colors: red and green. Red navigation lights are found on the tip of an airplane's left wing, whereas green navigation lights are found on the top of an airplane's right wing.

Most commercial airplanes have a single red navigation light and a single green navigation light. You will benefit from the long-lasting partnerships we've maintained with many different aviation lamp manufacturers including General Electric, Chicago Miniature, Oshino, BE Aerospace, ALI, Teledyne, AeroLEDs and more.

We're here to serve as your point of access for the aviation industry's most in-demand lighting products. If you are looking for bulbs from a specific manufacturer, or as a drop-in replacement for a particular fixture or setting, give us the details and we'll connect you with the most appropriate solution.

Their longevity and efficiency means that individual bulb replacements and maintenance are required less often. They still provide bright and brilliant light with reduced demand for power. This is highly advantageous for the industry as it means less time on the ground for maintenance and more time up in the air.

What Are Navigation Lights?

Also known as running position lights, navigation lights are those used for navigation purposes. They've been around for centuries, with the first navigation lights appearing on ships. In 1846, lawmakers in the United Kingdom passed a law requiring all ships to have navigation lights.

Navigation lights are now found on both ships and airplanes. They consist of bulbs that, when turned on, emit colored light so that ships and airplanes can safely navigate to their intended destination.

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Aircraft Position Lights

Aircraft Position Lights - Exterior aircraft lighting includes position, anti-collision, landing, and taxi lights. Rotating beacons are turned on any time you're in the aircraft, day or night. The position lighting is on by default for night operations. Landing and taxi lights are straightforward in their use case.s

The touchdown area lights are white lights, arranged in lateral rows, that run perpendicular to the centerline within the first three thousand feet on the approach end of the runway. This helps pilots determine the optimal touchdown area along the runway.

Aircraft Position Lights

I like Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL). I've had situations in which an airport is so close to local buildings and streets that it blends right in. The REIL strobes are distinct and help set the runway apart from the surrounding lighting.

Exterior Lights

They can be found on the edges of the tarmac near the runway end lights and illuminate the approach portion of the runway. At non-towered airports equipped with PCL, the default action is to activate REILs beside the standard lights when keyed up.

I remember the first time I keyed up the intensity on the runway lights on the final. I was shooting a late evening approach and there was fog accumulating near the runway, obscuring the taxiway. Since it was after hours, I gave my mic button seven clicks to fire up the facility lighting and give me maximum intensity.

They say you can adjust the lights with 3 or 5 clicks to lower the intensity if needed, but I never do. I've always enjoyed the lights at night. Approach landing systems help mitigate this issue and there are several types of ALS systems.

These lighting systems might also be the most confusing aspect of aircraft lighting. There are many different variations, each designed to maximize visibility in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) or night conditions. Lights are a key component in operating an aircraft.

Where Does It End? Where Does It Begin?

Whether it's ground lighting at airports to guide us, or lighting on our aircraft to help us be seen, lighting will forever be vital in our safety. The number of lighting systems are many so here's Aviation Lights For Aircraft: A Complete Guide.

On aircraft with tricycle landing gear, taxi lights are often mounted on the fixed portion of the nose landing gear. These are installed at a downward angle to the centerline of the aircraft to provide illumination directly in front of the aircraft and some to the left and right of the plane.

I often worried about the possibility of missing my target airport in unfamiliar skies altogether when I first started. I realized that with practice, identifying airports was easier and became second nature. I realized that seeing an airport was just as much about the lights that I could see to identify them as it was the absence of light around them.

Aircraft navigation lights, also referred to as position lights, are designed to indicate airplane position, flight direction and airplane orientation relative to an observer. The navigation light system is comprised of the red and green lights installed in the wing tips and the white light on the aft end of the vertical stabilizer.

Rotating Beacons And Anti Collision Lights

Sectional charts are the way to go for reference on what each airport offers with regard to lighting. A star above the airport designation symbol suggests a rotating beacon is present and operable from sunset to sunrise, and a capital letter "L" indicates runway lighting is in operation from sunset to sunrise.

If you're interested in the type of lighting equipped at each airport, you can refer to your Airport/Facility Directory. An anti collision light system will contain one or more lights. The rotating beacon I mentioned that is on by default at all times is part of this system.

Other lights that might be included as anti-collision lights are mounted above the fuselage or on top of the tail and are installed in a way that does not interfere with the operation of the aircraft.

Large transport aircraft will mount an anti collision light above and below the aircraft for optimal visibility. Taxi lights are designed to illuminate the ground while taxiing the aircraft and for general ground operation including towing and moving the aircraft.

