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AC 150/5300-4B CHG 3 12/5/78 59. AIRPORT LIGHTING. Utilization of an airport is greatly enhanced with the installation of an airport lighting system. An airport lighting system consisting of runway lights, rotating beacon, and a lighted wind direction indicator is essential if the airport is to be operated at night. Figure 11-2 illustrates a typical airport lighting system. Advisory Circulars 150/5340-21, Airport Miscellaneous Lighting Visual Aids, 150/5340-24, Runway and Taxiway Edge Lighting System, and 150/5340-25, Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) Systems, provide detailed guidance on this subject. FAA Airports District Offices should be contacted prior to undertaking the design or installation of any airport lighting system. a. Runway Lighting. The runway lighting system consists of runway edge lights and runway end/threshold lights. Light fixtures, electrical cable, and operating controls conforming to the FAA specification for a medium intensity system are recommended for most utility airport installations. (1) Runway Edge Lights. Edge lights are elevated, omnidirectional, steady burning lights having clear lenses. Lights are spaced at a uniform, but not in excess of 200 feet (60 m), interval along both edges of the usable surface. (2) Runway End/Threshold Lights End/threshold lights are identi- cal to edge lights except that a two-color (red/green) lens is used. The green half of the lens faces the approaching airplane, indicating the beginning of the usable runway. The red half of the lens faces the airplane on roll -out or take- off, indicating the end of the usable runway. Enid/threshold lights consist of a minimum of six lights, in two groups of three, and are located at each end of the runway. b. Rotating. Beacon. The beacon emits two rotating beams of light spaced 180 degrees apart to indicate the location of an airport. At a lighted, civil -land airport, one of the beams is white and the other is green. Beacons are installed on or close to the airport. (See AC 150/5345-12, Specification for L4801 Beacons.) c. Lighted Wind Direction Indicator. The surface wind direction indi- cator installed at the center of the segmented circle as part of the airport marking project is lighted so that it is -visible for night operations. Lighting coverage should be adequate to illumi- nate any traffic pattern indicators. 60. AIRPORT visual, ast)S. A number of visual aids are available to aid a pilot in locating the runway at night or during periods of reduced visibility. The visual aids covered in this paragraph are considered appropriate for most utility airport situations. The selection of a particular visual aid should be based on an operational requirement for a light signal that is more pronounced than or distinct from that Page 66 Chap 11 Par 59