night flying
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:36 pm
does anyone know what year rotating beacons were installed on brantlys? mine is a 1961 and does not have a beacon. i am wondering if one is required for night flying or if it is exempt.
Not exactly certian what the CAA requirements were way back when, but here is the current requirements:(Sec 27 deals with airworthiness requirements for rotorcraft in the normal category)
Sec. 135.159 - Equipment requirements: Carrying passengers under VFR at night or under VFR over-the-top conditions.
No person may operate an aircraft carrying passengers under VFR at night or under VFR over-the-top, unless it is equipped with:
(f)
(1) An anticollision light system;
Sec. 27.1401 - Anticollision light system.
(a) General. If certification for night operation is requested, the rotorcraft must have an anticollision light system that --
(1) Consists of one or more approved anticollision lights located so that their emitted light will not impair the crew's vision or detract from the conspicuity of the position lights; and
(2) Meets the requirements of paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section.
(b) Field of coverage. The system must consist of enough lights to illuminate the vital areas around the rotorcraft, considering the physical configuration and flight characteristics of the rotorcraft. The field of coverage must extend in each direction within at least 30 degrees below the horizontal plane of the rotorcraft, except that there may be solid angles of obstructed visibility totaling not more than 0.5 steradians.
(c) Flashing characteristics. The arrangement of the system, that is, the number of light sources, beam width, speed of rotation, and other characteristics, must give an effective flash frequency of not less than 40, nor more than 100, cycles per minute. The effective flash frequency is the frequency at which the rotorcraft's complete anticollision light system is observed from a distance, and applies to each sector of light including any overlaps that exist when the system consists of more than one light source. In overlaps, flash frequencies may exceed 100, but not 180, cycles per minute.
(d) Color. Each anticollision light must be aviation red and must meet the applicable requirements of ยง27.1397.
It seems to me that since the Brantly is certified for day/night VFR, than an anti collision light system should have been installed during production.