Position Lights

These are much less powerful and provide less range of illumination, which I'm thankful for, as I'd hate to be blinded by an aircraft taxiing by me. Landing lights on smaller aircraft are usually located midway on the leading edge of one or each of the wings.

Landing lights for larger aircraft are often located in the leading edge of the wing close to the fuselage. These lights may be controlled by a relay, or may be hooked up directly to an electric circuit.

RAIL and SFL are angled at the approach end. The Omnidirectional Approach Lighting Systems operate in a similar manner but are observable from all directions with no specific angle towards the approach path of the active runway.

In order for an aircraft to be approved for night operations, they require position lights that meet the minimum requirements specified by Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. A conforming set of position lights consists of a red, green, white light.

Runway Lighting

The A/FD/instrument approach charts are your best friends here. The type of runway and facility lighting is detailed in either and distinguishing one runway from the other is important in poor conditions. The operation of these runway lights is detailed in these publications as well.

NOTAMs are another important document to review before flight planning as these will detail any inoperable systems. Inoperable lighting systems could change the nature of your flight and your ability to land at an airport if conditions deteriorate.

On larger aircraft, taxi lights are often reinforced by wingtip clearance lights installed on the same circuitry. Taxi lights are often mounted in recessed areas of the wing leading edge, often in the same location as the landing light.

Here in North America, the lighting systems that mark each end of the runway are visible in two directions. When you're on final you'll see green lights that denote the start of the runway, and red lights that indicate the end.

‍Aircraft Lighting Systems

I've landed once at San Diego International, which has a large displaced threshold that spans 500 feet. Bright lights on either side of the asphalt mark the area where the touchdown point begins and ends. These lights are colored green.

Both civilian and military airport beacons operate from dusk to dawn. An airport beacon that is operating during daylight hours indicates that instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are in effect. These conditions are usually in effect when the weather is especially inclement, or deteriorating rapidly.

The rotating beacons employed are most often rotated by an electric motor. Some designs include fixed light with rotating mirrors. These lights are housed in red glass fixtures and rotate on an arc. Of course, modern aircraft use an LED bulb for better visibility and reliability.

This light is used for positional awareness of other aircraft in congested airspace or in inclement weather. It's important to refer to the AF/D for specifics regarding airport lights. The most fundamental component of runway lighting are runway edge lights.

Knowing Your Lights

These encase the edges of the runway at intervals of no more than 200 feet and are colored white. On ILS equipped runways, the ends of the runway edge lights beyond the landing aid lights are often colored yellow.

I'm a fan of these lights as they line the outermost boundaries of the runway and help you determine where the asphalt ends. The light in these is initiated by a voltage discharge that ionizes xenon when fired off.

These lights are bright and can be seen through thick fog and cloud cover. I sometimes dislike their usage when in the clouds as the flash refracts off of moisture in the air and can be blinding if not mounted far enough away from the cockpit.

Larger aircraft might include the ability to independently control the position lights, panel lights and their intensities. Traditional position lights use incandescent bulbs, but I do love the new LED lights that have been introduced on modern aircraft.

Safety In Inclement Weather

These are superior due to their great visibility, reliability, and eco-friendly consumption. I've always felt a bump or two when touching down on the centerline as the nose wheel will sometimes bounce on the protruding lights.

Despite the small bumps, centerline lighting is close to flush with the runway surface and starts at seventy-five feet from the runway threshold and is spaced at intervals of 50 feet. These will sometimes alternate red and white when nearing either end of the runway, turning red in the last 500 feet or so.

These provide lighting for exterior and interior use. Exterior lighting provides illumination for night time operations, flight into inclement weather, inspecting possible icing conditions, and as a way for other aircraft to see you at night, and during the day.

This might seem obvious, but interior lighting provides light for the instruments, cockpit, cabin, and sections occupied by pilots and passengers. When I shoot instrument approaches, I always double check the lighting configuration at my destination airport, especially if I'm unfamiliar with the area.

The Lighting System Designed With Pilot Interaction In Mind

Airports with runways that run in parallel can be especially tricky so knowing your lights is vital. I'm a fan of the strobes for this reason. Very few non-airport lights will strobe at you with the intensity and frequency that the RAIL, SFL or REIL do, and this is an effect I welcome any time I fly into IMC or night time operations.

One of the most important components within ALS are the Runway Alignment Indicator Light (RAIL) and/or Sequenced Flashing Light (SFL). These bright white lights strobe in sequence and are installed between rows of white lights starting at one thousand to one thousand, four hundred feet and running out from two thousand four hundred feet to three thousand feet into the approach area.

