Airport Rotating Beacon

[UngaWunga]

Flying out of a field that doesn't have a beacon (7B3), the field is almost impossible to find at night unless you know where it is. It now has better runway lights, but they're still hard to see unless you're right on top of the field and almost inline with one of the runway headings. I just know its 45deg off a point on the coast, near the big box store parking lot. Its the dark spot in between all the trees. Sometimes I spot the red lights on top of the hangars before the runway lights. A beacon would make it much easier to find.

 

[Dennis M Cunningham]

Next week we are doing our own flight check tests. The airplanes have DME and will fly on different radials to the airport. At different altitudes we can get an idea how far we pick up the beacon.

 

[UngaWunga]

You guys having a fly-in this year? POA mass arrival?

 

[Ravioli]

Something not yet in this thread. The airport 5B9 has an IAP. Wouldn't a beacon be a good thing to go along with that?

Someone will school me shortly, but on a towered field the beacon is on when the field is IMC. Is that also true of non-towered fields with beacons?

 

[azure]

Something not yet in this thread. The airport 5B9 has an IAP. Wouldn't a beacon be a good thing to go along with that?

I would think so, and mentioned it in connection with 2B3. Didn't think to check 5B9, somehow I thought it was VFR-only.

 

[timwinters]

I would've sworn that, when I was managing an airport, I ran across information on airport beacons that are shielded and you don't even know they're there if you're on the ground. But a google search just now didnt turn up any results.

 

[Wrench978]

Flying out of a field that doesn't have a beacon (7B3), the field is almost impossible to find at night unless you know where it is. It now has better runway lights, but they're still hard to see unless you're right on top of the field and almost inline with one of the runway headings. I just know its 45deg off a point on the coast, near the big box store parking lot. Its the dark spot in between all the trees. Sometimes I spot the red lights on top of the hangars before the runway lights. A beacon would make it much easier to find.

I would absolutely LOVE if Hampton got a beacon. Ive flown in and out at night and its very tough to find!

 

[Bobanna]

Don't be. I'm continually offended by people that are easily offended.

 

[mscard88]

Something not yet in this thread. The airport 5B9 has an IAP. Wouldn't a beacon be a good thing to go along with that?

Someone will school me shortly, but on a towered field the beacon is on when the field is IMC. Is that also true of non-towered fields with beacons?

IF someone at the uncontrolled, er non-towered airport turns it on. IOW not necessarily.

2-1-8. AIRPORT/HELIPORT BEACONS

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  a. Airport and heliport beacons have a vertical light distribution to make them most effective from one to ten degrees above the horizon; however, they can be seen well above and below this peak spread. The beacon may be an omnidirectional capacitor-discharge device, or it may rotate at a constant speed which produces the visual effect of flashes at regular intervals. Flashes may be one or two colors alternately. The total number of flashes are:
  

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  1. 24 to 30 per minute for beacons marking airports, landmarks, and points on Federal airways.
  

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  2. 30 to 45 per minute for beacons marking heliports.
  

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  b. The colors and color combinations of beacons are:
  

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  1. White and Green- Lighted land airport
  

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  2. *Green alone- Lighted land airport
  

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  3. White and Yellow- Lighted water airport
  

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  4. *Yellow alone- Lighted water airport
  

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  5. Green, Yellow, and White- Lighted heliport
  

NOTE-
*Green alone or yellow alone is used only in connection with a white-and-green or white-and-yellow beacon display, respectively.

• 
  c. Military airport beacons flash alternately white and green, but are differentiated from civil beacons by dualpeaked (two quick) white flashes between the green flashes.
  

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  d. In Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E surface areas, operation of the airport beacon during the hours of daylight often indicates that the ground visibility is less than 3 miles and/or the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet. ATC clearance in accordance with FAR Part 91 is required for landing, takeoff and flight in the traffic pattern. Pilots should not rely solely on the operation of the airport beacon to indicate if weather conditions are IFR or VFR. At some locations with operating control towers, ATC personnel turn the beacon on or off when controls are in the tower. At many airports the airport beacon is turned on by a photoelectric cell or time clocks and ATC personnel can not control them. There is no regulatory requirement for daylight operation and it is the pilot's responsibility to comply with proper preflight planning as required by FAR Part 91.103.
  

 

[rocketflyer84]

Something not yet in this thread. The airport 5B9 has an IAP. Wouldn't a beacon be a good thing to go along with that?

Someone will school me shortly, but on a towered field the beacon is on when the field is IMC. Is that also true of non-towered fields with beacons?

It’s on during the day if the field is below VFR minimums. Not sure a field can be “IMC” unless it’s completely socked in .

 

[Ravioli]

It’s on during the day if the field is below VFR minimums. Not sure a field can be “IMC” unless it’s completely socked in .

As I wrote, "Someone will school me shortly."

 

[Palmpilot]

It’s on during the day if the field is below VFR minimums. Not sure a field can be “IMC” unless it’s completely socked in .

Anything below VFR minimums is IMC by definition. (In the case of 5B9, VFR minimums are lower than IFR minimums if you stay below 700 AGL.)

 

[Palmpilot]

Something not yet in this thread. The airport 5B9 has an IAP. Wouldn't a beacon be a good thing to go along with that?

The approach chart says NA at night. I wonder if that's due to lack of a beacon.

 

[Ravioli]

The approach chart says NA at night. I wonder if that's due to lack of a beacon.

Good question. I saw that there WAS an IAP, but I didn't open it up.

 

[UngaWunga]

The approach chart says NA at night. I wonder if that's due to lack of a beacon.

Or runway lights not being bright enough, trees or other obstacles close to the runway, or a million other reasons.

 

[Sinistar]

Well put me in the category of "That beacon is awesome to see at night!"...but I don't think that is going to help.

@Dennis M Cunningham - two more possibilities and perhaps the first was already covered:

1.) Identify one or two of these people that if their mind was swayed, they would be the most likely to change the other's minds. Offer them a ride at night and demonstrate how important it is. You can obviously pick a airport with a nice bright beacon that isn't surrounded by a lot of city lights. And then fly back home and don't click the runway lights up until you are close. Maybe that will demonstrate how important it is. Just think, a crash at night because someone couldn't find runway could possibly lead to others on the ground being hurt, property damaged and possibly even a lawsuit.

2.) Perhaps you can "go around" the problem. Are there any private hangars at your field. If so, are there any vertical restrictions on their buildings? See where I am going with this. Perhaps a private individual could "host" the airport beacon. And maybe hearing that (and knowing there is nothing their small group could then control) would be enough to get them to go with plan A where they have some say.