PA.III.A.K4· K
Airport & runway lighting
Airport and runway lighting systems
Airport lighting is a consistent color language:
White is runway, blue is taxiway, green is go, red is stop or danger, amber is caution.
finding the field
Look for the rotating beacon first:
| Beacon | Airport |
|---|---|
| White and green | Lighted civil land airport |
| White and yellow | Lighted water airport |
| White, white, green (dual-peaked white) | Military airport |
In a Class B, C, D, or E surface area, a daytime beacon suggests weather below basic VFR — ceiling under 1,000 feet, visibility under 3 miles, or both — so a clearance is required. Confirm it with ATIS.
REIL — runway end identifier lights — are synchronized white strobes at the threshold, marking one runway end among city lights.
the runway itself
Runway edge lights are white. On instrument runways the last 2,000 feet — or half the runway, whichever is less — are amber: how much pavement you have left.
Threshold lights are green from the approach side, red from the other. On a taxiway at night, red ahead means a departure end.
Bigger runways add touchdown zone lights (white, first 3,000 feet) and centerline lights (white, alternating red-and-white the last 3,000 feet, steady red the last 1,000).
Taxiways are blue at the edges, green down the centerline. Blue is never a runway.
VASI and PAPI
Both give a roughly three-degree glidepath, with obstruction clearance within 10 degrees of the extended centerline out to 4 nautical miles. Line up, or the indication means nothing.
A VASI has two bars, near and far:
- Red over white — on path. Red over white, you're all right.
- White over white — too high.
- Red over red — too low. Red over red, you're dead.
A PAPI is a single row of four lights:
- Two red, two white — on path
- Three white, one red — slightly high; four white — well high
- Three red, one white — slightly low; four red — well low
Inside Class D, requires you to remain at or above the glidepath until a lower altitude is necessary for a safe landing.
REFERENCE · PA.III.A.K4 / PA.III.B.K2
Signs and lighting, by family
Colour carries the meaning — red instructs, black locates, yellow directs.
Colour carries the meaning: white runway, blue taxiway edge, green taxiway centerline and thresholds, red for stop and for obstacles.
PLATE 40 · SIGNS & LIGHTING
Runway edge lights
White along both edges, turning amber for the last 2,000 feet of an instrument runway. Intensity may be low, medium, or high — HIRL and MIRL are the settings you will see in the Chart Supplement.
Threshold lights
Bidirectional. Green facing the approach means the landing surface begins here. Red seen from the runway means the pavement ends here.
Runway centerline lights
White down the centerline, alternating red and white for the last 3,000 feet, and all red for the final 1,000. On rollout the colour tells you how much runway is left without looking anywhere else.
Taxiway edge lights
Blue, along the taxiway edges. If blue lights are on both sides of you when you think you are lined up for takeoff, you are on a taxiway.
Taxiway centerline lights
Green, down the middle of the taxiway. Found at larger fields and in low visibility operations.
REIL
Two synchronized white strobes flanking the threshold. They identify a runway end in a field of competing lights. They say nothing about your glidepath.
PAPI
Four boxes in a row. Two red and two white is on glidepath; more white is high, more red is low, all red is dangerously low. Usable to about 20 miles at night.
VASI
Two bars rather than four boxes. Red over white is on path, white over white is high, red over red is low. Same idea, older installation.
Approach lighting system
A configuration of bars and strobes extending outward from the threshold, giving alignment, roll, and height information on an instrument approach. The specific system is published for each runway.
Rotating beacon
White and green is a lighted civilian land airport. White and white is military, and green, yellow, and white is a water airport. Running in daylight inside a Class B, C, D, or E surface area, it means the field is below basic VFR.
Obstruction lighting
Steady or flashing red on towers and structures, or high-intensity white strobes on tall obstructions. On a chart the obstruction height is given both MSL and AGL — the AGL number is what you clear it by.
Pilot-controlled lighting
Key the CTAF on the published frequency: seven clicks for high intensity, five for medium, three for low. Always start with seven — it turns the system on regardless of its current state and resets the timer, which typically runs fifteen minutes.
Sign standards: AIM Chapter 2 Section 3 and AC 150/5340-18. Lighting systems: AIM Chapter 2 Sections 1 and 2. The specific approach lighting and visual glideslope installed on any runway is published in the Chart Supplement.
turning the lights on yourself
Most non-towered fields use pilot-controlled lighting. Get on the right frequency — usually CTAF, listed in the Chart Supplement with the intensity steps — then key the mic:
Seven works whatever state the system was in; if the lights are already low, three clicks does nothing visible.
The timer runs about fifteen minutes — on a long final, in a hold, or after a go-around, re-key to reset it.
Check NOTAMs before a night arrival: an out-of-service lighting system or inoperative PAPI can change whether the flight happens.
Common DPE questions
A rotating beacon operating during daylight hours at an airport with a Class D surface area suggests:
★ Next up
PA.III.A.R1 · Communication breakdowns
Radio work rarely goes wrong because a pilot used the wrong word. It goes wrong because two people believed different things and neither found out.