These strobes are sequenced to flash in the direction of the approach portion of the runway and the result is both a relief in inclement conditions, and a welcoming sight in any conditions. The ALS will begin with rows of green lights to help distinguish the approach portion of the runway.

Beyond this row of lights you'll see a few rows of lights. Colored white, these are placed at intervals that extend out between 2,500 and 3,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. ALSF-1 and ALSF-2 will set the intervals for these lights at 100 feet.

Beacon In The Dark

Other ALS configurations will set these intervals at 200 feet between each row. There's another row of perpendicular white lights that are set at the 1,000 foot mark. The ALSF-2 configuration has additional rows of perpendicular lights running at the five hundred and one thousand foot marks.

When I was in flight training, I was impressed at how hard it is to find an airport. With all of the ground facilities, control tower, mile long runway. How could it be so difficult? I've cross-referenced GPS and still managed to slip over airports without a thought.

I can recount many times in which I haven't been able to see the airport or runway until the last bit of my approach. The worst time to search for your destination airport is often when you're in a VFR flight over the top of the fog.

The runway will remain invisible in even the best cases when you have low lying fog. SkyTough.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

Interior Lights

This site also participates in other affiliate programs including but not limited to ShareASale, CJ, and ClickBank, and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. The red light denotes the port (left) side of the aircraft, the green unit, the starboard (right) side, the white light is mounted on the vertical stabilizer.

The red and green lights are usually mounted on the tips of the wings. There are several variations of circuits used for position lights. All circuits are guarded by fuses, and many circuits are constructed with flashing and dimming modalities.

Smaller and/or older general aviation aircraft are most often produced with a simple control switch and circuitry to match. Some non-towered airports offer lighting that may be activated by the pilot. This type of lighting provides a way for pilots to actively toggle the lighting systems and select the best intensity for their use.

These lights may be activated anywhere within five miles of the facility. Pilots spin up pilot-controlled lighting by tapping the mic button while tuned to the destination airport's designated frequency. Once active, the system is powered up for a maximum of fifteen minutes.

The intensity is adjustable. The rear position light must provide a minimum intensity of 20 candles in the horizontal plane. The color of the position light must be controlled with regard to the chromaticity specification: aviation red (y is not greater than 0.335; and z is not greater than 0.002);

aviation green (x is not greater than 0.440-0.320y; x is not greater than y-0.170; and y is not less than 0.390-0.170x); aviation white (x is not less than 0.300 and not greater than 0.540; y is not less than x-0.040 or y-0.010, whichever is the smaller; and y is not greater than x+0.020 nor 0.636-0.400x).

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Aircraft Wallpaper

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Aircraft Wallpaper

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Aircraft Viewing Area

Aircraft Viewing Area - While at the viewing park, tune your radio to 1650 AM to listen to air traffic controllers, pilots, and GFIA airfield operations staff, as they coordinate the safe passage of aircraft into and out of GFIA. The airport viewing park is open daily from 7

:30am-8:00pm. While the viewing park is patrolled by Airport Police, patrons are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to the Airport Communications Center at 616-233-6055. This newly renovated space provides a pavilion with permanent restroom facilities and filtered drinking fountains, an abundance of picnic tables and seating availability, and more than 100 parking spaces that face the airfield for a prime viewing experience. There are also four lars for bus parking ger spa

Aircraft Viewing Area

groups to come and enjoy the space. Please Note: This is a public park that is available for all to enjoy on a first-come, first-served basis and the space, pavilion, and tables cannot be reserved. Please be mindful of the

rules (posted as you enter the park) that include no alcohol, no grills, and no open fires. The viewing park, situated on Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street, is the ideal place to watch aircraft take off and land at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. It is especially popular during the summer months when dozens of "bird-watchers" flock there

daily to watch the planes come and go. The airport viewing park provides unmatched entertainment for aviation buffs and families.

Aircraft Wallpaper

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Aircraft Wallpaper

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Aircraft Spoilers

Aircraft Spoilers - The next stop for the spoiler is one of two CNC machines, supplied by CMS (Zogno, Italy), where the outside profile of the spoiler is trimmed and holes are drilled for assembly. Boyd notes that the trim operation and hold-drilling performed here varies by spoiler type, and like everywhere else along this production line, machine operation is guided by the MES.

Aircraft wings are a feat of modern engineering. Without them, flight simply couldn’t take place. There are actually many parts to a wing. Different aircraft have different shapes and styles of the wing, but the general principle is the same. Today we will talk you through parts of a wing and give a detailed explanation of some technical terms too!

