Warbird Information Exchange

A question which crossed my mind many times in many years. I've never came across an answer, so now it's time to put it on this board.

In the links below there are pictures of head-on shots of two Constellations, both with the short nose. In the nose are two lamps mounted behind a window, a white light and a red light. I understand the white spotlight, but what is the purpose of the red lamp? Does it have the same purpose as the red lighting in the cockpit, less straining of the retina to keep better night vision? Was it really intended as a red spotlight?
Also two pics of a Beech Mentor with a red light mounted in the nose.

I did several WWW-searches but found nothing in relation to aircraft lights.

The links to the Connie pictures:
http://tinyurl.com/ahl636s
http://tinyurl.com/bzg82bp

On the Beech A45 (T-34A) Mentor:
http://tinyurl.com/ayt29ua
http://tinyurl.com/ar5h6l5

I'm curious !

Tillerman.

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Jets are nice. Props are nicer.

If you've ever stood on a ramp holding two weenie flashlights marshalling a big airplane at night you'd welcome the red lamp as it allows the crew and ground person to both see without frying the vision of the marshaller.
Originally used, I think, on carrier aircraft where the deck always looks like flies on a donut and a blinded indivdual could be overboarded or killed-

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

That sounds like a good explanation, thanks. Therefore I went searching the net again, and took this list as a starting point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... d_aircraft but I found no aircraft with a nose mounted red taxi/spotlight.

Up until now the only pictures of such a red light are the ones in my first post, and I saw them in other pictures of L-079 and L-1049 Constellations, and then only the ones with the short nose like the Connies from PIA, Air France and KLM. KLM later changed the short nose cones on the Super Constellations to the longer radar noses, losing the nose mounted lights.

I went on searching, looking for aircraft noses of all kinds of propliners, but none has the red taxi light, only some Connies have them. And searching youtube for deck landings, carrier landings: nothing usable came up.

Tillerman.

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Jets are nice. Props are nicer.

I believe the lamp is a passing light. I've heard various explanations for its use, but the one I've heard the most is that it was used on military aircraft to signal to non-radio towers that they required priority handling at night. I believe that some civilian airliners had them equipped for the same reason. Most aircraft had them on the right wing, but if it was simply a signalling device, then it didn't need to be anywhere else.

Located this book.


" Super Constellation Pocket Handbook"
Containing Information on Lockheed Models 1049G and 1049H as applicable to Commercial Operations.
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation - California Division

Section: Operating Instructions.
..Typical Pre-Flight Inspection.
....Typical Interior Check (Night Flights)
......Pilots
....... 4. Nose Lights (taxi and passing) - CHECK OPERATION.


Same for 1049C and 1049E

....... 4. Passing Lights - AS REQUIRED.

Not saying it is the passing light put the Handbooks make reference to Passing Light.

KC-97s had a white and red light in the nose.

OK, so maybe it is a passing light. But what is a passing light? How and when is it used? When do I (if I were a pilot) put on the passing light? Or, from the other side, when I see an aircraft with the passing light switched on -what does it tell me?

Interesting, so far.

Tillerman.

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Jets are nice. Props are nicer.

As I alluded to in my post, the exact usage has been largely lost to time as many of the manuals that would've described their usage have never been digitized and only a few copies still exist if at all. However, from what I know speaking to guys who flew during the 1950's (when a few planes still had them but they were never used), they were basically used for non-radio equipped airports that used light signals to indicate instructions to indicate that the aircraft using the light needed "priority" handling (i.e. it needed to "pass" all other airplanes in queue). Military aircraft would use such a light at all times at those airports, but my understanding is that civilian aircraft would only use them "as needed" for situations like sick passenger, low fuel, or other problem requiring expedited handling.

I remember my old DC-6 manual mentioned "passing lights" but I never saw them by the time I went to work at MacAvia(Nee Sis-Q). As I recall the DC-7s (Butler) were later builds in the mid/late 50's didn't
have that feature.. But it's been a while..

According to the link below, it is to improve the aircraft's "conspicuity".
http://books.google.com/books?id=KZo5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA439&lpg=PA439&dq=aircraft+red+passing+light&source=bl&ots=nyEz9_zWno&sig=DHjIWd9PqK53ywh1Md7ZozWy6Mg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=f6lJUfTMIsn22AW2s4D4DA&ved=0CHYQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=aircraft%20red%20passing%20light&f=false

Randy

Randy,

Thanks for that link. As this is from the 1961 CFR, it is written well after the use of these lights had fallen out of "primary" use (which was the 1930's and 1940's), it would be interesting to find that supplement referenced (#17 to 16 F.R. 3212, dated 12 APR 1951) and read its whole text as I suspect it gives a much more detailed history of its use.

I started out in the USAF Aviation Cadet Program on Jan. 2, 1952 and flew with the USAF until April 1957. From that date until retirement in late 1991 I was flying as an Airline Pilot.
The red light in the nose or leading edge of the wing was always referred to as the "Passing Light" until aircraft started to be built without them. The purpose as I remember was, at night, to visually identify an aircraft as oncoming rather than being overtaken. When meeting an oncoming aircraft you would deviate to the right of course until the oncoming red light dissappeared and the pass had been safely made .......therefore it's a Passing light. The light was always off on the ground as it generated quite a bit of heat which shortened its life and wasn't needed. If flashed, the other aircraft would hopefully flash back indicating recognition and Hello. As the jets came along, flashing the leading edge taxi lights meant `Hello, I see you'.

I've never heard of it being used as a "Priority Light" for landimg, etc. but that doesn't mean some commands didn't use it as such.

Why they did away with the Passing Light is beyond me. As more aircraft started operating under IFR rules at night, it became un-needed. And the radomes took priority on nose space.

Jack

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It's what you learn after you think you know it all, that counts.