Thursday, December 12, 2013

Obstruction Lighting Is A Crucial Component Of Avoiding Aviation Collisions

By Cornelia White


Aviation obstruction lighting first appeared on tall structures of various kinds in the 1930s. With the advent of frequent nighttime flights, it soon became an absolute necessity. In order to protect the lives of pilots, essential equipment and ground personnel, systems were put into place. Since then, strict rules, enforced regulations and effective methods continue to be developed to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Ultimately, obstruction illumination fundamentally entails signal lights to limit collisions relating to planes and a wide variety of objects that are on the earth. For illustration, cell phone, radio and television towers are made to be more evident through the utilization of gear that produces high-intensity illumination. Although these illumination setups are most visible when used usually in the night, they also are utilized on various taller structures in the day time.

While humans on the land may typically not give it a lot of thought, there are actually numerous hazardous elements that aviators must cope with on an every day basis. Besides communications towers, there are countless other objects that must be avoided such as industrial chimney smokestacks, wind turbines and overly tall buildings. Even some lesser structures call for lights when close to airfields where aircraft fly very low.

Numerous procedures for practices are introduced by the International Civil Aviation Organization. By and large, their guidelines are accepted globally. With a program of logical regulations, it is less difficult to protect public safety, prevent dangerous collisions and enforce compliance. By working with the same sets of operations internationally, misunderstandings are significantly decreased.

Over the years, many different light systems have been developed. The type of system used can vary widely depending on each separate application. Some obstructions may only require one single beacon lamp. It may be necessary for larger hazards to be equipped with a number of lights placed in specific configurations. In many cases, a pilot will be able to determine the actual type, as well as the height, of a potentially dangerous object.

These signal beacon devices can be powered by a multitude of light sources. In the past few years, LED technologies have been applied widely throughout the aviation warning industry. Nevertheless, some facilities still depend on lamps which include metal halide, high pressure sodium or common incandescent types. At any rate, they are all exclusively designed to ensure sufficient reliability, high intensity and adequate longevity.

In most cases, these beacons are chiefly red or white. The hue is ordinarily dictated by a mix of factors that could involve particular location, overall height and structure type. A white colored light may not be advisable in certain urban regions, because it could blend in with business oriented and domestic backgrounds. Still, they are very often used far and wide in many rural locations.

It is a prerequisite for high structures to possess obstruction lighting that is compliant to standardized regulations. The standards are essential to provide ease of navigation, basic public safety and safe flying conditions. These systems are definitely vital in avoiding potential life threatening injuries, heavy economic losses and severe property damage.




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