Aircraft Spoilers

Spirit worked quickly to turn the Airbus spoiler design into a manufacturing demonstrator that, ultimately, would successfully prove the concept. With a demonstrator in hand, what followed then was not only development of a high-rate, high-efficiency RTM process, but of a composites manufacturing concept that is emblematic of Spirit’s solutions-focused approach in particular, and commercial aerospace’s path forward in general.

Into The Press Demolding

Step 9. After the top half of the spoiler mold is secured to the bottom half, the entire tool is transferred to one of seven Coexpair RTM presses that Spirit has installed. The resin injected is Hexcel’s RTM6 single-component epoxy. Source | CW

A fully assembled mold is now ready for the RTM process. Through the MES the mold is transferred along a metallic conveyor out of the cleanroom, through a red retractable door, and toward the RTM presses. The conveyor system is designed such that the MES can decide which mold will go to which press, and then automatically route it there. Inside a large, fenced enclosure, Spirit has installed seven RTM presses, supplied by Coexpair (Namur, Belgium). Next to each press is a resin pump system, also supplied by Coexpair. The mold travels along the conveyor and directly into the open press.

Fabrication of an A320 spoiler starts in a 1000-square-meter, Class 9 cleanroom that, at full rate, will be staffed each shift with six operators managing four processes: cutting, kitting, preforming and preform assembly. Operators are primarily responsible for moving material from one station to the next, and for assembly of preforms into the mold.

If you have ever sat over a wing during a flight, you’ll have noticed a fair amount of movement of different panels and parts of the wing. Each of these moving parts has a name and performs a specific function. They are called flight control surfaces.

Hands-Free Cutting Kitting Preforming

Ailerons move up and down to change the chord line at the end of each wing. When the cord line is altered, this changes the airflow going over the wing. When an aileron is up, its corresponding wing is pulled down.

However difficult the short-term outlook is and might be for the aerospace industry, the almost 8 billion people who call Earth home will not remain grounded forever, which means commercial air travel will return. Which means that the dynamics and forces governing the aerospace supply chain will return in some form or another. Estimates, as of this writing in mid-May, suggest a 3-5-year recovery for passenger air travel, with demand for single-aisle aircraft leading twin-aisle aircraft design.

Taylor Boyd, R&D manager in Prestwick, led the team that spent the last three years on Spirit’s effort to turn the company’s RTM manufacturing concept into reality. It became his team’s job to acquire, develop and assemble all of the hardware, software and operators who would work in concert to convert raw material on the front end to fully assembled, tested and painted spoilers on the back end. Boyd says the effort was demanding but rewarding, and a departure from the norm for the Prestwick facility — particularly the integration of automation.

The term speed brake is used interchangeably by some with spoilers, but they are different devices. A brake is a device used to add parasite drag–it doesn’t affect the lift made by the wing very much.

Flight Control Surfaces

The mold leaves the RTM press on the same conveyor on which it was delivered, but now is routed by the MES to the next enclosure, where mold lid separation is performed and the spoiler continues to cool to room temperature. Next stop is the demolding area, where the now cooled spoiler is removed from the mold and mandrels are separated. Molds are prepared for cleaning; mandrels are loaded onto one of several turntables that stores each mandrel vertically. Boyd says these were designed to allow operators to easily access each mandrel in a configuration that maximizes storage efficiency.

When the pilot activates the spoilers, the plates flip up into the air stream. The flow over the wing is disturbed by the spoiler, the drag of the wing is increased, and the lift is decreased. Spoilers can be used to "dump" lift and make the airplane descend; or they can be used to slow the airplane down as it prepares to land. When the airplane lands on the runway, the pilot usually brings up the spoilers to kill the lift, keep the plane on the ground, and make the brakes work more efficiently. The friction force between the tires and the runway depends on the "normal" force, which is the weight minus the lift. The lower the lift, the better the brakes work. The additional drag of the spoilers also slows the plane down.

What the Right Honourable Sturgeon and few people in attendance at that ribbon-cutting could anticipate was the tumult and chaos about to be visited upon the global economy by the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, on that Feb. 28, the commercial aerospace industry was still a few weeks away from a nearly total collapse in passenger air travel, and the attendant plunge in demand for new aircraft that would follow — not to mention aircraft already in service.

Indeed, at full rate production, this line will produce primary aerospace structures at a pace — with quality and consistency — heretofore unseen in aerocomposites manufacturing. At a rate of 65 shipsets per month, which would include Airbus’s new A321XLR, the Spirit line will produce almost 6,500 spoilers a year. At a theoretical rate of 100 shipsets per month, that number jumps to 10,000.

