conehead Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 I just watched a Westjet -200 land on runway 05 in YYZ. While on approach, he had both wing landing lights flashing alternately. Does this indicate he had a communication failure? Also, I thought that only the -700's come into the Big Smoke. Just curious, what's the scoop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pitstacker Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 I'm dont work for WS, but most of their -200s have alternating flashing landing lights. Maybe it was a training flight out of YHM?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBusDriver Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Not a WestJetter, but the landing light mod is a safety enhancement. Studies have showed that it really works too. I used to fly an aircraft that was equipped with a similar system. The only problem was that it would drive you nuts a night in any sort of cloud or fog condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted June 4, 2003 Author Share Posted June 4, 2003 Alternating flashing landing lights.... really? I've never worked on a 737, so I don't know the systems, but I've never heard of that before... weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rubber Ducky Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 alternating Flashing lites on -200 are supposed to scare away birds. -700's only scheduled for Toronto but our standby aircraft are -200's and do on occasion show up in YYZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted June 4, 2003 Author Share Posted June 4, 2003 Thanks for the info guys. I'll bet it would be distracting in cloud or fog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRANT Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 You can have them either flashing or steady. So in cloud or at night they go on steady, during the day on flash mode. Yes they say it makes us easier to see for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pivot Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Zip has one with the flashing lights as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mtc. Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Beleive it or not, the flashing lights extend the life of the lamp... Heat related I assume.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr1 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Hi conehead, They’re actually called pulse lights and I believe our entire –200 fleet is equipped with them. They are supposed to make the a/c more visible, particularly to birds. I think that’s a crock though. I flew the –200 for about 4 years with the pulse lights and hit more birds in that period than I did in the previous 20 years. At last count; 1 snowy owl, 3 seagulls, at least 6 small unidentifiable ones and 45 starlings. Of course the starlings only count as one strike. We were on approach into Kelowna and at about 100 feet a whole cloud of them lifted off from the grass around the approach lights. We’d have got more of the little beggars too but they took some serious evasive maneuvers right till the end. Actually all we had time to do was say “oh sh!t” before we flew through the flock, which sounded like a quick burst of machine gun fire, brrrrrrrrrt, then we flared and landed. We taxied in leaving a trail all the way to the ramp and when we lowered the flaps for the inspection a whole bunch more fell out. The airplane looked like it had the measles. So I don’t believe the propaganda, apart from looking funky I don’t think they do much. For the last 2 years I’ve been flying the –700 which doesn’t have pulse lights and I’ve only hit one bird, mind you, I did hit a beaver. Honestly. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B75/76 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Sounds like you need a bush bar on the front of that a/c!!! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leftbase Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Not to beat the thread to death, but I understand the Pulselite system is supposed to make a/c more visible to other aircraft, I'd actually never heard of the bird angle... Sounds like the other wive's tale of wx radar scaring the little critters away too...who knows if it does or doesn't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted June 5, 2003 Author Share Posted June 5, 2003 Well, if birds take visual cues, they would certainly get out of the way of the big-flashing-light-bird coming at them! It certainly got my attention. Many years ago, while I was posted at CFB Shearwater, a CF-5 driver de-capitated a deer on his take-off roll. Well defined leading-edge. Let's hear about the beaver.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 By your count 55 winged creatures have gone to avian heaven by your hand...........good shootin' (aiming?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panama Jack Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Not of the Dehavilland variety I hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buswrench Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Seems to me the pulselight system was installed on some of the ex-CAIL(PW?)-200's and westjet/zip inherited these.The intent is to increase daytime visibility of the a/c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TonkaJet Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 We ran over a beaver in Victoria a little while ago on the -200. Touched-down and saw this "dark blob" on the runway just as the buckets were coming out. Didn't feel anything but the airport guys said it was pretty messy. So I guess that's at least two beavers taken out..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errbus Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Conehead I was based in YAW at the time and remember the incident as well. If I'm not mistaken, there was a real tug of war as to who would claim ownership of the recentley departed deer between ATC, the firehall and 433 Sqn. Not sure who won. What squadron were you from? Cheers, an ex-Bearcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr1 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I thought you’d never ask. It was a dark and stormy night…actually it was the middle of the afternoon on a high overcast day in Ottawa. We were scorching down the runway on take-off and I saw something waddling onto the runway. I thought, “that looks like….nah….couldn’t be….but it sure looks like...” By this time we were well past it and I’m thinking it had made it out onto the runway just far enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once we were airborne I called the tower and told him we thought we might have hit a critter on the take-off roll. He says he’ll get back to us through the departure guy and hands us off. About five minutes later departure calls us and the guy is snickering and says, “ah…tower says he’s serious and to tell you guys you nailed a beaver in Ottawa.” So we flattened our national symbol in the nation’s capital. I’m still waiting for a call from Greenpeace. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60N30W Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 After running over the beaver did you do the right thing and notify CARA catering? Might have made for a good crew meal or two!!! I hit a jackrabbit landing at JFK once. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fasteddy Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I thought all the jackrabbits landed at EWR.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 You know, I was thinkin' of this yesterday when I first saw the bird comment from someone here... It occurred to me that it might be a bit of a hope, or at least something less than an exact science... I mean, lots of birds are pretty used to seeing big shiney birds that make lots of noise and never flap their wings... "But Hey, what's with that flashy one over there? Maybe I'll just go have a look?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Smacked a deer in Peterborough as a student just after rotation years ago. Took the right gear off the C150 which made for some fun landing in YKZ. Don't know who got the meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted June 6, 2003 Author Share Posted June 6, 2003 Nice handle! At the time, I was an Avionics Tech in SeaKing Maintenance, we supported all the squadrons. Had a buddy working ATC that day, he told me the firehall won, and had a bar-b-que! ex-bearcat, I think you were with 880? Must have been before they moved to Summerside. It seems like a long time ago, but they sure were fun times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Way To Go Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 They are called pulselights and are installed in most, but not all -200's. When we picked up a/c 732 formerly 664 I think from NWT Air, it was installed and so we decided to retrofit the fleet. The reason for the installation is for VFR traffic"see and be seen" , and an attempt to chase off birds. They are not used during night ops or in weather / clouds that reflect the light back. The system basically interrupts power in and alternating fashion to the 4 landing lights and runway turn-off lights. One switch turns the pulse lights on/off. The 6 main switches operate like they normally would but override the pulse lights. They do not extend bulb life (turning them on / off is hard on them). Unfortunately, as Dave has indicated, the stats we collected in 2000 showed no difference in bird avoidance, but are perhaps still effective in getting other pilots attention in the air and on the runway. Never intended for beaver avoidance so....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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