Taxi light required @ night?

S

Skyway

Well-Known Member
Hey all, I haven't posted here in a while. I would just like some thoughts on a flight I had with a student the other night.
I was conducting a night time flight with a student at an uncontrolled field. We had on our position lights (AKA NAV lights) as well as our beacon light and we even made a self anouncement that we were taxing to the runway, granted it was late and there weren't any other aircraft flying. Well the FAA had been conducting some night ops themselves, and were in the process of exiting the runway as we were taxing. I had my student turn out his taxi light so as not to blind the aircraft coming off the runway. I thought that I was teaching good manerisms to a future pilot. Low and behold mr FAA comes over the CTAF and states that we need to have on our taxi light at all times. I explained to him that we were trying to be cosiderate of him. Well he didn't appreciate that at all. Long story short. I decided just to shut up and remain professional and not argue with them, but come on people. There isn't any reg that I can find that states specifically, that a taxi light has to be on when taxiing infront another aircraft, if all the other required lights are on. Thoughts
 
Only requirement for the taxi/landing light is to have one if the plane is operated for hire which flight instruction is not.
 
The taxi light is not required to be on, and turning it off not to blind the other pilot is the appropriate action.
 
Brush it off. He knows not of what he speaks. There is not even a reg requiring a landing light for private operations.
 
Here's the FAR

http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulator...4EFFE4F92B644EBF852566CF00679791?OpenDocument

No person may:
(a) During the period from sunset to sunrise (or, in Alaska, during the period a prominent unlighted object cannot be seen from a distance of 3 statute miles or the sun is more than 6 degrees below the horizon)--
(1) Operate an aircraft unless it has lighted position lights;
(2) Park or move an aircraft in, or in dangerous proximity to, a night flight operations area of an airport unless the aircraft--
(i) Is clearly illuminated;
(ii) Has lighted position lights; or
(iii) is in an area that is marked by obstruction lights;
(3) Anchor an aircraft unless the aircraft--
(i) Has lighted anchor lights; or
(ii) Is in an area where anchor lights are not required on vessels; or
(b) Operate an aircraft that is equipped with an anticollision light system, unless it has lighted anticollision lights. However, the anticollision lights need not be lighted when the pilot-in-command determines that, because of operating conditions, it would be in the interest of safety to turn the lights off.

I think that taxi lights would be covered by the part I've bolded.

And there you have it. If you are the pilot in command and you feel like turning off the taxi lights because you believe it would be in the interest of safety, you can do it.
 
Inverted said:
Only requirement for the taxi/landing light is to have one if the plane is operated for hire which flight instruction is not.
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that? I am under the impression that flight instruction is for hire. flight school aircraft are requried a 100 hour inspection are they not?
 
tonyw said:
(b) Operate an aircraft that is equipped with an anticollision light system, unless it has lighted anticollision lights. However, the anticollision lights need not be lighted when the pilot-in-command determines that, because of operating conditions, it would be in the interest of safety to turn the lights off.
Click to expand...

Anti collision lights are red or white strobe lights.
 
The fed is a d-bag on a power trip. You did the right thing. Please don't blind the other airplane drivers. That means you, too Mr. "I have this awesome ___ and I'm going to turn EVERY LIGHT on before I start the engines even the strobe lights so everyone knows how awesome my ___ is even though the crew next to me is trying to get things going and I'm either blinding them or giving them a seizure. Did I mention I have an awesome ____?".

-mini
 
minitour said:
The fed is a d-bag on a power trip. You did the right thing. Please don't blind the other airplane drivers. That means you, too Mr. "I have this awesome ___ and I'm going to turn EVERY LIGHT on before I start the engines even the strobe lights so everyone knows how awesome my ___ is even though the crew next to me is trying to get things going and I'm either blinding them or giving them a seizure. Did I mention I have an awesome ____?".

-mini
Click to expand...

Oh lawd. I hate those types. Pilots should learn what each switch on the light panel does and WHEN each switch should be used. One of my big pet peeves.

I'm sorry but I'm going to have a lot less respect of you as a line guy when you roll up at dark o thirty with your landing lights on, taxi light, strobes, beacon, ice light, whiz bangs, whiz bams and recogs blaring in my face while I'm trying to park you.