The Future The Elephant In The Room

The wing spar is crucial to the structural integrity of the wing. You normally won’t see the spar, as it forms the internal ‘backbone’ of an airplane wing. They are usually extremely strong, and in some cases, are designed to flex to allow for a smoother ride in turbulence.

On the figure, the airplane's right wing spoiler is deployed, while the left wing spoiler is stored flat against the wing surface (as viewed from the rear of the airplane). The flow over the right wing will be disturbed by the spoiler, the drag of this wing will be increased, and the lift will decrease relative to the left wing. The lift force (F) is applied at the center of pressure of the segment of the wing containing the spoiler. This location is some distance (L) from the aircraft center of gravity which creates a torque

Moreover, this is a product and manufacturing line that is destined to live on beyond the A320 and beyond the spoiler structure itself. Airbus’ Latto, at that Feb. 28 ceremony, said that Airbus’s and Spirit’s work re-imagining and industrializing the A320 spoiler has given the product new life: “We have future-proofed this spoiler to give us flexibility for its use in other future programs.” Airbus’ Smith notes that the work to industrialize and automate the RTM spoiler is the first of many key steps to come. “The spoiler offers a relatively simple structure to prove the concepts and benefits for more complex and demanding structures, such as re-thinking of wing tips devices, wing skins and high-curvature fairings. In a high-rate, low-cost environment — in aerospace terms — the more integration and modular assemblies we can do, the better.”

Once Airbus made the decision to update the spoilers, conducted the trade studies and subsequent materials and process (M&P) development, it then needed a partner to develop the manufacturing processes to fabricate them. For this Airbus, in mid-2017, turned to one of its longtime suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kan., U.S.). More specifically, it turned to Spirit AeroSystems (Europe), the company’s R&D and manufacturing campus in Prestwick, U.K., located on the western coast of Scotland about 75 miles southwest of Edinburgh. The sprawling Prestwick campus, adjacent to the Glasgow Prestwick Airport, was founded in 1935 as Scottish Aviation Ltd., and later became BAE Systems Aerostructures. Spirit then acquired the facilities in 2006.

Enter Spirit Aerosystems

You can download your own copy of this simulator for use off line. The program is provided as Spoilrol.zip. You must save this file on your hard drive and "Extract" the necessary files from Spoilrol.zip. Click on "Rolsview.html" to launch your browser and load the program.

Imagine designing an airliner that needs to operate over a wide variety of airspeeds safely. The plane will need to handle well during departures and approaches, flying somewhere around 150 knots. It will also need to fly well when operating at altitude at over 500 knots. The flight controls are going to need to change a little for the different operating envelopes.

Step 8. An operator stands at a workbench before the lower half of an A320 spoiler RTM mold, prior to lower skin, spars and upper skin preform loading. Each spoiler variation has three aluminum molds. Source | CW

Boyd says preform assembly and mold loading represents the most labor-intensive step in a spoiler manufacturing line that uses remarkably little labor at all. Here, operators collect upper skin, lower skin and spar preforms sent from the warehouse by the MES and deliver them to one of two assembly stations. Each station consists of a metallic table, arrayed with fixtures and clamps. On this table and into the fixtures operators place a series of black aluminum mandrels that, when assembled together, will hold and position spar preforms inside the spoiler. Once the mandrels are assembled, they are then transferred to a mandrel cassette, a red metallic frame that holds the mandrels in their assembled configuration, but presents them on edge. This allows the operator to easily and quickly install preforms and adjust their position on each mandrel.

How Do Airplane Spoilers Work?

You can download your own copy of this simulator for use off line. The program is provided as Spoil.zip. You must save this file on your hard drive and "Extract" the necessary files from Spoil.zip. Click on "Spoilview.html" to launch your browser and load the program.

On the other hand, a spoiler is designed to stall a specific part of the wing, thereby significantly reducing the lift it makes. It adds drag too, but it primarily dumps lift. Since it does disrupt lift and create drag, a normal spoiler might be considered both a lift spoiler and a drag-producing brake.

The MES is a product of ThyssenKrupp (Essen, Germany), the systems integrator that provided some of the manufacturing hardware and material handling equipment Spirit uses. Boyd says the software is off-the-shelf from ThyssenKrupp, but it’s been customized for the spoiler production line to provide Industry 4.0 capability. The MES was written not just to track material status and manufacturing progress throughout the plant, but to guide and prompt operator activity through every step — when to move material from point to point, when to load machines, when to unload machines, etc. “We don’t want an operator to make a move here unless the MES says to make a move,” Boyd notes. Moreover, he says, MES provides full data traceability, which allows Spirit to capture and see full M&P information, from the raw material as it comes in the door to the finished spoiler as it goes out the door.

