Anyone into Civil Aviation? I have a Question.

[SportingShooter 0]

I was out lamping for a bit tonight and there is an airport not 2 miles away from me, only a small one for civil aviation and pleasure craft etc.

 

What I was wandering was, what colours do Aircraft fly at night?

 

I was watching something in the scope tonight and it was flying a pinky/red colour, not suggesting it was anything untoward, I know it was an aircraft, but not sure what.

 

Any ideas?

 

Regards

SS

[speedlamper 0]

I was out lamping for a bit tonight and there is an airport not 2 miles away from me, only a small one for civil aviation and pleasure craft etc.

 

What I was wandering was, what colours do Aircraft fly at night?

 

I was watching something in the scope tonight and it was flying a pinky/red colour, not suggesting it was anything untoward, I know it was an aircraft, but not sure what.

 

Any ideas?

 

Regards

SS

i know nothing about planes but i never miss aircrash investagtion and im sure i remember hearing on that they fly red on one side and blue on the other so you know which direction the planes flying

[jacob 28]

red,green and white

[Guest traceyg]

its a ufo ss ready to take you to the other planet your from :whistling:

[Rolfe 2]

Knew it wouldn't be long before they came back to collect their alien offspring

[SportingShooter 0]

I wandered how long it would be before my visit to another planet came up in discussion

 

I was flashing them with S.O.S with my lamp but they steered clear from me. Perhaps my last visit was enough for them for a few months

 

[farlap 19]

I wandered how long it would be before my visit to another planet came up in discussion

 

I was flashing them with S.O.S with my lamp but they steered clear from me. Perhaps my last visit was enough for them for a few months

 

they should be showing a red lamp on the left and a green on the right......watch out with that torch as someone got prosecuted a few weeks back for blinding a pilot with a lamp from the ground at night!!!

[Geoff.C 0]

An old saying I remember from school days "There's a little red port, left in the bottle" This reminds you that port is left, and the red lamp is on the left side.

 

Light aircraft have to display, as Farlap says, a red lamp on the end of the port wing and a green one on the starboard. There is also a white one shining backwards in the tail. There is a required arc of light, I think the wing ones are 90 degrees from ahead to the side, and the tail one is 140 degrees total. This is so if you are flying at night, the amount of nav light you can see, gives you a good indication of the other aircraft's heading.

These days, as well as the compulsory lights, many light aircraft display white wing tip strobes and/or white to pink belly strobes. Also, a strobe on the top of the fuselage. The fuselage strobes, can have a shield to stop your own lights from reflecting back from cloud etc and so can often only be seen from the side or behind.