Saturday, December 1, 2018

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.

It is not only the helicopters that are made to use heliports for landing and takeoff, but also all other kinds of vertical lift platforms such as a drones. There are usually many landing spots and liftoff areas in a typical helistop. Other structures like a fueling station and a hangar may be present as well. There are also customs facilities in some helistops within large towns and cities. The idea of heliports has not been adopted broadly as the aircraft normally produce a lot of noise.

Helipads are usually oriented in any direction, but they have definitive approach and departure paths. The numbering in these facilities is not done in the same way it is done at airports. According to the recommendations of FAA and ICAO, the TLOF should have an H at the center. The H should be oriented in the preferred approach/departure direction.

It is also required for helipads to have information included in the TLOF location. The maximum amount of weight that can be accommodated by the facility should be included in the information. This means that this weight should not be exceeded by helicopters that land on the facility. The box of information should also have information about the biggest helicopter that is allowed to land on the location included. Before landing, pilots read this information.

It is very important to include lighting in any heliport facility. There are certain aeronautical standards that should be followed when installing lighting in the facility. The TLOF area is usually fitted with perimeter lights. These lights could be installed flush on the TLOF itself. However, they can also be installed on metallic or concrete extensions placed off the perimeter of the TLOF.

It is very important that the lighting should not constitute an obstruction with which the helicopter may collide. To avoid such collisions, the FAA requires all helipad lighting systems not to extend two inches above the FATO or TLOF. Currently, the lights are required to be green as an industry standard.

The industry was dominated by incandescent lighting before the LEDs were adopted. Nowadays the LEDs are becoming dominant and replacing the traditional incandescent lights. The LEDs are preferable because of their affordability and low consumption of energy. The LEDs have a longer life in comparison to traditional lighting. Because of this, the operating cost of helistop is reduced.




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