Spoilers are devices on the wing that “spoil,” or reduce, the lift being made. They can be used in several ways, both in flight and on the ground. Flight spoilers add drag to help slow the plane down during flight, and ground spoilers are used during landing to help stop the plane.

What Are Slats?

Slats are also high lift devices. But, unlike flaps, they are located on the leading edge of the aircraft wing. Like flaps, slats move symmetrically and allow the aircraft to fly slower. Not all aircraft have slats, and you’ll usually find them on larger commercial aircraft.

Ground spoilers solve this problem by disrupting the wing’s lift so severely that the weight is transferred quickly to the wheels and brakes. They work in concert with the plane’s wheel brakes and engine thrust reversers to stop the plane.

Aleks is a Boldmethod co-founder and technical director. He's worked in safety and operations in the airline industry, and was a flight instructor and course manager for the University of North Dakota. You can reach him at aleks@boldmethod.com.

From a Spirit AeroSystems perspective, the spoiler production line demonstrates not just the cost-effectiveness of new technology, but how composites can be matured and leveraged for application in next-generation aircraft. And the Prestwick campus in particular is banking on out-of-autoclave (OOA) M&P as a significant competitive advantage in the aerocomposites supply chain. “This program is clearly a significant milestone in our out-of-autoclave journey,” Spirit’s Sean Black says. “But it was enabled by several things that are critical to the company going forward: automation, software, support from academia and government support.”

Alex Udris

Once Spirit was selected as the manufacturing partner, Black says, “Spirit embarked on the journey of full process optimization of the RTM spoiler design.” This included another trade study and, ultimately, design optimization. The design and manufacturing factors to be considered for the spoiler are considerable: Large mechanical loads, cantilevered structure, drop-in replacement, dimensional conformance, cost-effectiveness, high-rate manufacture, sustainability. Spirit took six months and conducted its own trade study, evaluating metal and composite options, including a variety of composites manufacturing processes — in and out of autoclave. “This project had high visibility and focus within the Airbus system,” Pinner notes. “We took a focused, end-to-end, design-to-cost approach.”

Ian Latto, project leader spoilers for Airbus at the company’s Bristol, U.K., location, says the spoilers on the A320 are one of the few wing components that had not needed to be redesigned since the plane’s 1987 debut. However, as Airbus considered higher build rates for the A320 family, a redesign of the spoilers was necessary to realize the cost and rate capabilities of new tech- nologies. Further, as Airbus looked to the future, it knew it had to migrate spoiler manufacture away from hand layup and toward “a highly automated, low-variation, high-quality manufacturing process,” says Latto.

Flaps often have several different settings. These settings can be altered based on the phase of flight and desired flight characteristics. The larger stages of flap, often called ‘drag flap,’ are used to slow the aircraft down to final approach speed.

Back on the tables, as plies are cut, the ABB robot places them on a stacking station at the end of the row of tables. Here, a video camera performs a quick inspection of each ply. The plies are then sorted and kitted according to their end use — skins, spars, ribs — and then spot welded together, activating a binder in the NCF. Complete kits are next moved by the ABB robot to a stacking plate, which is, basically, a steel tray. On this tray is a QR code that specifies the type of kit it holds, whether upper skin, lower skin, spar or rib. The QR code is scanned by the robot, which logs the kit with a manufacturing execution system (MES), the software that drives the entire spoiler production line

How Flaps Work

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Aircraft Position Lights

Aircraft Position Lights - Exterior aircraft lighting includes position, anti-collision, landing, and taxi lights. Rotating beacons are turned on any time you're in the aircraft, day or night. The position lighting is on by default for night operations. Landing and taxi lights are straightforward in their use case.s

The touchdown area lights are white lights, arranged in lateral rows, that run perpendicular to the centerline within the first three thousand feet on the approach end of the runway. This helps pilots determine the optimal touchdown area along the runway.

Aircraft Position Lights

I like Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL). I've had situations in which an airport is so close to local buildings and streets that it blends right in. The REIL strobes are distinct and help set the runway apart from the surrounding lighting.

Exterior Lights

They can be found on the edges of the tarmac near the runway end lights and illuminate the approach portion of the runway. At non-towered airports equipped with PCL, the default action is to activate REILs beside the standard lights when keyed up.

I remember the first time I keyed up the intensity on the runway lights on the final. I was shooting a late evening approach and there was fog accumulating near the runway, obscuring the taxiway. Since it was after hours, I gave my mic button seven clicks to fire up the facility lighting and give me maximum intensity.

They say you can adjust the lights with 3 or 5 clicks to lower the intensity if needed, but I never do. I've always enjoyed the lights at night. Approach landing systems help mitigate this issue and there are several types of ALS systems.

