Every light on an aircraft has its own purpose. They can be broken down into two categories based on what it makes visible, either aircraft or pilot visibility. Lights that improve aircraft visibility are lighting systems that help make the aircraft more visible to other aircraft while in flight. Lights that improve pilot visibility are lighting systems that make it clearer for the pilot to look out the flight deck windows.

The modernization of aircraft has seen a correlated increase in the amount of AC power systems providing the vessel its electrical capabilities. Many of these electrical systems operate solely on AC. On the other hand, lighter aircraft tend to function better when using DC systems. The model AC electrical system would be composed of an AC alternator, a system that regulates the aforementioned alternator, as well as fuses and wiring.

Aircraft come equipped with a myriad of lights that are designed to perform different functions. Whether it be navigation, safety, improving visibility, or signaling, the lights on an aircraft are essential to its signaling communications. An aircraft’s external lighting includes navigation lights, anti-collision lights, landing lights, taxi lights, and wing lights.

If you’ve been to an airport at night, you’ve probably noticed the array of vivid, sparkling lights as aircraft glide down the tarmac. The beaming lights on the airframe are an assortment of fixtures that each serve a specific purpose to aircraft and air traffic control. A few light assemblies that are universal to every commercial aircraft include anti-collision lights, taxi lights, and landing lights.

The signs, ground marking and lighting for airport are marked in specific ways that make sense only to those with a trained eye. As a child, being in the passenger seat of your parents’ car, you eventually learn the rules of the road - stay in the lines, green means go, and watch for pedestrians. But being a passenger in an airplane, it’s harder to get a firm grasp of what’s happening at the airport before the plane takes off. Many of us take no notice of what’s going on around them, not even realizing how much work goes into preparing for the flight before passengers even board.