Althought I guess we shouldn't be too surprised when we see this kind of behavior - I couldn't believe it when I got an FAA publication on runway safety or something that said I should be running my strobes and pretty much every light while on the ground. My jaw dropped.


Learn how to use each set of lights to their maximum potential and don't be a doofus about it.
 
Inverted said:
Only requirement for the taxi/landing light is to have one if the plane is operated for hire which flight instruction is not.
Click to expand...

Hckey2477 said:
Are you sure about that? I am under the impression that flight instruction is for hire. flight school aircraft are requried a 100 hour inspection are they not?
Click to expand...

To be clear, 91.205(c)(4) says specifically that one landing light is required for VFR night, if the aircraft is operated for hire.

First, nothing is said about a taxi light. Second, the determination of "for hire" as it relates to the airplane is based on who owns the airplane. If the flight school provides the airplane, it's for hire. If it's owned by the student, the airplane isn't for hire, only the instructor is (hence the need for a valid commercial cert, in addition to the CFI cert).

As often occurs, the fed is attempting to flex his muscle with his small brain in this situation.
 
Hckey2477 said:
Are you sure about that? I am under the impression that flight instruction is for hire. flight school aircraft are requried a 100 hour inspection are they not?
Click to expand...

Only if the place is providing both the airplane and the instructor, is the 100 hour inspection required.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Only if the place is providing both the airplane and the instructor, is the 100 hour inspection required.
Click to expand...
So if you rent the plane from "Jim's Aircraft Rental" and the instructor was hired from "The same Jim's Pilot Instructor Services" no 100 hr needs to be done?

-mini
 
If I own a 172 and decide for any number of reasons to rent it out to a student and allow another instructor to instruct in it, does it have to have a 100 hour inspection?
 
minitour said:
So if you rent the plane from "Jim's Aircraft Rental" and the instructor was hired from "The same Jim's Pilot Instructor Services" no 100 hr needs to be done?

-mini
Click to expand...

If it waddle's like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

But really. Student walks up to the FBO, to learn to fly. He rents the plane. Then, he finds an instructor. Is he transporting the instructor for hire? No. Is the instructor providing transportation of the student? No, he's providing educational services. No commerical activity is going on.

So, you need the 100 hour for 1) Commercial operations in which you are carrying passengers for hire, and 2) For when you own the airplane, and are providing instruction in said aircraft.
 
You acted appropriately in turning off your Taxi light and are teaching common courtesy. If you go to any major airport you will see a lot of airliners taxing at night without any taxi light or landing lights on. Some airliners don't even have "taxi" lights installed.

If one is flight instructing the owner of the aircraft then i don't believe that aircraft would classify as a for hire aircraft. An aircraft being rented out is a for hire aircraft and then required to have the 100 hour and appropriate lights. Back when I was a CFI I cancelled some flights at night for inop taxi lights.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
If it waddle's like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

But really. Student walks up to the FBO, to learn to fly. He rents the plane. Then, he finds an instructor. Is he transporting the instructor for hire? No. Is the instructor providing transportation of the student? No, he's providing educational services. No commerical activity is going on.

So, you need the 100 hour for 1) Commercial operations in which you are carrying passengers for hire, and 2) For when you own the airplane, and are providing instruction in said aircraft.
Click to expand...

So...if I started up a dummy corporation "Minitour Enterprises, Inc" and that dummy corp owned "Minitour's Aircraft Rental, Inc." and also owned "Minitour's Pilot Services, LLC" and the student paid two different invoices per lesson (One to Minitour's Aircraft Rental, Inc and a separate invoice for Minitour's Pilot Services, LLC) I wouldn't have to get 100 hour inspections on any of "Minitour's Aircraft Rental, Inc."'s planes? Assuming the aircraft rental company only rented aircraft and the pilot services company only provided pilot services/flight instruction...

-mini
 
We use the taxi light to indicate movement, day or night.

Example: If you're to hold short of a taxiway, we turn the light out when we stop the plane to let the other guys know we're stopped and intend to let them pass.

Is it a fail-safe catch all? No. Does it provide another means of communication? Yes.

Other than that the Taxi light merely allows you to see where you're going. If you're going straight on a taxiway, and you don't need to see and not blind a guy, turn it off.

No big deal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top