These lighting systems might also be the most confusing aspect of aircraft lighting. There are many different variations, each designed to maximize visibility in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) or night conditions. Lights are a key component in operating an aircraft.

Where Does It End? Where Does It Begin?

Whether it's ground lighting at airports to guide us, or lighting on our aircraft to help us be seen, lighting will forever be vital in our safety. The number of lighting systems are many so here's Aviation Lights For Aircraft: A Complete Guide.

On aircraft with tricycle landing gear, taxi lights are often mounted on the fixed portion of the nose landing gear. These are installed at a downward angle to the centerline of the aircraft to provide illumination directly in front of the aircraft and some to the left and right of the plane.

I often worried about the possibility of missing my target airport in unfamiliar skies altogether when I first started. I realized that with practice, identifying airports was easier and became second nature. I realized that seeing an airport was just as much about the lights that I could see to identify them as it was the absence of light around them.

Aircraft navigation lights, also referred to as position lights, are designed to indicate airplane position, flight direction and airplane orientation relative to an observer. The navigation light system is comprised of the red and green lights installed in the wing tips and the white light on the aft end of the vertical stabilizer.

Rotating Beacons And Anti Collision Lights

Sectional charts are the way to go for reference on what each airport offers with regard to lighting. A star above the airport designation symbol suggests a rotating beacon is present and operable from sunset to sunrise, and a capital letter "L" indicates runway lighting is in operation from sunset to sunrise.

If you're interested in the type of lighting equipped at each airport, you can refer to your Airport/Facility Directory. An anti collision light system will contain one or more lights. The rotating beacon I mentioned that is on by default at all times is part of this system.

Other lights that might be included as anti-collision lights are mounted above the fuselage or on top of the tail and are installed in a way that does not interfere with the operation of the aircraft.

Large transport aircraft will mount an anti collision light above and below the aircraft for optimal visibility. Taxi lights are designed to illuminate the ground while taxiing the aircraft and for general ground operation including towing and moving the aircraft.

Position Lights

These are much less powerful and provide less range of illumination, which I'm thankful for, as I'd hate to be blinded by an aircraft taxiing by me. Landing lights on smaller aircraft are usually located midway on the leading edge of one or each of the wings.

Landing lights for larger aircraft are often located in the leading edge of the wing close to the fuselage. These lights may be controlled by a relay, or may be hooked up directly to an electric circuit.

RAIL and SFL are angled at the approach end. The Omnidirectional Approach Lighting Systems operate in a similar manner but are observable from all directions with no specific angle towards the approach path of the active runway.

In order for an aircraft to be approved for night operations, they require position lights that meet the minimum requirements specified by Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. A conforming set of position lights consists of a red, green, white light.

Runway Lighting

The A/FD/instrument approach charts are your best friends here. The type of runway and facility lighting is detailed in either and distinguishing one runway from the other is important in poor conditions. The operation of these runway lights is detailed in these publications as well.

NOTAMs are another important document to review before flight planning as these will detail any inoperable systems. Inoperable lighting systems could change the nature of your flight and your ability to land at an airport if conditions deteriorate.

On larger aircraft, taxi lights are often reinforced by wingtip clearance lights installed on the same circuitry. Taxi lights are often mounted in recessed areas of the wing leading edge, often in the same location as the landing light.

Here in North America, the lighting systems that mark each end of the runway are visible in two directions. When you're on final you'll see green lights that denote the start of the runway, and red lights that indicate the end.

‍Aircraft Lighting Systems

I've landed once at San Diego International, which has a large displaced threshold that spans 500 feet. Bright lights on either side of the asphalt mark the area where the touchdown point begins and ends. These lights are colored green.

Both civilian and military airport beacons operate from dusk to dawn. An airport beacon that is operating during daylight hours indicates that instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are in effect. These conditions are usually in effect when the weather is especially inclement, or deteriorating rapidly.

The rotating beacons employed are most often rotated by an electric motor. Some designs include fixed light with rotating mirrors. These lights are housed in red glass fixtures and rotate on an arc. Of course, modern aircraft use an LED bulb for better visibility and reliability.

This light is used for positional awareness of other aircraft in congested airspace or in inclement weather. It's important to refer to the AF/D for specifics regarding airport lights. The most fundamental component of runway lighting are runway edge lights.

Knowing Your Lights

These encase the edges of the runway at intervals of no more than 200 feet and are colored white. On ILS equipped runways, the ends of the runway edge lights beyond the landing aid lights are often colored yellow.

