Airport beacon colors for a water airport

BACKGROUND

Airport and heliport beacons help a pilot locate a field at night or during reduced visibility, and their vertical light distribution is most effective from one to ten degrees above the horizon. The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) assigns fixed color combinations: white and green for a lighted land airport, white and yellow for a lighted water airport, and green, yellow, and white for a lighted heliport. Green alone or yellow alone is used only in connection with a white-and-green or white-and-yellow display, respectively. Military land airports also flash white and green, but they are set apart by dual-peaked (two quick) white flashes between the green flashes. Beacons marking airports, landmarks, and points on Federal airways flash 24 to 30 times per minute, while heliport beacons flash 30 to 45 times per minute.

STUDY TIP

Tie each color to the landing surface: green means land, yellow means water, and the three-color green-yellow-white combination means heliport. Learn the two flash rates with the colors, since both come from the same AIM paragraph.

KEY POINTS

• Alternating white and yellow flashes identify a lighted water airport (seaplane base).
• White and green marks a lighted land airport; a military field adds two quick white flashes between the green flashes.
• Airport beacons flash 24 to 30 times per minute; heliport beacons flash 30 to 45 times per minute.

SOURCES

• AIM 2-1-9 "Airport/Heliport Beacons" (sources/aim/aim_2-1_airport_lighting_aids.txt)