Friday, November 16, 2018

Essential Facts About Helicopter Landing Lights

By James Nelson


Helicopters are a special kind of aircraft that does not need a runway in order to land or takeoff from the ground. The aircraft can lift itself up from a landing position without having to go through horizontal movement first. As such, they can land and takeoff from locations with much speed and ease. An area that is specifically designated for the use by helicopters to land and takeoff are referred to as heliports. This is worth knowing about Helicopter landing lights.

This area may be on land, water or on top of a structure such as a building. Similarly, the area may be constructed on a water vessel such as a ship or yacht. The term heliport is used to include any facilities and buildings included in the area if there are any. There are other names that are used to refer to heliports, that is, helistop, helideck, and helipad.

Apart from helicopters, heliports can be used by other vertical lift platforms like drones for landing and taking off. Usually, heliports have one or multiple touchdown and lift off areas. Also, it might have other facilities like fuel stations and hangars. Custom facilities are included in heliports in large towns and cities. A lot of noise is made by helicopters. This factor has limited their adoption.

Helipads are usually oriented in any direction, but they have definitive approach and departure paths. The numbering in these facilities is not done in the same way it is done at airports. According to the recommendations of FAA and ICAO, the TLOF should have an H at the center. The H should be oriented in the preferred approach/departure direction.

The helipad as well is needed to incorporate useful information in the TLOF location. The maximum weight that can be supported by this facility should be specified in the TLOF. This implies that helicopters that weigh beyond the maximum amount should not use the helipad. The size of the largest helicopter that can land on the facility should be included in the information box as well. This information is read by pilots just before landing.

In any design of heliport, lighting is an essential part. Lighting that matches specific aeronautical standards should be installed in the facility. Usually, perimeter lights are installed near the TLOF area. These lights might be installed flush on the TLOF itself. Also, the light might be installed on metallic or concrete extensions positioned off the TLOF perimeter.

It is very important that the lighting should not constitute an obstruction with which the helicopter may collide. To avoid such collisions, the FAA requires all helipad lighting systems not to extend two inches above the FATO or TLOF. Currently, the lights are required to be green as an industry standard.

Incandescent lighting used to dominate this industry before LEDs were invented. Today, LEDs are taking over and traditional incandescent lights are being replaced by them. LEDs are preferred because they are cheap and have lower energy consumption. These products have also been determined to be capable of remaining functional for several years compared to traditional lighting. Their durability therefore reduces operation costs for heliports.




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