I'm a fan of these lights as they line the outermost boundaries of the runway and help you determine where the asphalt ends. The light in these is initiated by a voltage discharge that ionizes xenon when fired off.

These lights are bright and can be seen through thick fog and cloud cover. I sometimes dislike their usage when in the clouds as the flash refracts off of moisture in the air and can be blinding if not mounted far enough away from the cockpit.

Larger aircraft might include the ability to independently control the position lights, panel lights and their intensities. Traditional position lights use incandescent bulbs, but I do love the new LED lights that have been introduced on modern aircraft.

Safety In Inclement Weather

These are superior due to their great visibility, reliability, and eco-friendly consumption. I've always felt a bump or two when touching down on the centerline as the nose wheel will sometimes bounce on the protruding lights.

Despite the small bumps, centerline lighting is close to flush with the runway surface and starts at seventy-five feet from the runway threshold and is spaced at intervals of 50 feet. These will sometimes alternate red and white when nearing either end of the runway, turning red in the last 500 feet or so.

These provide lighting for exterior and interior use. Exterior lighting provides illumination for night time operations, flight into inclement weather, inspecting possible icing conditions, and as a way for other aircraft to see you at night, and during the day.

This might seem obvious, but interior lighting provides light for the instruments, cockpit, cabin, and sections occupied by pilots and passengers. When I shoot instrument approaches, I always double check the lighting configuration at my destination airport, especially if I'm unfamiliar with the area.

The Lighting System Designed With Pilot Interaction In Mind

Airports with runways that run in parallel can be especially tricky so knowing your lights is vital. I'm a fan of the strobes for this reason. Very few non-airport lights will strobe at you with the intensity and frequency that the RAIL, SFL or REIL do, and this is an effect I welcome any time I fly into IMC or night time operations.

One of the most important components within ALS are the Runway Alignment Indicator Light (RAIL) and/or Sequenced Flashing Light (SFL). These bright white lights strobe in sequence and are installed between rows of white lights starting at one thousand to one thousand, four hundred feet and running out from two thousand four hundred feet to three thousand feet into the approach area.

These strobes are sequenced to flash in the direction of the approach portion of the runway and the result is both a relief in inclement conditions, and a welcoming sight in any conditions. The ALS will begin with rows of green lights to help distinguish the approach portion of the runway.

Beyond this row of lights you'll see a few rows of lights. Colored white, these are placed at intervals that extend out between 2,500 and 3,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. ALSF-1 and ALSF-2 will set the intervals for these lights at 100 feet.

Beacon In The Dark

Other ALS configurations will set these intervals at 200 feet between each row. There's another row of perpendicular white lights that are set at the 1,000 foot mark. The ALSF-2 configuration has additional rows of perpendicular lights running at the five hundred and one thousand foot marks.

When I was in flight training, I was impressed at how hard it is to find an airport. With all of the ground facilities, control tower, mile long runway. How could it be so difficult? I've cross-referenced GPS and still managed to slip over airports without a thought.

I can recount many times in which I haven't been able to see the airport or runway until the last bit of my approach. The worst time to search for your destination airport is often when you're in a VFR flight over the top of the fog.

The runway will remain invisible in even the best cases when you have low lying fog. SkyTough.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

Interior Lights

This site also participates in other affiliate programs including but not limited to ShareASale, CJ, and ClickBank, and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. The red light denotes the port (left) side of the aircraft, the green unit, the starboard (right) side, the white light is mounted on the vertical stabilizer.

The red and green lights are usually mounted on the tips of the wings. There are several variations of circuits used for position lights. All circuits are guarded by fuses, and many circuits are constructed with flashing and dimming modalities.

Smaller and/or older general aviation aircraft are most often produced with a simple control switch and circuitry to match. Some non-towered airports offer lighting that may be activated by the pilot. This type of lighting provides a way for pilots to actively toggle the lighting systems and select the best intensity for their use.

These lights may be activated anywhere within five miles of the facility. Pilots spin up pilot-controlled lighting by tapping the mic button while tuned to the destination airport's designated frequency. Once active, the system is powered up for a maximum of fifteen minutes.

The intensity is adjustable. The rear position light must provide a minimum intensity of 20 candles in the horizontal plane. The color of the position light must be controlled with regard to the chromaticity specification: aviation red (y is not greater than 0.335; and z is not greater than 0.002);

aviation green (x is not greater than 0.440-0.320y; x is not greater than y-0.170; and y is not less than 0.390-0.170x); aviation white (x is not less than 0.300 and not greater than 0.540; y is not less than x-0.040 or y-0.010, whichever is the smaller; and y is not greater than x+0.020 nor 0.636-0.400x).

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