Thursday, November 15, 2018

Here Is Information On 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.

The heliport can be located on top of structures like a building or on a water body or land. They can also be situated on water vessels like a yacht or a ship. Buildings and other facilities within the heliport can also be considered to be part of it. Helistop, helideck and helipad are alternate names for heliports.

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.

Helistops are normally not oriented in any particular direction, but usually have definitive departure and approach paths. There is a difference in the numbering between airports and helistops. FAA and ICAO recommend that there should be an H at the middle of the TLOF. The H should be oriented in the desired departure direction.

It is also required for helipads to have information included in the TLOF location. The maximum amount of weight that can be accommodated by the facility should be included in the information. This means that this weight should not be exceeded by helicopters that land on the facility. The box of information should also have information about the biggest helicopter that is allowed to land on the location included. Before landing, pilots read this information.

Lighting is a very important part of any heliport design. The facility should be installed with lighting that meets specific aeronautical standards. Perimeter lights are usually installed around the TLOF region. The lights may be installed flush on the TLOF itself. Alternatively, they may be installed on metallic or concrete extensions placed off the perimeter of the TLOF.

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.

Before the invention of LEDs, incandescent lights were dominant in this industry. Currently, LEDs are dominating as the initial incandescent lights are being replaced. The reason why LEDs are preferred is because they have lower energy consumption and are cheap too. Also, LEDs have been proven to be able to remain functional for longer than incandescent lighting. The operation cost of heliports is reduced by their durability.




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