What are the lights on an aircraft carrier?

In its developed form, the OLS consists of a horizontal row of green lights, used as a reference, and a column of vertical lights. The vertical lights signal whether the aircraft is too high, too low, or at the correct altitude as the pilot descends the glide slope towards the carrier’s deck.

How do runway lights work?

The lights marking the ends of the runway emit red light toward the runway to indicate the end of runway to a departing aircraft and emit green outward from the runway end to indicate the threshold to landing aircraft.

Why do airplane lights flash?

The strobes are intended to attract the attention of pilots on other aircraft, so they’ll know to keep a safe distance. The lights are powerful enough to shine through fog or thick clouds in bad weather. So chances are, the “flashing” you see in the night sky could be an aircraft’s strobe lights.

What do the different colored lights on a runway mean?

When viewed from the landing threshold, the runway centerline lights are white until the last 3,000 feet of the runway. The white lights begin to alternate with red for the next 2,000 feet, and for the last 1,000 feet of the runway, all centerline lights are red.

What do the cut lights mean on a plane?

Early in a no-radio or “zip-lip” approach (which is routine in modern carrier operations), Cut Lights are flashed for approximately 2–3 seconds to indicate that the aircraft is cleared to continue the approach. Subsequent flashes of the Cut Lights are used to prompt the pilot to add power.

How are the wave-off lights on a plane operated?

The wave-off lights are operated manually by the LSO. Some (particularly later) optical landing systems include additional lamps: Cut lights – Green lamps used to signal different things based on where the approaching aircraft is in its approach.

What happened to IFLOLS?

FLOLS is being replaced with IFLOLS. IFLOLS is currently in Phase II of the acquisition process, going through OPEVAL aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73). IFLOLS is expected to reach Phase III of the acquisition process (Production, Deployment, and Operational Support) in April 1999, with IOC in October 2000.

How does a pickle switch work on a light box?

A handle is provided so the LSO may select the position of the meatball. The pickle switch is attached to the end of the controller handle. As the handle on the LSO controller is moved up or down it lights three or four consecutive lamps in the light box thus providing a meatball.