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Lv 6
? asked in Cars & TransportationAircraft · 10 years ago

Flashing lights on aircraft. Is there a code?

I notice the flashes are often at different speeds. Out here in the country (at night) they are all just little flashing lights. Could the speed of the flash give me clue what I'm seeing?

Update:

Lear 45, very excelent answer. I was hoping for something like different sized aircraft had different flash speeds. Not quite?

5 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I'm not aware of different flash speed for different aircraft types.

    Generally:

    Position Lights:

    Left Wing: Steady Red Light visible through 110 degrees from the nose

    Right Wing: Steady Green Light visible through 110 degrees from the nose

    Tail: Steady White Light visible through 70 degrees

    Anti-collision light (more than 1 may be installed): A red flashing flight, on small aircraft they are normally on the tail. On larger aircraft usually one on the belly and one on the top. Generally illuminated when the engines are running.

    Strobe lights: White alternating flashing lights usually on the wing tips. Generally switched on when entering the runway and switched off when leaving the runway after landing.

    You can ascertain the relative course of the aircraft based on the colour of the visible lights. For other aircraft it can be helpful to determine if there is a potential traffic conflict.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    By FAA regs they should flash 40 times per minute minimum. Due to capacitors loosing their values they can pulse faster sometimes and sometimes slower. No codes, no BS in the flashing. When you see a helicopter's anticollision light flashes, it's three times very rapidly but it's at least 40 times per minute. The red and green positions lights do not flash and are on steady all the time.

  • 10 years ago

    The only thing he missed is military aircraft position lights (the red and green ones) do flash sometimes per a switch in the cockpit.

  • 10 years ago

    It's not a code. It's telling the parts of the plane / craft.

    Note that there's different in the colour on each part of the craft? There, you have the ultimate answer.

    As for military crafts, most don't emit lights during the war. Yes, it's by a flip of a switch.

    Let me know if this works

    Have a nice day

    God bless

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  • 10 years ago

    It can be yes... An aircraft may flash their lights to indicate something to people on the ground

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