Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Useful Information Regarding 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.

The helipad is also required to include information in the TLOF area. The information should specify the maximum amount of weight the facility can accommodate. That means that helicopters that land on the area should not exceed this weight. Also, the information box should contain information regarding the largest size of helicopter that can land on the area. Pilots read this information before they land.

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.

The lighting should be installed in such a way that it cannot be obstructive to cause helicopter collision. To avoid this, all helistop lighting systems should not extend above the FATO or TLOF by two inches as required by FAA. The industry standard currently requires the light used to be green.

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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