Lights & Pneumatic
External/internal lighting and anti-collision lighting, plus bleed-air/vacuum services and leak detection.
Lights & pneumatic, summary notes
- External LIGHTS (ATA 33): navigation lights are RED on the LEFT (port), GREEN on the RIGHT (starboard) and WHITE at the tail; plus red anti-collision beacons and white strobes, landing/search lights and often a hover/search light. Internal lights cover cockpit, cabin and emergency lighting.
- Anti-collision lighting is especially important for a helicopter's low-level, hovering operations near obstacles and other traffic.
- PNEUMATIC/vacuum (ATA 36): bleed air is tapped from the engine compressor for services such as heating, engine starting (air-turbine starter on some turbine helicopters) and anti-ice; a bleed-air leak is detected by overheat sensing.
- Some helicopters use engine-driven vacuum pumps to drive air-driven gyro instruments.
- Bleed air and vacuum are regulated and filtered before use.
- ⚠ Exam trap: navigation lights are RED left / GREEN right / WHITE tail; pneumatic (bleed) air comes from the engine COMPRESSOR and a bleed-air leak is found by overheat sensing loops.
At night you see a helicopter showing a red light on its left side and green on its right, facing you. Are the light rules the same as for an aeroplane?
Yes, the navigation-light convention is identical: red on the port (left) wingtip/side, green on the starboard (right) side, and white at the tail. Seeing red-left and green-right means it is facing towards you. Helicopters add particularly prominent anti-collision beacons and strobes because of their low-level, hovering operations near obstacles.
Lights & pneumatic concept map
Lights & Pneumatic
Lights & pneumatic quiz
Lights & Pneumatic, quiz
1. The navigation light on the LEFT (port) side is
RedGreenWhite2. The navigation light on the RIGHT (starboard) side is
GreenRedBlue3. Anti-collision lighting is especially important on helicopters because of their
Low-level, hovering operations near obstaclesHigh-altitude cruiseLong range4. Pneumatic (bleed) air is tapped from the
Engine compressorExhaustFuel tank5. A bleed-air leak is detected by
Overheat sensing loopsSmoke detectorsFuel gauges6. Some turbine helicopters use bleed/APU air for
Engine starting (air-turbine starter)Charging the batteryMeasuring airspeed7. Older/light helicopters may use a vacuum system to drive
Air-driven gyro instrumentsThe rotorThe fuel pump8. Bleed air is regulated for
Pressure and temperature before useColour and smellFrequency