Wondering Why Do Planes Have Headlights?
It’s hard to tell where our curious trail of thoughts would land us. You were at the airport today, hopelessly waiting for a four-hour delayed flight. And suddenly this question popped up in your mind, “Hey, why do planes have headlights?” That’s a valid one. What is the purpose of these lights? Do they help the pilot see through the pitch-black sky at night?
See, the headlights on a plane are technically called ‘landing lights’. These are indispensable parts of the anatomy of an aircraft. But their main job is not to light up the immediate exterior of the airplane or the route it’s taking. In fact, pilots don’t turn on these lights when flying at a high altitude. Then how do airplanes see at night? Let’s dig a little deeper!
Why Do Planes Have Headlights?
If you stay near an airport like me, you must see many airplanes going up and down from your terrace or on your way out. When you first spot the plane coming down, all you can see is a powerful white light in the shape of a little dot. I like to fancy it as a UFO. Those are the landing lights we were talking about. The beams get brighter and brighter as the plane lands. Here are a few basic features of plane headlights:
- These high-intensity lights are located on both wings adjacent to the fuselage (the main body of the aircraft)
- They might be only 8 inches in diameter, but these 600-watt bulbs work like a beast
- Pilots don’t keep these lights on for the entire flight. They are meant to be used in some specific scenarios
You may ask, “Why do planes have lights on their wingtips?” The external lighting system of an aircraft is more complicated than a simple pair of headlights. Before we discuss the function of the landing lights, let’s take a glance at the different types of lights that are there:
- Navigation lights: Located on both wingtips and the tail—red, green, and white in color. These are for the benefit of other pilots and traffic controllers to pin down the aircraft’s position in low visibility
- Beacon lights: Anti-collision lights, red or white in color, located on the top and bottom of the aircraft’s body
- Strobe lights: White flashing lights on both wingtips and tail meant to make the plane more visible
- Taxi lights: Headlights located on the nose landing gear, dimmer than the landing lights
RELATED ARTICLE: The History of Passport: A Journey Through Time
You got a fair idea of the whats and wheres of aircraft lights. Now we can move on to ‘why do planes have headlights’:
1. For safe landing and takeoff
As evident from its name, the landing lights are turned on before the plane approaches the ground. Imagine if there were airport workers on the runway or some vehicle parked in the middle! The runway lights won’t be enough for the pilot to identify any obstruction on their way down. That’s when the landing lights come into action. The same goes with the flight taking off especially if the airport is located amid a busy city.
2. For taxiing
As you know, the plane moves around on the ground and takes a few quick turns right before taking off and after landing. In aviation terms, it’s called taxiing. The landing lights along with the taxi light in the front brighten up the taxiway so the plane can cover its route safely.
3. For better visibility
One of the main purposes of these headlights is to make the aircraft more noticeable. When it’s in the sky at night or flying in low visibility, other pilots can spot it from far away.
4. To avoid collisions
Whether it’s because of a malfunction at the traffic controller’s end or some other technical issue, sometimes two airplanes bump into each other. It happens more when the planes are near the ground.
According to a New York Times source, a good number of passenger planes almost crash into each other every other day. We don’t get to know about these cases because it doesn’t always end up in fatal accidents. Airplanes have headlights to avoid such unpleasant circumstances. A pilot utilizes them while flying below 10,000 ft or through a crowded air route.
5. Emergency situations
These lights work as a connecting link between the aircraft crew and the ground personnel during an emergency landing or any such crisis. Since the landing lights are pointed downward, they are highly effective during a search operation or rescue mission.
That reminds us, “Do helicopters have headlights too?” Yes, they do and those are very similar to that of a plane. There are 4 types of lights on a chopper: 1) Anti-collision, 2) Search, 3) Position, and 4) Landing lights.
RELATED ARTICLE: Why Do All Watches Show Time As 10:10 – The 10:10 Time History
What Do Pilots See When Flying At Night?
You can imagine the aviator roaming around in the clouds, passing by the stars. But what is the reality of it? A pilot writes on Quora, “I nearly always keep the screens and instrument lights down low, to keep my eyes dark adapted. Then, I look outside for traffic and watch the stars and planets. It is a truly dark sky—at least if the plane is away from the cities. The Milky Way and zodiacal light are right there if you look. If a comet is going by, you see it.”
For the most part, a pilot’s view is a black curtain outside the aircraft. They can’t even see through a pile of clouds. You may ask, “Do airplanes have horns? Why don’t they use the sound to unblock their path?” Yes, planes have horns but they are not for honking at fellow pilots. Like landing lights, the airplane horn is a means of communication with the traffic controller staff on the ground.
Let’s come back to the pilot’s point of view. They have multiple resources to compensate for the lack of visuals. There are GPS, compass, and radar devices to keep them safe and steady in the night sky. They can track how fast they are flying and at what altitude. The weather tracker helps them fly through thunderstorms and other adverse scenarios. Pilots also use an attitude indicator to understand whether the aircraft is running parallel to the horizon.
Overall, flying an aircraft at night is an uplifting experience with stunning spectacles outside and less traffic and turbulence. After discussing ‘why do planes have headlights’ and how they function, it should make the journey of an aviator more vivid in your mind.
