Besides those lights under that plain that you can see from a distance, do they have dark-yellowish headlights or something?
I ask this because on wednesday night I was going home, (i’n Coogee -(sydney)) and above the airport I see two stationary lights, a smaller one and then a larger one a bit lower and to the right (from my point of view). And that was in the general direction of the airport, I tried take a picture but one of the lights was gone and then both gone and then both came back again…the lights were definitly not postlamps or anything of the such and it seems that when the larger one went away it went downwards (but then came back again - or it was a new ligth at the same place)
so anyway, I’m a rational guy and don’t believe in UFOs and crazy stuff like that and the fact that it was close to the airport makes it pretty much certain it was some kind of plane, but the only explanation I could come up with was that the plain was actually facing me (since from my perspective it seems not to move for more than 3-4 minutes) and that it had a haidlight, or that it was some kind of flare that stays in the air.
They have navigation lights usually consisting of a red light on the left wingtip, a green light on the right wingtip, and a whitle light facing the rear. These are not very bright.
It’s common that there are also bright strobe lights at the wingtips that flash every few seconds.
But what you saw is probably a landing light – a bright light something like a single automotive headlight, that faces forward. It’s usually on when the airplane is in the landing pattern.
I test the lights of 737’s on the production line. In one test, all of the outside lights are tested. We would start with the nose gear light. This would probably be as close to a headlight on an airplane. Power is controlled by proximity switches so the light will only come on when the nose gear is extended. Next we check the landing lights. These are the really bright lights on the inboard leading edge of the wing. These are the lights that are used during landing, they are shut off as soon as the plane touches down. Under the same lens is the turnoff lights. Along with the nose gear light, they provide illumination when the airplane is moving on the ground. They are angled to illuminate the ground in front of the wings.
On the body forward of the wing are the side illumination lights. These lights are used only at night to illuminate the engine intake area. These are turned on just before the aircraft reaches the terminal. Don’t want anyone getting sucked into the engine. On each wing tip you have two lights, a clearance light (a white flashing light) and a navigation light (red on the right, green on the left). On the tail of the airplane just above the APU exhaust is the rear clearance light. The wingtip and rear clearance lights all flash, they all use capacitance discharge power supplies.
Next we check the upper and lower strobe lights. These are flashing red lights, one on the bottom, one on the top of the airplane right about the middle. The last lights we check are an option, some customers have them, some don’t. These are logo illumination lights. Located on top of the elevators, these light up the tail of the aircraft when it is on the ground. There are various service lights on the airplane but these are only used when the airplane is being serviced. There are also lights next to each door or emergency hatch. These are part of the emergency exit light system are are tested with the interior lights.
I’m most familiar with the lights Xema mentioned. The planes and helicopters I’ve flown don’t have such elaborate systems as the ones racer72 describes on the “heavies”.
Light aircraft will usually have two bright “headlights” in the same housing. One is the landing light, which points forward, and the other is the taxi light, which angles down a bit. The landing light allows the pilot to illuminate the landing area, and the taxi light works just like the headlight on a car and allows the pilot to see while he maneuvers on the ground. The lights are normally in the leading edge of one wing or on the engine cowl below the propeller. Some larger light aircraft might have them on retractable landing gear strut, or the light might even retract into the wing. But on light aircraft simpler is better, and the lights will be on the wing or on the nose.
Racer72, Westjet flies a number of older 737-200s. They have a light on the wing, towards the outside end “near” the aileron that retracts back into the wing as the aircraft gains speed. Do you know what it lights up?
It’s there to advertise what airline owns the plane. It shines back on the fin and rudder of the plane. Hey, the airline paid for the nice paint job on the tail, they might as well show it off at night.
