Your eyes adjust slowly to changing light
Taxi Lights
intensities, which can cause fatigue or eyestrain.
Aircraft lighting designs produce as little
Taxi lights help the pilot maneuver the aircraft
discomfort as possible. As an AE, you maintain
before and after flight. On aircraft having a
the lights. You should follow the specifications
nosewheel, the taxi light assembly mounts on the
when replacing fixtures and lamps. You should
movable strut so the light turns with the wheel.
observe the following general considerations when
Light installation provides maximum visibility for
working with the interior lighting of aircraft:
the pilot and co-pilot. (See figure 4-4 for a typical
taxi light installation.)
Use lenses to diffuse light that lies within
the pilot's field of vision.
In-Flight Refueling Probe Light
Eliminate all bright spots of light, direct
Most modern carrier aircraft have limited
range due to their small fuel capacity. To increase
range and flight time, day and night in-flight
Use sparingly any surface that reflects
refueling is necessary. Most naval shipboard
aircraft have provisions for in-flight refueling. For
Use quick-change lighting fixtures so that
night refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR) probe
lights mount on the fuselage forward of the probe.
lamps may be changed rapidly.
The light lens is usually red in color and
Instrument Lights
illuminates the refueling probe and drogue from
The first use of artificial light in aircraft
a typical IFR probe light installation.
modern aircraft depends on instruments; there-
Hover Lights and Spotlights
fore, instrument lighting is important. There are
different methods of instrument lighting, and
In helicopter installations, hover lights
which one is best makes a decision difficult. No
illuminate the area directly beneath the aircraft
matter what system of lighting is in the aircraft,
the light must not be visible outside the aircraft.
different purposes, including landing and search
Indirect (mask) lighting is desirable because
and rescue. A spotlight can be mounted in the
nose of a helicopter (fig. 4-5, callout 7), and it
can extend or retract. An ON/OFF/RETRACT
lamps mount in the instrument panel. The panel
has a reflector cover (mask), which has openings
switch on the pilot's control stick and a spring-
in it for observing the instruments. The light
l o a d e d , four-way thumb switch marked
reflects until it becomes diffused and floods the
E X T E N D / R E T R A C T / L E F T / R I G H T control
entire panel. Even though this system produces
the spotlight. It can rotate through 360 degrees
satisfactory lighting, it is not in common use today
of azimuth.
because of space and weight requirements.
INTERIOR LIGHTING
Various types of lights and lighting systems
Almost all lights and lighting systems fall under
one of the following types:
Instrument lighting
Cockpit lighting
Cabin and passageway lighting
Indicator lights
An important consideration in interior lighting
of aircraft is the prevention of undue eyestrain.